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Exercise guidelines
The benefits of physical activity depend on three elements: the intensity, duration, and
frequency of exercise.
Because walking is less intensive than running, you have to walk for longer periods, get out
more often, or both to match the benefits of running. As a rough guide, the current American
Heart Association/American College of Sports Medicine standards call for able-bodied adults
to do moderate-intensity exercise (such as brisk walking) for at least 30 minutes on five days
each week or intense aerobic exercise (such as running) for at least 20 minutes three days each
week. That makes running seem much more time-efficient but if you factor in the extra
warm-ups, cool-downs, and changes of clothing and shoes that runners need, the time
differences narrow considerably. Add the time it takes to rehab from running injuries, and
walking looks pretty good.
Mix and match to suit your health, abilities, personal preferences, and daily schedules. Walk,
jog, bike, swim, garden, golf, dance, or whatever, as long as you keep moving. Remember that
Einstein himself explained, "Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep
moving."
Walking to health
Hundreds of medical studies show that regular exercise is good for health very good, in
fact. But many of these studies lump various forms of exercise together to investigate how
the total amount of physical activity influences health. It's important research, but it doesn't
necessarily prove that walking, in and of itself, is beneficial.
More than 2,400 years ago, Hippocrates said, "Walking is a man's best medicine." To find
out if he was right, two scientists from University College London performed a meta-analysis
of research published between 1970 and 2007 in peer-reviewed English-language journals.
After sifting through 4,295 articles, they identified 18 studies that met their high standards
for quality. In all, these studies evaluated 459,833 participants who were free of
cardiovascular disease when the investigations began. Each of the studies collected
information about the participants' walking habits along with information about
cardiovascular risk factors, including in most studies age, smoking, and alcohol use
and, in many cases, additional health data as well. The participants were tracked for an
average of 11.3 years, during which cardiovascular events (angina, heart attack, heart
failure, coronary artery bypass surgery, angioplasty, and stroke) and deaths were recorded.
The meta-analysis makes a strong case for walking. In all, walking reduced the risk of
cardiovascular events by 31%, and it cut the risk of dying during the study period by 32%.
These benefits were equally robust in men and women. Protection was evident even at
distances of just 5 miles per week and at a pace as casual as about 2 miles per hour. The
people who walked longer distances, walked at a faster pace, or both enjoyed the greatest
protection.
This meta-analysis included studies from seven countries on three continents. At the risk of
being chauvinistic, here is a brief summary of three Harvard studies of walking and
cardiovascular health:
Among 10,269 male graduates of Harvard College, walking at least nine miles a
week was linked to a 22% lower death rate.
Among 44,452 male health professionals, walking at least 30 minutes a day was
linked to an 18% lower risk of coronary artery disease.
Among 72,488 female nurses, walking at least three hours a week was linked to a
35% lower risk of heart attack and cardiac death and a 34% lower risk of stroke.
Extra steps
All 18 studies in this 2008 British meta-analysis are observational studies. As such, each
investigation began with a defined group of healthy volunteers (called a cohort) and then
observed them over a time period that averaged 11.3 years to see if people who walked
enjoyed a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease and a lower rate of death. The results all
provide a strong recommendation for walking; however, observational studies are less
conclusive than randomized clinical trials. But one clinical trial of walking adds extra weight
to the other research. A 10-year study of 229 postmenopausal women randomly assigned
the volunteers to walk at least one mile a day or to continue normal activities. At the end of
the trial, the walkers enjoyed an 82% lower risk of heart disease.
All 459,833 participants covered by the meta-analysis were free of cardiovascular disease
when they enrolled in the 18 studies. But can walking help people who already have heart
disease? Randomized clinical trials of cardiac rehabilitation say the answer is yes. A metaanalysis of 48 trials in 8,946 patients showed that moderate exercise typically walking or
riding a stationary bicycle for 30 minutes three times a week produced a 26% reduction
in the risk of death from heart disease and a 20% reduction in the overall death rate.
peripheral artery disease, obesity, diabetes, depression, colon cancer, and even erectile
dysfunction.
Ready, set, walk.
Climbing to health
Walking on streets and trails is superb for health. And so is walking up stairs. Coaches,
cardiologists, and housewives have long been in on the secret of stairs. Many football coaches
"ask" their players to charge up flight after flight of stadium steps to get in shape, and other
competitive athletes put gymnasium stairwells to similar use. In the days before stress testing
held sway, doctors would often walk up stairs with their patients to check out cardiopulmonary
function. Even today, cardiologists tell heart patients they are fit enough to have sex if they can
walk up two or three flights comfortably, and surgeons may clear patients for lung operations if
they can manage five or six flights. As for housewives, taking care of a two- or three-story
home is one reason American women outlive their husbands by an average of more than five
years.
What's so special about stairs? Researchers in Canada answered the question by monitoring 17
healthy male volunteers with an average age of 64 while they walked, lifted weights, or
climbed stairs. Stair climbing was the most demanding. It was twice as taxing as brisk walking
on the level and 50% harder than walking up a steep incline or lifting weights. And peak
exertion was attained much faster climbing stairs than walking, which is why nearly everyone
huffs and puffs going upstairs, at least until the "second wind" kicks in after a few flights.
Because stairs are so taxing, only the very young at heart should attempt to charge up long
flights. But at a slow, steady pace, stairs can be a health plus for the rest of us. Begin modestly
with a flight or two, and then add more as you improve. Take the stairs whenever you can; if
you have a long way to go, walk part way, and then switch to an elevator. Use the railing for
balance and security (especially going down), and don't try the stairs after a heavy meal or if
you feel unwell.
Even at a slow pace, you'll burn calories two to three times faster climbing stairs than walking
briskly on the level. The Harvard Alumni Study found that men who average at least eight
flights a day enjoy a 33% lower mortality rate than men who are sedentary and that's even
better than the 22% lower death rate men earned by walking 1.3 miles a day.
Does walking for transportation pay off? And how! A study of 12,000 adults found that
people who live in cities have a lower risk of being overweight and obese than people who
live in the suburbs. In Atlanta, for example, 45% of suburban men were overweight and 23%
were obese; among urbanites, however, only 37% were overweight and 13% obese. The
explanation: driving vs. walking. To stay well, walk for 30 to 45 minutes nearly every day. Do
it all at once or in chunks as short as five to 10 minutes. Aim for a brisk pace of three to four
miles an hour, but remember that you'll get plenty of benefit from strolling at a slower pace
as long as you stick with it.
If you want to set more precise goals, aim for two to four miles a day. As a rule of thumb,
urban walkers can count 12 average city blocks as one mile. Another way to keep track of
your distance is to buckle a pedometer to your belt. Some just keep track of your steps,
while others have bells and whistles such as timers, clocks, alarms, and bells or at least
chimes that ring out little tunes. You can get a decent pedometer for under $40. Even the
best models can sometimes mistake a jiggle for a step, but a pedometer can help you keep
track and can motivate you to take extra steps whenever you can. If you have an average
stride length, count 2,000 steps as about a mile of walking. And if you're counting steps, you
can use another rule of thumb to estimate your intensity: 80 steps a minute indicates a
leisurely pace; 100 steps a minute, a moderate to brisk pace; and 120 steps a minute, a fast
pace. Even without counting, you'll do well simply by reminding yourself to walk briskly. It's
the only direction that researchers gave to a group of 84 overweight, sedentary volunteers,
yet even without athletic experience, all of them achieved heart rates in the moderate 58%
to 70% of maximum range.
In this high-tech era, technologically inspired workouts are the rage. For example, when
George W. Bush took over the White House, he installed a treadmill on Air Force One. Like
his father, Mr. Bush is athletic, fit, and dedicated to exercise and sports. Politics
notwithstanding, both Presidents Bush set fine examples of exercise for maximum fitness.
But remember that President Harry S. Truman's daily "constitutionals" set a democratic
example of plain vanilla walking for health and pleasure (to say nothing of votes) in the
course of daily life.
Walking for transportation is a good way to start any exercise program, and it's an excellent
way to protect your health. Still, many men will get extra benefit from setting aside
dedicated time to walk for exercise, health, and pleasure.
Genetic or kinetic?
The meta-analysis of 18 walking studies did not address a question that has bedeviled most
studies of exercise and health: is the exercise itself protective, or do genetically healthier people
simply tend to exercise more? But another important European study sheds light on the issue.
To learn if the effects of exercise depend on genetics and early family life, doctors in Finland
studied nearly 16,000 same-sex twins. The participants were all healthy when the study began
in 1975. All the volunteers provided information on their exercise habits and other known
predictors of mortality. People who reported exercising for more than 30 minutes at least six
times a month at an intensity corresponding to brisk walking were classified as conditioning
exercisers, subjects who exercised less were considered occasional exercisers, and those who
did not exercise were considered sedentary.
During the study's 20-year follow-up, 1,253 participants died. Even after accounting for other
risk factors, exercise proved strongly protective, reducing the death rate of conditioning
exercisers by 43% and occasional exercisers by 29%. But was the protection genetic or kinetic?
Even among genetically similar twins, exercise was a strong independent predictor of survival.
Twins who exercised regularly were 56% less likely to die during the study period than their
sedentary siblings, and even twins who exercised only occasionally had a 34% lower death rate
than their sedentary sibs.
Your shoes may have more to say about your health than your genes.
lengthen your stride as you improve. Land on your heels, and then roll forward to push off
with your toes. Swing your arms with each stride, and keep up a steady, rhythmic cadence.
To stay motivated, walk with a friend or listen to a radio or MP3 player. And for some people,
the best motivation is a dog studies show that owning pets is good for health, and
walking the dog is a major reason for this benefit.
To avoid problems, back off if you are ill or injured, always listen to your body, stay wellhydrated, and avoid hazardous conditions. Consider walking in a mall if it's too hot, cold,
wet, or slippery outdoors. You can also consider using a treadmill at home or at a health
club.
Walking it off
Exercise burns calories. In the case of walking and running, the calories you burn depend much
more on the distance you cover and your body weight than on your pace. This table shows
calories burned per mile of walking or jogging on the level for people of varying weights:
A hundred or so calories a mile might not seem like much, but they can add up to better weight
control. For example, a 2009 study of 4,995 men and women found that the average American
gains about 2.2 pounds a year during middle age. But during the 15-year study, people who
walked gained significantly less weight than those who didn't; the more walking, the less
weight gain. And the benefit was greatest in the heaviest individuals. For example, walking for
just 35 minutes a day saved a 160-pound person about 18 pounds of flab over 15 years of
aging.
Your weight
120 lbs
85
140 lbs
95
160 lbs
105
180 lbs
115
200 lbs
125
220 lbs
135