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FITNESS MATTERS

Photo: K. Ramesh Babu

Starting the day well: A brisk walk tones the body and mind for the stresses of the day ahead.

Hippocrates

Fredrich Nietzsche

Performed properly, the act of walking keeps the centre of gravity balanced between the two legs and stable enough to prevent falls or produce strain on the spine and joints. When one is extremely over-weight or has poor muscle strength and balance, however, the very act of walking can be an exercise of tremendous complexity. The solution is to lose weight (ironically by walking!), strengthen the muscles (particularly of the legs) and improve balance.

Walking nevertheless is still the safest form of exercise. It is “low impact”, with one foot on the ground at all times during the progression of the walk. Running, on the other hand, is a “high impact” activity that puts a fair amount of strain on the ankles and knees (two-and-a-half times your own body weight to be precise).

When beginning an exercise programme, therefore, one is advised to start with a low impact activity until such time your muscles can withstand the assault of the body pounding on the surface while running or participating in high impact aerobics.

Walking is also easily accessible. All you need is a good pair of shoes and a walking track/ treadmill.

To stay “healthy”, a human organism is required to cover at least 10,000 steps a day. On an average, at this point in time, it has been found that we tend to take not more than 3,000-4,000 steps a day! To set goals and motivate yourself, buy a pedometer and strap it on all day till you cover 10,000 steps. You will then find that you invent ways to walk more; walk the stairs, take a short walk after your meal instead of collapsing in front of the TV, walk around while you talk on your mobile/cordless phone, or walk down the road to the grocery store.

In order to be able to achieve this, one needs to increase intensity of exercise.

How does one measure intensity of exercise? On a scale of 1-10, 1 is total inactivity (lounging in front of the TV) and 9 & 10 are “All out activity” (sprinting, speed walking uphill, high intensity aerobics). When you are breathing hard, but not to the extent that you are barely alive, you would be working at an intensity of about 70 per cent.

How do you increase intensity? During a walk it can be done in several ways — by increasing speed or incline and by moving the arms vigorously.

Walk with a heel-toe action. Posture is enormously important even while speed walking. Keep the head up, shoulders back, stomach tight; tilting the pelvis slightly forward, swing the legs from the hip joint in a double pendulum motion; don’t lock the knees, and swing the arms keeping them bent at 90 degrees, to improve speed and momentum. Do not over stride. Take shorter, faster steps instead. Push off with the back leg instead of trying to reach further with the front leg, this improves power and pace. When walking on the treadmill, try not to hold onto the side bars. Twenty per cent of your effort is lost if you hang onto the bars trying to walk faster! Initially it takes some effort to get used to walking on a moving conveyor belt. With time however, your body acclimatises and you will soon find yourself in the “flow” so to speak while enjoying a walk.

Walking on a treadmill gives one the opportunity to assess the exact number of calories burnt, increase the incline and speed to increase intensity at will, provide a safe surface to walk on without the possibility of spraining your ankle in potholes, and dodging traffic spewing noxious fumes.

Wear appropriate clothing. Tracks/tights, T-shirt, sweat shirt, jacket (rain jacket, scarf if required), appropriate shoes that provide adequate support and sports socks (not the regular nylons), and a sports bra for women. Avoid pure cottons as they tend to chaff the skin; a mix of cotton and lycra is best, this allows for expandability for freedom of movement and also absorbs sweat. All the athletic brands now stock excellent walking shoes and apparel. Invest in good quality and attractive attire for your walking enterprise, it makes it that much more appealing. Take time to choose your walking shoes. They are best bought mid afternoon/evening when feet tend to swell slightly.

Have a medical clearance if you are older than 40 years and have never exercised before, or if you have any other medical issues.

Try not to take the same route every day if you are road walking and change the program on your treadmill if that is your mode of exercise. Your body gets easily acclimatised and you need to keep challenging it ever so often.

Keep a walking journal that records distance covered, calories burnt, time taken and how you felt before and after your walk. It will be interesting to document your emotions particularly as you will soon find that your walk is your “daily fix” and you start feeling incredibly better after your exercise.

So lace up your shoes and start walking.

Follow the talk test: At the beginner's level, with an intensity of50 per cent, you can have a comfortable conversation with your walking partner.

At the intermediate level, with an intensity of 60 to 70 per cent, you would be able to say a sentence or two.

At the advanced level, keep the baseline intensity at 60 per cent and work yourself up periodically to 80 per cent where one is barely able to say a word or two at regular intervals.

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