Walking and Health

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. 

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

I took a much needed vacation and took the family to Lake Vail in Temecula, CA. It’s official title on the website is Vail Lake Village and RV Resort. I wanted to get out of town for a few days and I wanted to travel just out of reach of the city, so it seemed like we were making a significant change in scenery even though it was only a 50 mile drive from our house, keeping the gas expense to a minimum. Lake Vail is located about 100 miles from Los Angeles off of the 15 freeway on Route 79 South. The resort is ideal for RV camp goers as well as those who want to rough it and use a tent. The campsites are large enough for the RV and a tent. Most of the sites have a table and a fire ring. We barbecued every evening. We cooked chicken, had salmon one night, did the usual hot dogs and hamburgers and the ever-important S’mores after the sun set while sitting around the campfire.

We went out to the area of the campsite where the pools are located. It was hot in the sun, but the water in the pool was refreshing. The bathrooms and the whole pool area were very neat and clean. I would recommend this RV resort to those interested in having a relaxing time with the family. The resort also has a water slide. The water slide has an attendant and they watch the kids go down. The resort also has a small gathering area where on weekends they serve up Carne Asada dinners for $8.00 a plate and they have a band providing entertainment. It’s a great place to take the family after a fun day in the sun.

We went miniature golfing on their green set up with 18 holes. It was a great time for the kids. This was the first time my six year old had ever experienced miniature golf and she had fun trying to master her swing. At one point she whacked the ball into the next playing field and another point she was so close to the hole, but the ball barely budged because she was learning control and she didn’t want to hit it too hard. Back at camp, there was plenty of space for the kids to play catch with a football, throw a Frisbee around, and play catch with a softball. There were exerting energy, and they were staying active. They didn’t even miss the play-station or TV which were left behind at home on purpose.

All-in-all it was a fun time had by everyone. The kids stayed busy and the adults could relax without the annoying phone ringing or deadlines pending. I spoke with several different “neighbors” who were camping nearby and they said this resort was a great place to camp on the weekends. Most visitors arrive on Friday evening after work and leave on Sunday. Lake Vail Resort a great place to get away. The outdoors promotes physical activity for all ages and all levels. In the evening, we took a walk around the campsite and enjoyed seeing the sunset and the smell of camping. If you have ever been camping, you know the smell. It’s a mixture of trees, fresh air and the smell of firewood burning at a campsite. Gotta love it!

Here are some helpful sites to link to while setting up a camping trip for vacation. We stayed five days, but a weekend getaway can help relieve some of the day-to-day pressure that builds up at work. We got a campground finder book from the Auto Club, we made our RV Rental reservations through El Monte RV and we booked our Lake Vail Resort reservation by calling the number on their website. The “website available” camp sites seemed to be a little out of sync with the available sites when calling a live person. I would recommend a call to them to confirm available spots before booking. We preferred the shade in the Oaks area. Happy Camping.

• Lake Vail Village and RV Resort:

http://www.vaillakeresort.com/index.php?p=1_1_Home

• Automobile Club of Southern CA: Excellent resources for campgrounds by State

http://www.aaa.com/scripts/WebObjects.dll/ZipCode.woa/wa/route

• El Monte RV Rentals: Nationwide RV Rentals

http://www.elmonterv.com/

Featured Product of the Week:

Nextar X3i 3.5″ GPS System

This GPS System and other Camping Items can be found at:

Click below to go to Home page to Walking and Health:

http://walkingandhealth.com/

Walking is beneficial to anybody trying to stay in shape. Even if you have different medical conditions such as diabetes, arthritis, a back injury that flares up every now and then and knee or ankle injuries from the past that act up especially in cold weather. Always consult your doctor first, but most doctors will recommend some type of exercise program that includes walking. Walking is one of the least evasive forms of exercise. Your joints are not likely to get jolted like they are in running and jogging and the stress impact to your knees, ankles, and other joints are minimal so most people are not prone to injury with walking.

I found a great article that I would like to share with you that is found on Arthritis.org. Click here to read the article on Five Strategies for Walking Success. Enjoy the article it applies to all walkers whether you have arthritis or not. It’s main focus is on how to develop a routine and to keep walking day in and day out without losing focus and still stay motivated.

http://www.arthritis.org/five-strategies-for-walking-success.php

Click below to go to Home page to Walking and Health:

http://walkingandhealth.com/

I am training to walk in the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer coming up in Long Beach, CA in a few months. I walk throughout my neighborhood and at the local parks, but every now and then I want to try something different and new. I found a website that I would like to share with you. It is called USA Track and Field and you can check it out at http://www.usatf.org/routes/map/. This site allows you to plan out your own walking route and get exact distance totals anywhere in the US. You can use this tool if you are local and at home or take it with you if you are planning a vacation and want to continue your daily walking routine. You can basically stay in shape wherever you go.

I started at a point in my neighborhood where I knew I could park and go from there. I wanted to do a six mile walk. I located my state, my city, and the cross street by drilling down on the map of the United States. At the street level, I clicked section by section through the area until it added up to six miles. It even allows you to save the route. You can also choose another route in the area that someone else has already planned out.

I think this is a great tool for walkers and runners alike. The site even calculates the amount of water you will need on your walk or run. Like I’ve said before, you don’t have to be a marathon runner to get out there and do some great walking. The health benefits are wonderful and soon you’ll have more endurance, your clothes will feel better on you, and you’ll have a better outlook on life as you begin to get into shape-all just by walking.

Click below to go to Home page to Walking and Health:

http://walkingandhealth.com/