Doing Walking We Can Burn More Calories
Doing physical exercise is essential for good health. Possible activities like walking are the most desirable, affordable, and easy to practice. In addition, we now have mobile phones that tell us the steps and distances we travel each day. We can control whether or not we have done the 10,000 steps they ensure are recommended for exercise to have its effect.
In reality, it is not clear that the 10,000 steps are necessary. According to a study published in the Journal of Applied Physiology, fewer can already bring us health benefits, which analyzed the data reported by mobile phones and health apps. In 97% of the cases examined, these applications reported much fewer calories than those burned when walking.
Walking is a form of exercise of moderate intensity. So it cannot be considered a cardio exercise in which many calories are burned in a short time and with more intensity. But we can change some routines so that walking is an effective activity to burn calories.
A general belief ensures that we have to keep the heart beating at a constant and fast pace and exercise is effective. But several scientific studies show the opposite: they claim that changing the pace and modifying the intensity and heart rate. At the same time, walking can increase the metabolic rate between 6% and 20% more.
Calculate Heart Rate
According to the American College of Sports Medicine, the ideal heart rate in moderate-intensity exercise such as walking is between 64% and 76% of our maximum heart rate. We can find useful mobile phones and applications to track heart rate. With this information, we can maximize the benefits of the walk.
Walking is not a high-intensity exercise. It is best to walk at a fast but sustainable pace, which will differ for each person. In this way, we will burn more calories when walking.
To calculate our maximum heart rate to our age, we subtract our years from figure 220. If we are 48 years old, our estimated maximum heart rate will be 172 beats per minute. So, in this same case, the heart rate of moderate-intensity, the one we look for when walking, would be between 110 and 131 beats per minute.
The Way You Walk Matters
Another aspect to consider when we go for a walk to workout is how we do it.
More than speed, it is important to maintain a correct position, with a straight back, swinging the arms back and forth, and distributing our weight evenly.
Walking poorly in a forced position can cause chronic pain and even injury. That’s why the way how you walking is important, you need to improve your way of position while walking.
