Healthy living is not only about what you eat, but also about how you treat your body. Treating your body right is all about the right combination of fitness and exercise. Frugal fitness describes those activities including exercise and sports, that are free or very inexpensive, yet effective and efficient at keeping you fit and healthy.
One such activity is walking. Almost all of us walk everyday to get from point A to point B. To be honest, I was never a fan of walking. But I know that it is very good for you and the benefits are definitely worth it.
In fact, the Mayo Clinic has an interesting article about walking. It says that the benefits of brisk walking include:
- Lowering your blood pressure
- Lowering the levels of bad cholesterol
- Raising the levels of good cholesterol
- Managing your weight
- Improving your mood
- Staying strong and fit
On evenings I usually take my dog for half an hour walks. The last couple of times that we went walking, I picked up the pace to a brisk walk and even did some jogging. The result of this was sore thigh muscles which proved that I’m very unfit and in dire need of more exercise.
If you’re already enjoying walking, keep it up. If you haven’t started yet, there are a few tips that the Mayo Clinic article noted. Some of these I never even thought about:
- Get the right gear – Wear comfortable shoes and clothing
- Use proper technique – Maintain a good posture when walking
- Warm up – Warm up your muscles by walking slowly for a few minutes
- Stretch – Stretch your muscles ( side stretches, leg stretches etc.)
- Cool down – After your walking session or at the end of the session, walk slowly and do some more stretches
My advice about walking and any other frugal fitness exercise, is to start slowly. Don’t try to do too much at one time. Pay attention to your body and monitor your heart rate.