Tag: steps

Walking Fun Fact

Being short doesn’t have to slow you down: At the 2008 Olympics, 5’2.5″ Olga Kaniskina of Russia beat out Norway’s 5’8″ Kjersti Plätzer for the gold in the women’s 20k race walk.*

I am not the shortest person; but, I am definitely not the tallest person, either. Therefore, I speak from a lifetime of experience of walking with people up to a foot taller than me, or more, along with people who can be a foot or two shorter than me, or more. Or should I say, children? We know how fast children like to walk… or … run. 🙂

Be careful when placing your bets; because, height does not always determine the faster walker. Yes, stride length plays a huge part; but, so does flexibility, strength and cardiovascular capacity.

So, take care of your body and you just may show up your favorite athlete at a race or your favorite cousin at the next family picnic.

Best of health to you and goodbye.

*American Council on Exercise

Photo by Puk Patrick on Unsplash

National Walking Day

The first Wednesday of April is National Walking Day.*

So, how much walking did you do last Wednesday, 3 April 2019?

All is good. You always have time to do your stepping. National Walking Day is your reminder to keep moving.

Not motivated to walk? Injured? Raining? Cold? Snowing? Sleeting? Yes, it is still cold in my neck of the woods, which is great for the pea seeds in the garden. There is always a bright side.

How do I handle the cold rain, you ask? I will turn the radio on and do some dancing like no one is watching; that is, I will stay indoors to do my “dancing”… or jumping, bouncing, however the music motivates me.

Then I will take my best puppy out for a walk and watch her run circles around me. All the while, adding to my steps count as I also check on the pea bed.

The calendar shows that spring is here to add more light and sunshine to your day even though it may not feel like spring, yet. What will you do with your longer daylight hours?

Best of health to you and goodbye.

*source: American Council on Exercise

image by Natalie ~ Personal Trainer ~ NAPS 2 B Fit

Walking Fun Fact

You use an estimated 200 muscles during walking.*

This is a good reason I love walking.

There are about 640 muscles in the human body or 320 pairs of muscles.

Therefore, doing something like walking, which most of you enjoy, incorporates a good percentage of your body’s named skeletal muscles.

For a total body workout, add some more moves approved by your personal trainer and you have done your workout.

Best of health to you and goodbye.

(photo credit: unsplash)

*source: American Council on Exercise

Walking Fun Fact

The average walking speed for the typical adult is approximately 3 mph.*

Have you noticed if you usually walk faster or slower than three miles per hour? You may want to figure out your personal average walking speed for your baseline measurement.

You can use this information to help schedule your day, time your workouts and fit activity into the time slot you have left. Walking speed is also good to know when you have appointments that must be met.

Best of health to you and goodbye.

*source: American Council on Exercise

image: Unsplash

ACE Walking Fun Fact

The longest uninterrupted walk was 19,019 miles from the southern tip of South America to the northern most part of Alaska and took 2,425 days.*

Oh boy, I guess I will see you in about six and a half years for Thanksgiving. Actually, that time frame would get me to you by Mother’s Day or Father’s Day.

How many pairs of shoes would that take? This walk is well above the recommended ten thousand steps per day.

I wonder who did that walk and what their motivation was for such a trek.

Best of health to you and goodbye.

*source: American Council on Exercise

(photo by Natalie ~ Personal Trainer ~ NAPS 2 B Fit)

ACE Walking Fun Fact

Australians walk the most, taking an average of 9,695 steps each day. Americans stroll the least (5,117 steps each day) of all the industrial countries surveyed.*

fullsizeoutput_1b

Let’s get stepping. Maybe Americans put down their step tracking device. I know I do.

*source: American Council on Exercise

(image: Unsplash)

ACE Walking Fun Fact

Walking just 21 minutes a day can cut your risk of heart disease by 30 percent.*

fullsizeoutput_1f96

That is great news. We all have 21 minutes to spare in the span of a 24 hour day or 1440 minute day. This gives you 68 chances each day, by probability, to take your walk.

Getting up and out for your walk is something people did on a regular basis years ago; that is what kept them regular, if you understand my thought process. Before the influx of technology and social media, it was routine for people to go for a walk after every meal. See that? Even if you only eat twice a day, that gives you two walks per day. Three meals and you have all your steps in for the day.

Please keep in mind, that a post meal walk would last ten minutes. Yes, people actually walked after every meal; because, they knew it kept their metabolism working smoothly. Even the days of travel by horse, it was suggested to walk whenever possible instead of riding.

Hmmm, maybe that is why I prefer walking the horse to riding the horse. My subconscious health and wellness coaching mind is continuously at work. I see the love in the horses’ eyes, knowing that we are all happy with each others’ company, rein and saddle free.

Now, if only I could ship all this extra rain to drought areas.

Best of health to you and goodbye.

*source: American Council on Exercise.

(image by Natalie aka NAPS 2 B Fit)

 

 

ACE Walking Fun Fact

Interval walkers lost six times more weight than walkers who maintained a steady pace, according to a Danish study.

IMG_1650.jpg naps rose of sharon Aug 2018

Therefore, enjoy an interruption or two; because, that will automatically incorporate interval walking. This is the fact I keep in mind while stopping or slowing down to watch the fawns, smell the roses, let the dogs do their duty, catch up with a friendly neighbor or…uh oh… run from the bees, oh boy!

HIIT stands for High Intensity Interval Training which is a popular interval workout and safe when done properly.

Best of health to you and goodbye.

(image by Natalie aka NAPS 2 B Fit)

 

 

Safety Tip

Ear bud in only one ear, please.

0613182209.jpg cell phone with ear buds 2018 NAPS

Please be safe and careful when you are using your devices. Always be aware of your surroundings by keeping both eyes open and at least one ear on. That means you should only use one ear piece so you can hear what is going on around you. Thank you. I feel better knowing that you are safe.

Best of health to you and good-bye for now.

(image by Natalie aka NAPS 2 B Fit)