fitness
This is what happens in your body when you go for a walk every day
© Drobot Dean / Adobe Stock
It doesn’t always have to be going to the gym: how we can do a lot for our health with daily walks.
Did you know that, statistically speaking, people with dogs tend to healthier are? The reason for this is as simple as it is effective: You may/can/must go for a walk in wind and weather – every day. Walking certainly had its peak in 2020 at the beginning of the Corona pandemic, when we were all more or less forced to meet in parks, by lakes, rivers and elsewhere because everything else was closed.
But even the higher bourgeoisie and the nobility knew about the advantages of going for a walk, at that time still called “walking around”: Walking around without a big goal still does a lot for our health today – and on more than one level. We have three good reasons why you should definitely integrate walking into your everyday life – and we will also tell you how you can do this more easily.
Depressive moods can be relieved by taking a daily walk
It is a widespread – and not entirely correct – opinion that physical activity is good for everyone. Sports psychologist Ralf Brand explains this error in an interview with “Der Standard”: It was created through studies that confirmed this opinion, but the participants were all athletic anyway. “Well-being increases most in people who are already used to being physically active,” says the psychologist. But this is not the same for everyone.
Sport can increase well-being if you do it right “and have learned that it works,” Brand continues. “It works for almost everyone in the low-intensity range. Walks have the greatest immediate effect on depressive moods,” explains the psychologist. It must also be said clearly at this point that a walk cannot alleviate depression. In the context of a treatment describes the German Depression Aid above all pharmacotherapy (i.e. drug treatment) with antidepressants and psychotherapy as the most important treatment pillars.
Walking strengthens muscles and joints
Sure: We feel a workout that pushes us to our physical limits at the moment and especially the next day (and the day after that) due to the sore muscles. But even physical activity that we don’t necessarily feel directly has a positive effect, because of course our leg muscles – and especially the quadriceps, hamstrings and glutes – are also used when walking. So if you go for a walk regularly, you build up these important muscles almost on the side, which can lead to a domino effect: the fitter we get, the more strength our legs have, the easier it is generally for us to move – and that leads almost automatically to get more physical activity throughout the day.
And walking in the fresh air has another advantage: Because it is a very gentle form of locomotion, it is suitable for all ages. In contrast to some sports, for example, which are anything but easy on the joints, muscles and joints are also used when walking – but much more gently. Walking every day prevents movement pain in old age.
The risk of heart problems is lowered and it helps with weight loss
A daily walk, according to one study the American Heart Association reduce the risk of heart disease or heart attack. Another study came to the conclusion that losing weight by walking in the fresh air is also possible: After twelve weeks of daily brisk walking, the overweight women studied were able to lose almost a kilogram just by doing this.
And how do we manage to bring routine into the walk?
Highly motivated, we might now be thinking: “30 minutes a day in the fresh air? A no brainer for me!” However, many will quickly find that this supposedly short time is more difficult to integrate into the rhythmic and stressful everyday life than one might expect.
So a little all-clear at this point: The 30 minutes don’t necessarily have to be “run” in one go, maybe three 10-minute courses can be more easily integrated into everyday life? If possible, make sure that you do not combine your walks with work (so please no “meetings in the fresh air”) – walking should also be about taking a short break from the stressful everyday life and not just going for a walk with it to go out into the fresh air. For example, an app that counts your steps can provide an incentive – maybe a continuous increase in your steps will motivate you?
No matter how you approach it: It pays to make walking (or any other type of exercise) a regular part of your daily routine. Not only your body, but also your psyche will thank you.
Sources used: fitforfun.de, deutsche-depressionshilfe.de, heart.org, ncbi.nlm.nih.gov