Pharst Care Blogs

The Lifestyle Series. Episode1: You don't need the gym

5 minutes read | 2 comments

Written by Joseph Addo

A simple walk

A bit late, but better than never; A Happy New Year to you, may you have good tidings this year, and I wish you the best in all your endeavours.

There are many of us going about resolutions or setting goals to meet and some of these goals might include keeping fit through exercises. If you don't really have the luxury or time to go through full exercise sessions or even visit the gym but still want to stay fit, this post is definitely yours.

You may not know where to start but a simple walk is enough to help stay fit. Walking is the easiest form of exercise anyone could engage in and it's the kind that requires no equipment or cost except you want to spend extra. Walking is as good an exercise as running or weightlifting, it helps boost your immune system, burn of excess body fat and many more.

One of the very first activities a person would engage in is to walk. A walk to the bathroom, a walk to the kitchen, walk up and down the stairs, a walk to the car outside, we actually do a lot more walking than any other form of exercise.

take the stairs

Why walk

Walking has many benefits and they outweigh the disadvantages so surely, it won’t kill to make time to walk. Below are some reasons why you should walk;

Strengthening the immune system - Studies have shown that individuals who engage in walking for at least 20 mins each day are less likely to fall ill during a flu or cold season as compared to those who are usually idle and even if they are sick, they have a higher recovery rate as well. Walking helps to increase cell action and boosts immunity.
Maintaining healthy weight – Taking walks (not forgetting brisk walks) is a very good form of exercise even for the obese. Walking helps to maintain weight by reducing the low-density lipoprotein (LDL also known as “bad” cholesterol) and increasing the high-density lipoprotein (HDL also known as “good” cholesterol) and this prevents cholesterol from building up (plaque) on blood vessel walls which eventually blocks blood flow leading to diseases such as cardiac arrest. You may not need that slimming tea, just walk...lol
Strengthening the muscles and bones – Walking is a good way to build strength in muscles as well as bones. Some amount of stress or strain when introduced on muscles and bones tends to toughen. Walking happens to be a mild but a very effective means of toughening up your bones and muscles.
Increase muscular endurance – Muscles tend to grow stronger with exercise and with the strength comes endurance. The very reason you’d start an exercise with 30 mins today and be able to go through a 50 mins walk tomorrow is due to this endurance gained. Take it this way, all these years of walking has contributed to the reason you’d not easily trip and fall like you used to when you were a toddler or a kid. Now that’s endurance.
Reduction of stress – If you’re looking to reduce stress, the best option is to take a walk around. Other forms of vigorous exercises such as running would rather increase Cortisol levels (the stress hormone) as the body would feel there is danger. Studies have shown that cortisol levels reduce and there is a good boost in Endorphin levels (the “happy” hormones), which can help put your body in a relaxed and less tensed state.

I just gave you 5 good reasons why a walk is a good idea, but well, for the doubting "Thomases", I'm adding 5 more, if you don't need it, skip them, but reading is a good exercise for your eyes too.

Improving sleep – Walking has as much effect on sleep as does other physical activities. It helps your body to reduce stress hormones and releases the “feel-good” hormones called Endorphins which in turn puts you in a relaxed state. Even better, taking walks early in the morning allows light-sensitive tissues in the eye to pick up the morning light and send a message to the brain to release Melatonin (the hormone responsible for sleep) earlier in the evening. Studies show that the more steps taken in the day the better the sleep at night.
Improving memory, cognition, balance and coordination – Walking benefits not only the physical nature but the mental as well. The ability to focus, improve concentration, store and recollect information and abstract thinking or reasoning are all affected by the physical activities a person would engage in. A person’s balance and coordination improve with more practice and same goes with walking, this helps the brain recalibrate and this is a typical reason why you wouldn’t remember when last you fell while walking, even after you tripped, except that there was an external force.
Management or prevention of some health conditions – Health conditions such as heart diseases, type 2 diabetes, stroke, osteoporosis and hypertension are prevalent in less active individuals hence walking is a good way to reduce risks of such diseases or to manage them if already affected.
Improving mood - The mood of a person can also be negatively affected by one’s inactivity and walking is a good place to start. When “Happy hormones” are released, the body feels good, excited, relaxed and loved.
Increased life expectancy – A healthy body should be able to live longer unless it’s cut short by unnatural means or by severe illness. Walking helps keep the body in good shape and that helps extend one’s life.

Keeping fit isn’t always about the vigorous exercises (you don't need to go the gym to keep fit, that's for body builders and those who can make the time for it), sometimes it requires the mild or slow and sometimes it requires the vigorous or fast. If you’re too busy to make a routine exercise plan, just try these:

Use the stairs instead of the elevator.
Drop off the transport a short distance from your destination.
On home days, take a walk round the house at least three times.
Take a walk when visiting nearby relatives.

It’s very easy to ignore health but if 20 to 30 minutes of your entire day could help you live longer, who wouldn’t take the chance.

Have you installed the Pharst Care app yet, it's now available on both Android and App stores, hit our doctors up for consultation using the app and for all your fitness needs in our newly introduced “Phitness Center” (It's in the sidebar). The pharmacy is still in your pocket.

Phitness Center