fitness
This is what happens in your body when you go for a daily walk
© Drobot Dean / Adobe Stock
It doesn’t always have to be a trip to the gym: we can do a lot for our health just by taking a daily walk.
Did you know that statistically speaking, people with dogs tend to healthier? The reason for this is as simple as it is effective: You are allowed/able/required to go for walks whatever the weather – every day. Walking certainly reached its peak in 2020 at the beginning of the Corona pandemic, when we were all more or less forced to meet in parks, at lakes, rivers and elsewhere outdoors because everything else was closed.
But even the upper middle classes and the nobility knew about the benefits of walking, which was then still called “pleasure strolling”: Wandering around without a particular goal is still good 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’ll also tell you how to make it easier.
Depressive moods can be alleviated by a daily walk
It is a widespread – and not entirely correct – opinion that physical exercise is equally good for everyone. Sports psychologist Ralf Brand explains this misconception in an interview with “Der Standard”: It was created by 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 case for everyone.
Sport can improve well-being if you do it correctly “and have learned that it works,” Brand continues. “For almost everyone, it works at a low intensity. Walking has the greatest immediate effect on depressive moods,” explains the psychologist. It must be clearly stated at this point that a walk cannot relieve depression. In the context of treatment, the German Depression Help Pharmacotherapy (i.e. drug treatment) with antidepressants and psychotherapy are the most important pillars of treatment.
Walking strengthens muscles and joints
Sure: A workout that pushes us to our physical limits is something we feel in the moment and especially the next day (and the day after that) through sore muscles. But even physical activity that we don’t necessarily feel directly has a positive effect, because our leg muscles – and especially the quadriceps, hamstrings and gluteal muscles – are naturally also used when we walk. So if you go for a walk regularly, you are building up these important muscles almost incidentally, which can lead to a domino effect: the fitter we become, the stronger our legs are, the easier it is for us to move in general – and that almost automatically leads to more physical activity throughout the day.
And walking in the fresh air has another advantage: Because it is a very gentle form of exercise, it is suitable for all ages. In contrast to some sports, for example, which are anything but gentle on the joints, walking does indeed put strain on muscles and joints – but it is much gentler. If you walk every day, you can prevent pain caused by movement in old age.
The risk of heart problems is reduced and it helps with weight loss
According to a 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 brisk daily walking, the overweight women studied were able to lose almost one kilogram.
And how do we manage to bring routine into the walk?
Highly motivated, we might now think: “30 minutes of fresh air every day? A piece of cake for me!” However, many will quickly realize that this seemingly short time is more difficult to integrate into their busy and stressful everyday lives than one might expect.
So a little reassurance at this point: The 30 minutes do not necessarily have to be “run” in one go, perhaps three 10-minute walks can be more easily integrated into everyday life? If possible, make sure that you don’t combine your walks with work (so please no “meeting in the fresh air”) – after all, the point of walking should be to take a short break from the stresses of everyday life and not to go out for a walk with it. An app that counts your steps can provide motivation, for example – perhaps a continuous increase in the number of steps will motivate you?
No matter how you approach the matter: It is worth making walking (or other types 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