Walking is so simple and convenient that it couldn't possibly count as exercise, right? Wrong. Study after study shows that regular walking can help you lose weight and reduce your risk of heart disease.  The study published in Diabetes Research in Clinical Practice shows that the blood pressure of the overweight men being tested improved and the amount of body fat greatly decreased. That's good news, because walking has now become the most popular fitness activity in the United States. Convenient, simple, and gentle on the joints, walking is perhaps the easiest form of exercise to maintain. According to a survey, four out of five women who start a walking program continue to walk, while half of women who attempt other types of aerobic exercise , such as swimming, drop out during the first few months.  Here are some basics for walking exercise.  Walk at a pace that makes you breathe heavily, but still able to talk.  Your goal, first and foremost, is to walk five days a week, 30 minutes a walk. Do that, and you are getting the base-level amount of exercise that research says should maintain your health and vigor . Walk for as long as you are comfortable the first week, even if it is just to your mailbox and back. Each following week, increase that amount by no more than 10 percent. Start every walk with five minutes of easy-paced walking, about the same pace at which you do shopping, to get your body warmed up. Then, cool down at the end of each walk with another five minutes of easy-paced walking. This allows your heart rate to gradually speed up and slow down. What is the purpose of the easy-paced walking in every walk?
To help reduce your blood pressure. To help reduce your risk of heart disease. To help your body lose fat. To help your heart rate change gradually.