Walking alone has many health benefits. Walking can lower low density lipoprotein cholesterol, increase high density liproprotein cholesterol, lower blood pressure, reduce the risk of diabetes, or help manage diabetes, manage weight, improve mood, stay strong and stay fit, according to MayoClinic.com. For maximum health benefits, work up to 30 to 60 minutes of intense walking most days of the week.
Source: Livestrong – read the entire piece here
Pic: Week 1 vs Week 2. Frustratingly I did none of the things I said I would do last week so there has been no changes to speak of.
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Hola!
Not only that I did not start exercising or eating right, I gorged myself silly this week. It is so demotivating wrestling with self-control and losing. While I am in better shape today than I was last year, I am way off my good weight range and unbelievably unfit. I’d jealously flip through my 2010 pics when I was at my running peak and wish I had kept at it.
So after I took the pic above, I put my walking shoes on and got myself out of the door.
It was a nice morning, a little drizzly that my oversized sunnies were totally ridiculous. I kept them on because, much to my surprise, there was a lot of other walkers on the road and I was not in a charitable hello-how-do-you-do mood.
A quick walkthrough (pun intended) of what I aim to achieve this week:
- Thirty mins (30) of daily walks. When possible, I’d go the full 10,000 steps. Besides, getting out under the sun would do me some good.
- Free weights three (3) times a week. In absence of freeweights, 500ml water bottles will do.
I walked all the way to Giant today. The roads and car parks were deserted, and luckily I didn’t have a single cent on me so when I passed by Al-Rafi and the smell of roti canai almost did me in, all I could do was take a quick pic and walked away.
In terms of distance, I walked about 6.8km and finished in 40mins. I have no doubt I am able to do 10,000 steps in 77 minutes or less. Maybe not immediately but it is certainly doable. I just need to be careful with the pacing so that I do not over-exert my busted knee.
That’s the end of my walking update this week. But before I go, I want to share this:
Back in 2010, I started running due to several reasons, chiefly because I genuinely wanted to change my life and do something about my health. The other not-so-important-but-still-significant reason was because I just got out of a relationship and I didn’t like the person I became. Whining or getting upset over changes in other people’s feelings for me was not the kind of person I am. I perceived this as weakness, and I needed to get stronger.
Running did all that for me. It was therapeutic – I was changing my body, I was also changing my person, sort of “shedding my old skin” if you may pardon the cliche. I learned to enjoy the process and eventually learned to really love running.
Months later I had a visitor and I bumped into him just as I was winding down from a run outside.
I was sweaty and unkempt but I have never felt more powerful. I was fit and healthy. I was Ijah 2.0. Better, Faster, Stronger.
That’s the memory that I held on to was I was walking this morning. I don’t know when I will be able to run properly again. But I am going to take this opportunity to learn to love walking, to enjoy the process, to be aware of the moment when my body starts to respond and gets stronger with each step.
10,000 steps a day? Piece of cake!
[just in case, here's Livestrong's Tips on How to Get 10,000 Steps a Day)
