What muscles work with walking? Benefits of walking

Walking is the most natural way for a person to travel. Scientists have long proven that walking is mandatory for health. Everyone wants to remain in good spirits and good mood, feel strength and cheerfulness, but few people think how important it is for this to walk regularly on foot. Only 20 minutes a day can extend a person's life up to 30%! What muscles work with walking? How is it useful for health? This is exactly what will be discussed in the article.

Benefits of walking

With a sedentary lifestyle, especially with sedentary work at the computer, the chance to get heart problems, obesity, even oncological diseases increases.

Walking at a fast pace, you strengthen the cardiovascular system, blood circulation, respiratory system. With regular sessions, the level of cholesterol is reduced, which prevents the development of atherosclerosis and varicose veins. No massage can replace hiking, if you have problems with the intervertebral discs. Even digestion is improved. When walking, all organs are saturated with oxygen, slags and toxins are discharged.

What muscles work with walking? Almost all the musculature of your body is involved: the press, muscles supporting the spine, lower back, buttocks, shin, calves.

At any level of exercise, walking will make you more enduring and relieve stress.

On average, a person takes 2-3 thousand steps a day. The Japanese, famous for their longevity, consider it necessary to pass 10 thousand. This is quite feasible if we replace public transport with walking tours, refuse elevators, trips to shops by car, etc.

Accessibility of this sport

More and more often you can meet young people who make long walks with special gadgets, counting the steps, elderly people with chopsticks, cheerfully pacing the park, the owners of dogs, with pleasure walking with their pets for several hours. Walking is available to everyone and is useful to everyone.

• You do not need to learn to walk. Your body already knows the movements, it is enough just to follow the intensity and duration of walks.
• It's free. People who do not engage in their physical training, often explain this by lack of finance, to attend fitness centers. It's amazing how many people spend an hour to get to the sports hall by car, and there they walk along the treadmill. The same time, devoted to a walk in the park, would bring the same benefit and kept the good mood and time spent in traffic jams.
• At such sports exercises the risk of reception of traumas is as much as possible lowered, as joints and bones are not overloaded.
• A person can start walking at any level of physical fitness and at any weight, since there is no "flight phase" when both feet are torn from the ground.

Types of walking

There are many types of walking, choosing which you can adjust the load on different muscle groups. What muscles work with walking different types? Now this will be discussed.

Walking up the stairs

Walking the stairs intensively strengthens the muscles of the hips and calves. If you go up the stairs, put only the toe on the surface, and, with the effort leaning on the upper part of the foot, take the next step. When you get used to the load, try walking through the step. Walking on the stairs is an excellent training for your body!

Walking on site

It is not even necessary to leave the house for such training. Try to lift your knees as high as possible, do not put your foot on your heel, keep your feet even when walking, and make steps soft. Movements with your hands will help increase the intensity and keep your balance.

Fast walk

Accelerated, or athletic walking is carried out by rapid and wide steps. One of the feet should always touch the surface, that is, you can not switch to running. The supporting leg stays straight, the arms in intense motion. This is a very effective way to lose weight, but it is not recommended for people suffering from flat feet.

Scandinavian walking

This is the best option for working out almost all muscles. The arms move in a counterbalance to the legs, which increases the pitch and the upper half of the trunk works more. With Scandinavian walking, special sticks are used, thanks to which the shoulders work, as a result, almost 90% of all muscles are involved, which makes it possible to burn many more calories. Scandinavian walking is recommended for people of age, as it reduces the burden on the legs, the sticks absorb the blows from which the knees and back usually suffer.

Advice

What muscles work when walking, you already know. Before you start this kind of training, listen to some valuable tips:

• During walks at a pace you are familiar with and at short distances, the load on the muscles is minimal. Try to walk about 5 km per day, with an average speed of 6 km / h.
• The optimal walking speed is often individual and depends on the length of the person's pace. Therefore, it is considered to be the intensity of walking in the number of steps per minute. For example, 60 steps per minute - very slow walking, more than 140 - very fast. Special bracelets, applications on smartphones can help to monitor this indicator, because counting the steps in the mind is almost impossible. With them, it's easy to see how quickly you become sturdier and stronger.
• The load must be increased. When you feel that you can easily move at a certain pace, try to travel the same distance faster.
• Remember: if you want to replace walking with a sport, then your walk should be a real workout. That is, your pulse should increase, muscles - strain, if it's easy for you, then your body has adapted to the load and it needs to be increased.
• Have patience, the result will not be lightning fast. Regularity and duration of training are the key to success and health.
• Do not forget about comfortable shoes and clothes.
• Any training should not be carried out on a full stomach.
• Watch your posture, if you slouch, the use of walking for the spine will turn into harm.
• Try to breathe evenly, inhale through the nose, exhale through the mouth.

Forward, to health and longevity!