The advice of the Monzino hospital expert on how to approach a simple, low-cost discipline that improves mood, ventilatory capacity, mobility and helps to stay fit. Pay attention to the position of the foot
Not a jog, not a jog in place, not even a jog or a walk: the fast walk
, or a brisk walk accompanied by the natural movement of the arms. It essentially has no contraindications and is suitable for practically everyone, even a heart patientsfor this reason on the world day dedicated to physical activity, March 6, brisk walking is a bit there queen of physical exercises because it doesn’t impact on joints and practicable everywhere without expenses, if not to buy a good pair of shoes.
Brisk walking is an extremely beneficial physical activity because it is carried out in aerobic conditions: in brisk walkingo you never go into oxygen debt and an essentially equilibrium activity between how much oxygen enters and how much is consumed with it ventilationso very safe emphasizes Gianluca Pontone at the head of the Department of Perioperative Cardiology and Cardiovascular Imaging and Co-director of the Sports Cardiology Unit of the Monzino Cardiology Hospital with Claudio Tondo, Director of the Department of Arrhythmology.
Improves the ventilatory capacity
The benefits of brisk walking have been scientifically proven for a long time: improves blood circulation and oxygenation of organs and tissues. Very often it enhances the ventilatory capacity: you learn to breathe better and more regularly during the effort. Progressively the resistance threshold will increase over time. And if after a continuous period of brisk walking you want to switch to joggingthanks to the greater ventilatory capacity acquired, one will not experience the typical breathlessness of those who start running because the breath has been progressively trained, underlines Pontone.
Improve mobility
Brisk walking also improves the mobilit and muscular endurance, gradually training the heart. For those with partial mobility due to arthrosis or other orthopedic problems, the same rule applies to those with heart problems: if you stay still, it will get worse. Physical activity, on the other hand, trains the cardiovascular and musculoskeletal systems, says the Monzino specialist. Brisk walking also preventsosteoporosis
because the impact on the ground stimulates bone metabolism.
Physical benefits
At the cardiovascular level, with brisk walking, the blood pressure eh blood fatsdal cholesterol to triglycerides; the heart rate decreases and overall there is an evident protective effect on the heart and vessels. The muscle areas most toned by walking are legs, buttocks and abs, but also the efficiency of the chest muscles is positively affected. Muscle work in the legs also counteracts the ivenous insufficiency
and prevents varicose veins, making it an excellent form of exercise for those most at risk, such as overweight and menopausal women; the movement, then, favors intestinal transit and is therefore an ally for those suffering from constipation
.
Mental benefits
To gain even the mind, especially if the walk takes place in the open air, in a park or in the mountains, especially in spring when the climate is pleasant, without being too cold or too hot. The mental benefits, with reduction of anxiety and stress are immediate and are mediated by the release of endorphins
, which have a documented antidepressant role explains Pontone. It takes some time to see the physical benefits (and why many give up on physical activity) while it is quicker to get into a recovery mechanism. psychological well-being which then leads to a high level of motivation which pushes to continue the activity. In short, walking is a kind of bath of positivity: afterwards you feel more serene, optimistic and even have greater self-confidence. It doesn’t just improve your mood: walking has a protective effect also on memory It is on cognitive impairment age-related: it is no coincidence that the dose of walking was directly related to the volume of cerebral gray matter, especially in areas such as the hippocampus, connected to memory and learning.
Helps you lose weight (with a balanced diet)
The yield of brisk walking in terms of very high caloric performance. From an energy point of view, a 30-minute walk is even more effective than running, underlines Pontone. The mechanism must be sought in the manner and proportionality with which calories are consumed within the body. When we carry out very intense activities such as the 100-metre sprint for example – explains the expert – we consume easily available energy supplies, i.e. sugar depositsimmediately available. When we go to make more aerobic and prolonged efforts over time we also affect the muscles energy reserves that derive from adipose tissue and for this reason that brisk walking has a greater yield than a short but intense effort. Provided that thephysical activity lasts for at least 20 minutes so as to go to affect the fat. Brisk walking associated with controlled and balanced nutrition is an excellent strategy for lose weight.
How to regulate your speed: foot is always in contact with the ground
What are the tempos of the brisk walk? Actually walking times would go personalized by age, gender, health condition of the patient and walking habits. A study by the University of Massachusetts, published in a special issue of the British Journal of Sports Medicine in 2018 concluded that by brisk walking we mean, on average, 100 steps per minute. But this is only a standardization. In truth, the individual subject knows which walk is relaxing for himself and must adapt a brisk walk. The important thing to check is that it must never be the detachment of the feet from the ground so you have to go as fast as possible while maintaining foot contact with the ground at all times otherwise it becomes one corsa, which is not suitable for everyone suggests Gianluca Pontone. The advantage of brisk walking is that there is no risk of overdoing it because the person is self-limiting: If the rule of do not take your feet off the groundtherefore not to make that activity become a race, and to proceed avoiding going into respiratory distress, a way to self-determination in one’s own functional capacity.
Where to walk and when
Better to walk in nature: woods, parks, country or mountain paths. Of course, brisk walking in the city is not recommended due to pollution. You can also work on the conveyor belt in the gym, particularly in the winter season, even if there is never the same yield as on the road because the friction forces are simulated and are not the ones we have in the real world: the resistance of the roller is not identical to that of the body on firm ground .
There really is no best time to walk,
better to do it when you feel energetically in the best conditions and this depends on the circadian rhythm of each one. In general, the morning brings more advantages – Pontone reflects – while for the evening there are advantages and disadvantages, and it is very subjective. Sport immediately reduces appetite and moving before dinner could reduce the evening caloric intake, which in dietary regimes is the one that weighs the most because the calories from dinner are the ones that are assimilated the most. On the other hand, sporting activity can increase the circulation ofadrenaline and can determine a bit of insomnia
.
How to start brisk walking
For those approaching brisk walking for the first time, it is advisable to ask yourself small goalsstarting in the first weeks with twenty minute sessions
2-3 times a week and then stretch to 30 minutes 3 times a week. Those who feel like it can continue to increase the times, even reaching 45-60 minutes three times a week, advises the expert. Walking makes you feel good so it’s easy that once the engines are “warmed up” the walking times are lengthened precisely because of the feeling of well-being that one feels. However, we must not go to excess and must be followed adequate recovery time, particularly if you are advanced in age. It is good to intersperse work with a day of rest – concludes the Monzino cardiologist – hence the indication to carry out physical activity three times a week, to do alternating sessions
April 6, 2023 (change April 6, 2023 | 06:29)
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