Do you find it difficult to walk every single day? Do you feel you lack physical activity in your daily routine? If yes, there might be a solution for you.
Recently, yoga trainer and naturopathy expert, Dr Janani Subburaj, shared on Instagram a 150-seconds walking workout. She claims this can burn calories easily.
So, what is this hack? Dr Subburaj has shared a video demonstrating the exercises which begins with march past, progressing onto jumping jacks, high knees, butt kicks and opposite toe touches.As per Dr. Subburaj, these exercises should be done 10 times and this sums up to about 4000 to 5000 steps.
“Thank you … Will be helpful for moms like me where i need to be home.. Try this for sure,” writes one user.
Exercise moves make walking more effective
Walking is undeniably an excellent form of workout. To make the most out of it, you can couple walking with exercise moves.
To make walking more effective as a fitness routine, incorporating specific exercise moves can enhance the workout and target various muscle groups. One simple yet impactful addition is interval walking, where you alternate between brisk walking and slower recovery paces. This boosts cardiovascular endurance and burns more calories. Adding lunges while walking can strengthen the legs and improve balance. Every few minutes, step into a deep lunge with each leg, engaging your glutes and thighs.
Another move is walking with high knees, which activates the core, hip flexors, and lower body muscles. Lifting your knees higher adds intensity, making your walk more challenging. Similarly, incorporating arm movements, such as overhead reaches or carrying light weights, can help tone the upper body while improving posture.
Walking uphill or on an inclined surface also engages the calves, hamstrings, and glutes, increasing the workout’s overall difficulty. For added core activation, try incorporating lateral shuffles or side steps to target different muscle groups and improve agility.
By integrating these exercise moves into your walk, you not only increase calorie burn but also engage various muscle groups, turning a simple walk into a full-body workout.
Health agencies recommend 150 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity in a week
Obesity, mostly triggered due to lack of exercise and other physical activity, is affecting more than half of the entire globe right now. In view of the effect of less physical activity in the future, health agencies like the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the US CDC have recommended guidelines to be followed. According to this, adults should engage in at least 150 minutes of physical activity in a week. “A recent study (1) found that nearly one third (31%) of the world’s adult population, 1.8 billion adults, are physically inactive. That is, they do not meet the global recommendations of at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity per week. This is an increase of 5 percentage points between 2010 and 2022. If this trend continues, the proportion of adults not meeting recommended levels of physical activity is projected to rise to 35% by 2030,” the WHO has said in a recent report.
Women are less active physically than men
In its report, the WHO has flagged that women are less active than men by 5 percentage points and this has not improved since 2000. It also highlights that more than 80% of young girls are physically inactive.
A combination of factors play a key role in physical activity in women. One of them is that traditional gender roles often prioritize domestic responsibilities for women, limiting their time for exercise. Safety becomes a bigger concern for women and due to lack of safety most women do not workout outdoors. Hormonal factors, pregnancy, and caregiving responsibilities also influence women’s physical activity levels.
