why is it better to walk 30 minutes a day or follow the fashionable “Walk at Home” method?

Much has been said about the famous 10,000 steps, i.e. walk 10,000 steps a day as exercise and get health benefits. However, this may just be a myth, and reality is important, as we have already said several times in this section. Welfaredo regular exercise.

And if possible, practice, based on each person’s condition, two types of exercise: aerobic exercise (walking, running, swimming…) and strength exercise, something key to maintaining muscle mass. Thus, follow the recommendations of the World Health Organization (WHO).

• It is important to do between 150-300 minutes per week of moderate-intensity aerobic activity. or 75–150 minutes per week at high intensity.
• Add 2-3 sessions per week of strength training.

This is true, according to European University of Madridthat numerous studies and studies have shown that while there is nothing harmful in striving for this goal, the famous 10,000 steps is just a myth “from a Japanese marketing campaign that became popular in the 1960s.”

“The benefits of regular physical activity for cardiovascular health, weight control and reducing the risk of developing type 2 diabetes and some types of cancer are undeniable. For this reason, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends at least 150 minutes of moderate exercise. or 75 minutes of vigorous activity per week, which is equivalent to about 30 minutes of brisk walking per day,” they add from this educational center.

The key to losing weight is speed

So much so that one of the most recent studies on the topic, published in JAMA Internal Medicine before the pandemic, examined the impact of daily steps on a group of adult women and found that those who walked about 4,400 steps per day had significantly more lower death rates than those who remained at 2,700.

“A year later, The Lancet confirmed in a very diverse population that mortality begins to decline significantly after just 5,000 steps a day, also confirming that you don’t have to reach 10,000 steps to see benefits. Additional health information,” explains José Francisco Tornero, Professor, Department of Physical Activity and Sports Sciences, European University.

Therefore, the expert adds, “the conclusion is that 10,000 steps is just a cliché born of a Japanese marketing campaign promoting the release of a pedometer called manpo-kei in the 1960s.”

On the other hand, and when it comes to lose weightthat is, when our goal is not to stay in shape or tone muscles, but to lose weight and lose fat (not muscle) It is important to place a fundamental emphasis on walking speed because it usually makes the difference between success and failure.

“Numerous studies have shown that Participants who engage in high-intensity or brisk walking lose more abdominal fat. compared to those who do it at moderate intensity for the same period of time,” explains Tornero.

“A moderate pace is usually between 4 and 6 km/h and a fast pace is between 6 and 8 km/h, which makes it difficult for us to carry on a conversation without getting out of breath. Therefore the ideal is walk 30 minutes to an hour at a pace that does not allow us to carry on a conversation without getting out of breath,” the professor clarifies.

What is the Walk at Home Method?

Because of this, it’s “understandable,” the expert says, that the so-called “Walk at Home” method, which involves walking indoors in a structured routine that includes a variety of steps and low-impact exercises, has become so fashionable in the United States.

The reason is that “there is ample scientific evidence that people who practice this experience significant improvements in aerobic capacity and see a decrease in body mass index,” the professional adds.

Of course, the condition for Walking at Home to be as effective or more effective than going to the gym is that the exercises be done “consistently and with sufficient energy.” However, “walking in green spaces, such as parks or nature trails, can significantly improve mental well-being, reducing stress, anxiety, and depression, as exposure to nature and sunlight improves mood and increases vitamin D levels,” Tornero concludes.