walkinggolf.com

By James M. Rippe, M.D.
Director, The Center for Clinical
And Lifestyle Research

Do you have trouble starting and staying with exercise? If so, you need to ask yourself a few basic questions: What do I hope to accomplish? What do I like doing? And, what’s convenient for me? In a majority of instances, the answer to all of these is walking. Walking is not just for people starting an exercise program. In my experience, even people who think they are in pretty good shape get their heart rates up into target training zones through walking. Runners, too, can benefit from adding some walking to their training program, as it uses different muscle groups. In short, walking is good exercise for everyone. A few years ago I was part of an expert panel that recommended Americans get at least 30 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity - such as walking - over the course of a day. There is overwhelming evidence that this level of activity, if done consistently, can improve your cardiovascular fitness and lower your risk of chronic diseases - many of our nation’s leading killers - such as coronary artery disease, cancer, hypertension and osteoarthritis. When we talk about moderate-intensity physical activity, we are talking - for 95 percent of the population - about moderate level walking. For most people, four miles an hour would be a moderate walking pace. How fast is four miles an hour? It’s walking somewhat briskly, at a determined pace, or as former President Harry Truman once said, it’s walking as though you have some place to go.

Set Clear Goals

How much time and at what intensity you walk depends on what your goals are. Where most people fall short is they don’t clearly define their goal, so they don’t exercise at the right level. If your goal is simply to lower your risk of chronic disease, try to accumulate 30 minutes of moderate physical activity on most days. A good idea would be to take a 15 or 20 minutes walk every day and try to step up the physical activity in your life on a general basis. If you want to lose weight, walk for 30 to 45 minutes a day, at a lower intensity. To improve your aerobic capacity, walk for at least 20 to 30 minutes a day at a faster pace.

Feel The Difference

I’ve worked with more than 3,000 people under laboratory conditions in walking programs, and after completing the programs, people routinely say they feel like they have regained their lives. These people feel good about themselves, they feel more relaxed and more in control of their lives. One of the great things about walking is it offers both physical and mind/body benefits, benefits that are often immediate. Many times, after the first walking session, people say they feel good and less stressed, which helps motivate people to continue walking. The benefits I’ve discussed come from walking consistently, so you need to keep walking fun. Some common ways to do this include walking with a partner or a dog, varying your route or walking at different times of the day.

Walk For Life

People who reach the age of 65 in our society have an 80 percent chance of living into their 80’s, so those people stand to gain a tremendous amount from walking. Those benefits include lowering their risk of chronic disease and improving their number of years of independent living. A very important consideration for people in their 70’s and 80’s. One of our nation’s biggest health problems is that 70 percent or more of Americans are not physically active on a regular basis. Most Americans are not choosing between running and walking; they are choosing between walking and sitting. When you factor in the health and quality of life benefits of walking, there’s really only one choice.

Dr. James M. Rippe is a member of Taking Care’s Medical Advisory Board. The director of The Center for Clinical and Lifestyle Research in Shrewsbury, Mass., Dr. Rippe has studies the effects of walking for more than 15 years, and has written several books on the subject. He also is an associate professor of medicine a Tufts University School of Medicine.