Do you find it difficult to walk every day, especially when it is cold outside? Good news: you don’t have to walk for hours to see results, every minute is enough.
According to new research published in European Heart Journal17 minutes of brisk walking will do wonders for your heart and lungs.
healthy walking
We now know that walking is good for you, especially if you have a steady career. But cardio — a form of exercise that makes your heart beat faster, such as running, biking or brisk walking — is also important to a healthy body. Previous research shows that a daily brisk walk can reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease by 24 percent.
Lots of minutes of walking to get results
Anyone who thinks you should stick to those 10,000 steps a day is wrong. According to new research in 2,000 people between the ages of 45 and 63, 17 minutes of moderate to vigorous exercise, such as brisk walking or jogging, is actually effective. After that time, the participants’ VO2 max — the value of maximum oxygen uptake during cardio — increased by five percent. The higher the oxygen uptake, the easier it is to perform high-intensity efforts.
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to lose weight? Walking is often better than running
less seating
According to researchers, you can also increase your oxygen intake by five percent by taking a leisurely walk every day for an hour or by sitting for four hours less. The latter is of course difficult if you have a stable occupation, but getting off the couch or office chair more often for (short) walks is definitely not a bad plan. Is walking a hard exercise for you and do you quickly get tired? Don’t forget to warm up beforehand.
source | ok + good
picture | Getty Images
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