The importance of walking can not be overstated. Walking for 30 mins every other day will dramatically improve your life if you are sedentary. If you can't do 30 minutes, start with 15.
My body has been completely transformed from 15 years of running. I'm 5'7" and 135 pounds at age 41. My face looks thin, I have a better body than most 20 year olds. I gave myself the best gift that I could possibly give myself.
If they could distill 15 years of running (5x per week) and put it in pill form, I truly believe it would be the most valuable thing medicine has ever created.
All it takes is 45 minutes per day for 5 days per week. And you can actually have fun while doing it! It takes a long time to get to that point but it's so worth it.
And if you can't spare 45 minutes 5 days per week, do it 3 days a week instead. Something is better than nothing.
https://www.nhs.uk/better-health/get-active/get-running-with...
I'd actually recommend an incline treadmill. Roughly 10% grade 3mph will give you the same caloric burn as a run but will be significantly easier to perform and save your knees from the wear and tear of running.
Of course, every person is different. Anecdotally, my knees and hips are so much stronger now than they were 15 years ago after running over 20k miles.
I'd argue that if someone wants to go beyond walking into running or even jogging, they ought to get their strength up so they don't have blood sugar crashes or cramps. It's never a bad idea to gain some muscle.
Same with eating deep fried food. Especially if it's a food that's otherwise quite healthy. A bit of hot oil isn't going to be your undoing. Just don't make these things a habit. Enjoy a bit of indulgence, but be honest with yourself: is this once per month thing becoming a once per week thing, or a once every few days thing? Daily? Don't do that. Recognize vice. But don't be so strict that you never allow anything remotely unhealthy. Humans aren't great at abstinence.
Having said that, there's a reason I don't drink more often and it's because it really is terrible for you. I agree, haha. Just, don't pretend you'll never do bad things ever again. Unless you have far more willpower than I do — that's entirely possible.
But if you're doing it primarily for health, there's one other thing I'd suggest.
High rep bodyweight squats and lunges.
If you build up to it very gradually there's no risk of hurting your knees. It's the best example of "motion is lotion". After a few months of daily squats, climbing stairs will feel effortless. I'm 40 and I can tell you you'll notice the difference.
A 100 squats at relaxed pace takes about 5 minutes for me. 10 mins for 150. 100 walking lunges in 10 mins. There's no hurry/competition. You can take your time to catch your breath. I've done 250 or so in 30 mins once every 2 or 3 weeks. But I feel that's not conducive to daily work. I get tired.
Once you get acquainted to this to the point where a 100 reps of squats/lunges don't make you sore the next day, or hurt the joints, then the heart rate you achieve from this will be similar to a relaxed zone 2 run.
And the health benefits are similar to walking. improved blood sugar and blood pressure.
My goal is to be able to do this for 20 to 30 mins twice or thrice a week. That might be some 300 to 400 squats.
I've been doing his way of training for a few years now, and I love it because this is what has be train consistently. not going to gym or tracks, or playing sports.
I like this, and recommend this over walking to anyone who can't seem to get the time to walk because it takes less time to get similar health benefit, doesn't need space/dressing-up/socialising/commute.
If you want info on this, kboges on youtube is the man. here are his amazing squat/legs related videos:
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=guG1LT7ejDU - he does 525 reps in one set. says it took him 20 mins
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zWXToSCaq-Q - he does 100 constant tension squats in 2 mins
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0euDDJu6GnQ - deep knee bends, aka hindu squats
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TqNP_PiEalg - his take on squats busting your knees
ofc, not a doctor, dyor, listen for sharp pains etc and progress very slowly if you don't want to get hurt! you have your whole life to improve, so there's no hurry.
That obviously doesn't mean walking is bad, I just mean to point out that even those people who believe in it as a silver bullet, can be hit with something totally out of left field.
Life is really quite brutish and short. You can do all the right things, and die early. All the wrong things, and live a long time. Take care of yourself for sure, but also find a balance and enjoy your life.
If I get taken out, I want it to be while I'm saving kids from an angry bear, not something stupid like ^
Wow! That's some luck!
Movie night suggestion: Final Destination 1 and 2
It's an odds game. I don't encourage people to start going into the long tail of diminishing returns to improve their longevity at the expense of everything else, but low hanging fruit like going for a walk every day has a very high ROI in later life quality of life.
GP: Go walking.
You: Instead, find a balance and enjoy life.
Walking is very enjoyable. Try it! Bonus, you'll come up with some of your best ideas!