Walks and Walking: Walking helps cardiovascular fitness because it is moderate, sustainable for at least 20 minutes, and can be repeated regularly.

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Walks and Walking

Benefits of Walking for Cardiovascular and Respiratory Fitness
The Walking Web

By DH Owens

Walking: 

The role of walking in fitness: 

Cardiovascular fitness can be defined as the efficiency of your heart and circulatory system at taking in oxygen and transporting it to your body, including your muscles and brain. In essence, it sustains your life.

Your cardiovascular and respiratory systems include your heart, blood vessels, blood, and lungs. These systems provide oxygen and nutrients to your body tissues and they remove the major by-products of metabolism.

Oxygen is taken into the blood by the lungs and is pumped by the heart to the vital organs and muscles where it is used for normal metabolism. Waste products (in particular carbon dioxide) are filtered by the blood through your lungs. They are excreted when you exhale. 

The heart's ability to work is determined by 

• The heart rate. 

• The amount of blood pumped by each heartbeat. 

• How efficiently our bodies deliver and use oxygen and expel carbon dioxide.

The best activities for cardiovascular fitness are those which are 

• Moderate.

• Sustained for a period of at least 20 minutes.

• Repeated regularly.

That describes walking!

Walking on a regular basis does wonders for your blood and for your heart. In fact:

• Walking improves the efficiency of the heart. 
• Walking is usually accompanied by weight loss which reduces the work load for the heart. 
• Walking improves breathing.
• Walking makes the blood flow faster.
• Walking reduces the stickiness of the blood to improve circulation.
• Walking lowers high blood pressure.
• Walking lowers high cholesterol levels.

A recent study by Harvard University monitored 72,488 female nurses ages 40 to 65 over a 15-year time frame. For every weekly hour these women spent in moderate to vigorous physical activity, their risk of stroke was cut by roughly 10 per cent. And that held true even for women who were inactive previously.

For reasons not well understood, cardiovascular endurance, the ability to use oxygen efficiently, declines with age. Fortunately, though, cardiovascular endurance can be maintained at very high levels well into later life with regular physical activity such as walking. 

More information about walking, health, and fitness.

It is never too late to start walking.

Additional information about walks and walking.

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