Walking opens six doors to health
The World Health Organization has pointed out that walking is one of the best sports in the world, which is simple and easy, and has good physical fitness effects. It is not too late for men, women, old and young to start this sport. Dr. white, founder of the American Heart Association, also pointed out that from the perspective of evolution, walking is the best exercise for mankind.
Cao Jianmin, director of the sports biochemistry teaching and Research Office of Beijing Sport University, pointed out: “if you walk in the right posture, a total of 13 large muscle groups such as triceps femoris, quadriceps femoris, waist and abdominal muscles are moving when you walk. From the perspective of strengthening your physique and immune function, walking is the most ideal exercise method.” In recent years, research on walking promoting the health of various parts of the body has emerged in an endless stream. Generally speaking, it has opened six doors for us to be healthy.
(1) the door to heart health
Hong Zhaoguang, chief health education expert of the national health and Family Planning Commission, pointed out that for most people, walking is the easiest and most convenient way to prevent heart disease.
A study of 1645 elderly people over 65 years old in the United States found that compared with those who walked less than 1 hour a week, those who walked more than 4 hours a week reduced their cardiovascular hospitalization expenses by 69% and their mortality by 73%.
(2) the gate of brain health
Research from the University of Pittsburgh in the United States shows that one of the ways to prevent brain atrophy and Alzheimer’s is to ensure that you walk no less than 9.6 kilometers every week. Because walking can not only increase the brain volume, but also reduce the probability of memory problems by 50%.
(3) keep away from the gate of diabetes
Hong Zhaoguang said that in fact, it is not difficult to control diabetes. Research shows that if you persist in walking for 3 kilometers within 30 minutes every day for 3 days a week, the incidence rate of diabetes can be reduced by 25%; Sticking to 4 days a week can reduce 33%; Five days a week can reduce 42%.
(4) the gate of bone health
Fu Qiang, a senior fitness coach, pointed out: “walking can make bones support body weight more reasonably, thus reducing the loss of minerals in bones, preventing and improving osteoporosis.”
In addition, according to the American journal Arthritis and rheumatology, compared with running, walking not only has less pressure on joints, but also can delay the decline of joint function.
5. The door to weight loss
Walking consumes 75 kilocalories every 30 minutes. Hong Zhaoguang said: “losing weight depends on long-term and regular exercise. The effect of an occasional vigorous exercise can only last for 48 hours. Moreover, excessive exercise can sometimes cause sudden death, which is very dangerous. Only walking is the most suitable.”
(6) the gate of longevity
Research shows that people who walk more than 30 minutes a day, no matter how high their body fat content, have a four times higher chance of living a long life than other people.
Eight common mistakes in walking
Walking is a seemingly simple action that everyone can do by lifting their legs, but few people really do it right. Dragging one’s feet, lowering one’s head, taking big steps, and writing eight characters inside and outside… Incorrect posture is not only “ugly”, but also easy to cause disease and even damage. Life times specially invited authoritative experts in sports medicine to correct eight common mistakes in walking.
error: bow your head and hold your chest.
This way is most likely to bring fatigue. Moreover, when the chest is contained, the stretching space of the lungs is “squeezed”, and the breathing will become short, which easily affects the cardiopulmonary function.
The correct method should be to raise your head and chest, keep your chin parallel to the ground, and “fold” your back slightly backward, which can prevent shoulder, neck and back pain. Keep your eyes on the place 3-6 meters in front of you, which can help you avoid obstacles effectively.
error: the second step is too big
When walking in this posture, the cushioning force of the soles of the feet becomes poor, which will aggravate joint injury for people with poor knee joints.
For daily walking, use your most comfortable stride; If you walk vigorously, the stride can be slightly larger, but it is better not to affect the landing of your feet.
error: three feet dragging the floor
This walking posture has poor cushioning, which is easy to cause strain of joints, muscles and arches. Gou Bo said that people with this walking posture should strengthen the exercise of the strength of the tibia, ankle and calf. The simplest way is to walk on tiptoe, toes and heels.
The tiptoe practice is to stand on the edge of the steps, with the heels hanging in the air. First press the heels down as much as possible, and then lift them up as much as possible. Do it 10-20 times; Toe exercise is to write 26 English letters on the ground with your toes; Walking with heels, as the name implies, is “walking with heels only”, with 20 steps at a time.
error 4: no arm swinging or excessive arm swinging range
If you don’t swing your arms when walking, your walking balance will be affected, and it is easy to “turn smoothly” and even fall down; If the swing arm amplitude is too large, on the one hand, the speed will be affected, on the other hand, the upper arm will be too tired and even strained.
The correct posture for swinging the arm is that the upper arm naturally droops and swings naturally on both sides of the body after walking. The swing range of the arm is preferably 30-45 degrees. When walking slowly, the swing range of the arm is small; If you are walking fast, you can make fists with both hands and bend your arms 90 degrees, just like running, to slightly increase the swing range.
errors: five internal and eight external characters
The cause of the eight characters on the outside is related to walking habits, that is, when moving, the center of gravity must be moved left and right, so the toes are used to turning outward to the left and right. This walking posture is neither comfortable nor elegant.
The correct way is to find a straight line (tile or cement joint) on the ground when walking. Align one foot first, align the toe and heel with the straight line, and keep the other foot parallel to it. Then walk in this direction, and you can correct the wrong posture slowly.
error 6: body tilt
Gou Bo said that when many people walk, their bodies are not upright, and they will skew to the front, back or left and right. This posture can easily cause back pain and affect the walking speed. To change the walking inertia of body tilting, strengthen the abdominal muscles through sit ups, which will help you stand straighter.
mistakes: seven wrong shoes
Shoes that are not suitable for walking have the following characteristics: 1. The sole is too thin, and it will hurt your feet when you walk; 2. The soles are too thick and heavy, and the legs feel particularly “heavy” when walking, or the sound is particularly loud when landing; 3. The upper is too high. Some people walk in outdoor sports shoes. Although it can provide sufficient protection for their feet, the high upper is not conducive to the flexible movement of their feet and ankles; 4. The sole is too hard to bend to adapt to the “rolling” of the sole when walking.
When choosing shoes, you should pay attention to the fact that the shoes are light, and the soles should bend more freely when you “break” them. There is a proper protruding lining tongue above the heel, which can protect the Achilles tendon. After a few steps, the sole has a slight elasticity but is not too soft and has a certain anti-skid property. In addition, if you walk for more than 30 minutes every day, your shoes should be slightly larger than your usual size.
error: eight shoes are over age for service
Shoes are also like cars. If you travel more than 800 kilometers, you need to replace them, otherwise the cushioning and protection will be reduced. Gou Bo said that the best inspection method is to look at the wear of the “pattern” on the sole of the shoe. If these anti-skid stripes are almost worn out, it proves that it is time to change a new pair of shoes.
how to walk correctly
What is the most correct way to walk? Cao Jianmin said that many people walk aimlessly, maybe looking around, thinking left and right, and not really focusing on walking. In fact, the effects of purposeful walking and aimless walking are very different. If you want to walk healthily, you must focus all your attention on walking and always pay attention to your walking posture, arm swinging and breathing. Only in this way can you not only appear energetic but also exercise your body.
five steps of perfect walking posture
The American magazine prevention suggests that when walking, put your mind on your feet and feel your heels to toes step on the ground one by one, which can divert your attention and relax your spirit. Life times synthesized the introduction of the “ehow” website in the United States and gave “five steps of perfect walking posture”.
The first step is to stand upright, feel your body growing higher, your head facing the sky, and your feet firmly rooted on the ground. You can also imagine yourself like a doll, with a rope connecting your hair and pulling you up. In this way, the cervical spine can reasonably support the weight of the head, relieve the pressure of the neck muscles, and make the neck lines more smooth and beautiful.
The second step is to stand upright, pull in your abdomen and hips, lift your shoulders, and then slowly relax to the same level. When you look from the side, your ears, shoulders, hips and knees should be in line.
Step 3: lift your chin, look straight ahead, and make sure your neck is “straight”. In the process of walking, the neck should follow the body to move forward naturally, instead of swinging back and forth, especially not “sticking your head”.
Step 4: gently lift your legs to step out of your feet, then “roll” down from heel to toe, and then lift the other foot.
Step 5: if you are walking on a flat road, you should pay attention to contracting your lower abdomen. When you walk, your hips should properly twist forward, so that your abdominal muscles can bear more strength; If you want to lose weight, you’d better take more slopes.
it’s better to have trees where you walk.
Ma Changsheng, director of the Cardiology Center of Beijing Anzhen Hospital, told the reporter that his favorite place to walk was the park. He really didn’t have time to go. He also had to find a place with trees or green belts on both sides of the road. Senior personal trainer fan Fangjie believes that although walking is an aerobic exercise with low exercise volume, it is best to choose a place with fresh air and the farther away from the road the better.
walk fast for at least 40 minutes every day
Associate professor of the school of education of Beijing Sport University believes that walking is certainly a good way to keep fit, but walking is divided into walking and fast walking. Walking can not achieve fitness effect, and only fast walking can exercise to a certain extent.
Gou Bo, associate professor of sports medicine teaching and Research Office of Xi’an Institute of physical education, believes that in order to ensure the effect of exercise, fast walking should be at least 40 to 60 minutes each time. Many countries put forward the slogan of “6000 steps” or “10000 steps” every day, which is actually a quantitative treatment of exercise time. According to the frequency of walking about two steps per second, “6000 steps” is about 40 minutes fast, while “10000 steps” takes more than an hour.
People who have just started exercising can gradually increase the length of time, starting from walking fast for half an hour. When walking fast, the heart rate should be maintained at 120 ~ 140 times per minute.
it is better to sweat slightly after walking.
Cao Jianmin said: “walking does not pursue the effect of sweating. It is better to sweat a little after exercise.” Hong Zhaoguang pointed out that if you want to see whether the intensity of walking is enough, you can measure your heart rate yourself. Generally speaking, heart rate + age = 170 after walking is more appropriate.
For office workers who don’t have enough time and often sit in the office, fan Fangjie gave a “walking exercise method in the office”: practice walking with full feet. The so-called “full feet” means that the toes are stretched forward, so that the whole soles of the feet fall to the ground. In addition, the strength of the lower abdomen makes people naturally straighten their chests, and the whole person will become light. Put your weight on your lower legs, and practice walking with your feet full and along a straight line, so that you can walk calmly and not frivolously.
Finally, fan Fangjie reminded me that it is best to do some warm-up activities before walking. Many people often have a large appetite after walking. At this time, don’t indulge yourself in eating and drinking. Eat some low-fat food or fresh fruit. Drinking more water can also alleviate hunger.
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