Walking and Health

What exactly is the swine flu?  What are the signs and symptoms of the Swine flu?Will I get it by eating pork?  Do I have to touch a pig to get it?  Is it like a normal flu?  The swine flu is similar to a regular flu.  You may experience a sore throat, coughing, a headache, fever and chills, body aches, and fatigue.   You may also have diarrhea and vomiting.  Check with your doctor to see what strain you have and if you may have the swine flu, a lab test can determine the differences.  Get yourself checked out if you think you have the flu, only your doctor can diagnose the swine flu via lab tests.

How do you contract the swine flu?  You can not get it from eating pork.  Humans may get it by coming in contact with an infected pig, though.  Also, infected humans may spread it to other humans in ways similar to the common flu via sneezing, coughing, or touching something which has the viruses on it.  It is not clearly known how quickly the swine flu can spread through humans. 

Those who become infected with the swine flu may be contagious as early as a day before they have any symptoms and may may continue to be contagious up to seven days after signs of symptoms are present.  It may last even several days longer in children.  Always wash your hands and wear a face mask if you are in malls or areas where there are known cases of the swine flu.  As in most flu epidemics,  try to avoid individuals with swine flu symptoms and continue to get plenty of sleep, eat a nutritious diet and exercise.  Wash your hands as often as you can with soap and water or hand sanitizer.  Cover your mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze to prevent the spread of any illness.  

Try to avoid traveling to Mexico where there are known cases.  Also, avoid travel to certain parts of the United States where cases are surfacing.  If you have a low immune system due to another illness or a recent transplant,  avoid these areas until things settle down.   You’re best bet, no matter what kind of health you are in, is to try to avoid sick people.

Which is better?  Walking indoors on a treadmill or walking outdoors in a park or on a trail? Studies conclude that there is not a significant amount of difference between the two to weigh one over the other.  The most important thing you can do for yourself is to walk.   Walking and health go together like peas and carrots, as Forest Gump would say.  Forest Gump walked and walked and walked at one point in the movie until he just didn’t feel like it anymore.  You don’t have to go that overboard, just try to incorporate more walking into your every day tasks.  When put together, walking and health go hand-in-hand especially when the walking is consistent. 

Does it matter if you walk indoors or outdoors?  Not really.  There have been studies done in the past and recently in 2009 that weigh in on which is better - a walk outdoors or a walk on an indoor treadmill.  In the long run, the main point is to remain consistent with your routine.  When you walk on the treadmill, your body is stable and the movement is taking place underneath your feet.  You are not propelling yourself forward as you do when you go for a walk outdors.  When you walk indoors it may seem easier because you are in a climate controlled environment.  If you walk outdoors on the other hand, you could have wind resistance.  The weather outdoors is also a variable.  If the weather is warm outside while you are walking, your body will burn more calories as it tries to cool down and you may feel tired faster as the temperature may mentally and physically make you feel more tired if the sun is beating down on you.

If you always walk indoors and on a treadmill your body may adapt and condition itself to the pace and time that you normally set for yourself.  Change things up a bit and increase the length or resistance if you feel like your body is no longer being challenged.  If you watch TV or listen to music, you may find it easier to walk indoors because your mind and body are keeping pace and are distracted from the physical exertion of your body.  When you walk outdoors you may slow up a bit to cross the street or speed up if you feel like changing the pace a bit.  If you go up a hill, you will exert more energy and so forth.  You can replicate all these outdoor conditions on your treadmill. 

Research shows there are mixed results when you compare walking on a treadmill to walking outdoors.  Change things up a bit and do a little of both.  The key to any walking routine is to remain consistant.  Get back to the basics of walking.  Your overall health will improve.   Walk for fun, walk in the evenings with a spouse or friend, walk the kids to the park, walk in the mall while window shopping, walk to work or to the bus (help the environment).   Walk on your lunch break and form a walking group.  Get back to the basics of walking and put walking in your everyday routine.  The overall benefits of walking to your health is so important.  If may take a few weeks, but you’ll start to feel and see the improvements over time. 

As a Christian and a Catholic, I try to walk in faith with the Lord each and every day of my life.  Sometimes it’s hard.  I find myself not walking on the straight and narrow path.  I’m far from perfect, and I make mistakes daily, but the older I get and the more I make an effort to talk with God, the more I feel like I am growing spiritually.  The Easter Celebration is a time to celebrate the joy that Jesus has risen from the dead.

As I write this on Good Friday, one of the most holiest and dramatic days in the Christian and Catholic Lenten season, I am reminded of the The Passion of the Christ , the movie that came out a few years ago, directed by Mel Gibson.  I saw it in the movies in Dolby stereo.  It was powerful.  I saw it with my husband and my mother and father.  I tried to imagine what it would be like, to be Jesus and to suffer all that pain and I had to keep reminding myself that it was just a movie.  I didn’t want to get caught up in it and have others see me cry.  I have a weakness is this area and I have a hard time showing affection sometimes.  As we were leaving the movie theatre, we were the last four to leave because we just sat there and took it all in.  I remember my parents were walking behind us and as we were making our way out of the theatre my mom stopped and leaned up against the wall and cried.  She cried that evening in the theatre for the suffering that Jesus endured.  She cried for the hope that we all have knowing that we are forgiven.  She cried for all the times she sinned. She cried because by her sins, she helped nail Jesus to the cross.  She cried because, as he hung on the cross, he looked up and said, “Father, forgive them.”  She cried for me, because I wanted to cry, but I just held back.  She cried and I wished I could have cried.  I will always remember that moment. 

Good Friday is an annual event that always inspires me to continue to walk in faith with the Lord.  It is a solemn day because this is the day that Jesus dies on the cross.  When I attend the Good Friday service at my church, every year the choir sings a somber church song that brings me to tears every time.  I quietly wipe my eyes.  My heart is filled with sorrow and joy.  I know He died on the cross on Good Friday, but I look forward to the Easter celebration, when we see that He is risen!

Here are a few of the lyrics to the song: Were You There When They Crucified Our Lord?

Were you there when they crucified my Lord?   Were you there when they crucified my Lord? Ohh….tremble, tremble, tremble, were you there when they crucified our Lord?

 Were you there when they crowned our King with thorns?  Were you there when they crowned our King with thorns? Ohh….tremble, tremble, tremble, were you there when they crucified our Lord?

Were you there when they nailed him to the tree?  Were you there when they nailed him to the tree? Ohh….tremble, tremble, tremble, were you there when they crucified our Lord?

Were you there when they crucified our Lord?   Were you there when they crucified our Lord? Ohh…tremble, tremble, tremble,  were you there when they crucified our Lord?

 Have a wonderful Easter Season.  Let me know if you saw the The Passion of the Christ  and how you felt after you saw it.

Getting bored with the same old walking routine? Pole walking is the latest craze from Europe that is sweeping the US.  I saw pole walkers the other day in my neighborhood.  So I did a little research.  I thought maybe they were training for the skiing season.  However, upon doing a little research I found out the real reason they are using two poles while walking. 

Using the two poles while doing normal walking increases the amount of calories burned by 46%.  With pole walking, 90% of your body muscles are being used.  Wow! Compare that to 35% for bicycling and treadmill and 65% for jogging. The more muscles used in a workout-the more calories are burned.  That’s simple, yet powerful.  Imagine that, by adding two poles to your regular workout, you get an overall complete body fitness workout and increase the amount of calories burned.  Can you say, “I can do this!”

Do you have aches and pains in your neck caused by work overload, financial woes because of the bad economy, or just too many things to do in a day?  Pole walking uses the upper body during walking and helps to strengthen and relax neck, shoulders and back muscles.  It also helps to relieve stress in general.  If you’re like most people and keep all your stress in your neck and shoulders, pole walking can help eliminate these problems.

Pole walking also helps your posture.  By keeping your body upright and in a positive, natural movement, you build up the upper body, where more than 50% of your muscles are located.  The strengthening and usage of the muscles in your upper body helps in better overall posture.

Internally, there are even more benefits to pole walking than just regular walking.  When utilizing the poles, you strengthen your heart.  Adding poles to your normal walk increases your cardiovascular workout by 20%.  This in turn helps to lower lower cholesterol, blood pressure and blood sugar levels.  This is beneficial to those with diabetes. 

Try walking with two poles the next time you go for your morning or evening walk.  You’ll immediately feel the extra exertion by your upper body.  Relax and take it slow and soon you’ll wonder how you did without them.  Pole walking takes practice and there are several websites currently available to help with the purchase of poles and guidance in proper technique. Pole Walking Instructions Another website: Pole Walking One more: Pole Walking I’m going to look more into this and update this posting as I learn more about the fitness fun and relaxation benefits to pole walking.

Interested in purchasing your own poles. KEYTZ Nordic Walking Fitness Poles - Lightweight Carbon/Aluminum Shafts (Black, White, or Pink) - Pair

 Read more about Pole Walking: The Ultimate Nordic Pole Walking Book