Walking is perhaps the best exercise in the world. Humans are designed to walk. Studies show that walking improves overall health and vitality. Furthermore, it has been shown to help prevent serious conditions like cancer and heart disease.

Our most ancient ancestors were nomads who walked all the time. They followed the migrating herds and moved away from threatening conditions. Since the most ancient times, the human body has evolved to walk.

Walking moves and exercises almost every muscle in the body, it improves cardiovascular fitness, increases lung capacity and has been shown to improve almost every organ and glandular function. Most importantly for your back, regular walking helps strengthen the core abdominal muscles that give support to the lower back.

Before starting a walking routine, it is important to assess what your current level of fitness is. First, see your doctor and get her okay.

Next, find a track at a local high school or wherever you can find a measured distance you can use again later. You are going to use this track as a measure, a test of how far you can walk in a given time.

Start with a few warmup stretches and then go for a thirty minute walk around the track. Less time is okay, but thirty minutes is ideal. Walk at a completely comfortable pace, one that you can maintain for the time you have allowed. And, be sure to start extra slow to give your muscles a few minutes to completely warm up.

Count how many times you go around the track in the amount of time you set. This establishes what you are able to do now, a real demonstration of your starting fitness level. Best of all, you will be impressed and inspired when you retest and see your progress. Wait at least a month before retesting. It is very encouraging to see real progress.

To get a good routine going, it is best to start with something you will do and keep at for at least three weeks steadily before increasing or changing. After three weeks your walking schedule becomes a habit.

How much to start with is a personal matter. The ideal to shoot for, which may be in the future for many, is an hour a day five or six days a week. I realize this may not be attainable for some, work with your doctor on any limitations you may have. But for most, this is a very attainable goal.

Starting depends in part on your current level of fitness, and how much you will realistically do. A good start for the average person would be somewhere around twenty to thirty minutes three or four days a week.

Once a week is too little for any real benefit. However, for some, three weeks of walking once a week is a good start, a motivator.

Three weeks is how long it takes to for a new activity to become a routine. It is okay to walk more than you commit yourself to, just avoid making it something you have to do. Let your habit develop. After three weeks you can set a new minimum for yourself based on how things went the previous three weeks.

Gradually you can add in a little time of walking harder. In general walk so that your breathing isn’t labored at all. On occasion, increase your pace, or walk up a hill. Work so you are breathing harder, but not real intense. The idea is to increase lung capacity, so let your breath be deep. Keep at this pace for only a few minutes, maybe two to five. Then, walk gently again until your breath is fully recovered for a two to five minutes and repeat.

Walking is one of the best exercises available because our bodies were made for it. The only real cost is if you want to drive somewhere beautiful to walk. It moves almost all the muscles in the body, and has been shown to have many diverse health benefits. And, it is a most pleasant activity. Make it even more fun, grab a friend and head for the trails!

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