Walking makes for a long life

“I am heading out to the coffee roaster to buy coffee powder” screamed my (late) father-in-law. A coffee connoisseur, he was not content with the vanilla version of factory packaged coffee powder from the supermarket. He experimented with various concoctions mixing roasted chicory root to his coffee seeds, and ground to the perfect consistency. His routine consisted of this 4km walk thrice a week, as he believed coffee should be ground fresh prior to consumption.

His staunch refusal to take a taxi or a ride, and his insistence on walking all the way set him apart from most of us. His daily routine was peppered with several other strolls from morning to evening, ending the day under a shady banyan tree by the lakeside for a social meet with his friends. Walking and being active was something which set him apart from his peers. He would find a reason to walk, be it to purchase ground coffee, vegetables or snacks for his grandchildren. I have to admit, he lived a happy, healthy life till his last days, something we all should strive for. Residents of our community still remember him, and recall their encounters with him while walking.

This is only to illustrate how much walking can contribute to a happy and healthy life, especially as we grow older. The human body is wired to being naturally active. Research papers abound studying the effect of a healthy and active lifestyle to cardiovascular health. For example, one study showed heart attack rates among London bus drivers to be higher than that for the more active bus conductors who walked up and down the aisles.

What happens to our body when we walk? Let us explore how physical activity conditions our body.

The mechanics of walking

An idle or sedentary person expends a certain amount of energy for the maintenance of bodily functions, which is usually referred to as basal metabolic rate. As a person begins to walk or exercise, those muscles require a dramatic increase in energy so as to sustain that activity. For the muscle cells to produce this energy, they need oxygen. Thus there is an increased demand for oxygen and the blood cells carry increased amounts of oxygen to the exercising muscles for energy production. Some adaptations begin to occur in the body to accommodate the increased demand during exercise.

Where possible, walk! Walking with your child to school is a great way to bond with your child, as well inculcate a healthy habit for both.

Connecting the dots — the link between the short term changes and how it evolves into better conditioning of the body and improved cardiovascular health

First, the heart’s ability to pump oxygenated blood improves and second, the ability of the exercising muscles to extract the oxygen present in the blood also improves. These two physiological processes begin to prepare our body and is usually referred to as conditioning. This results in increased oxygen-carrying capacity, and stronger heart muscles. The heart is able to pump more oxygenated blood with every beat, and thus it need not beat more number of times to pump more blood, resulting in a lower resting heart rate. Thus there is lesser strain on the heart. It is similar to your muscles getting toned when you exercise every day.

An average person usually walks 4–5 km per hour when going about normal daily activities. For the above conditioning to happen, one needs to increase the walking speed by another 25%. In walking research laboratories, studies show that on an average an individual needed to walk at 6.4 km an hour to achieve a heart rate in the target heart rate training zone. Fitness walking is usually associated with fast walking so as to elevate the heart rate into the training zone.

Let us understand the various terminologies associated with heart rates. Maximum heart rate is calculated by subtracting one’s age in years from 220. For eg — a 45-year-old should have a maximum heart rate of 175 (220–45). Another concept one needs to understand is that of target heart rate. Target heart rate is the heart rate zone in which one achieves the greatest aerobic training benefits. Target heart rate zone usually extends from 60 to 80% of the predicted maximum heart rate. So for the same 45 year old person, the target heart rate should be between 105 (0.6*175) and 140 (175*0.8). For the individual to achieve the benefits of exercise, he needs to participate in activities such as walking or aerobics (20 to 60 minutes session), for three to five times a week at an intensity sufficient to elevate the heart rate to this target heart rate zone.

I implore you to understand your bodies better, understand the limits of your heart rates, so you can then fit an activity schedule within those limits.

Myths and truth about walking

Myth: Walking will result in weight loss. Several people take a stroll twice a day thinking it will help them lose weight. Nothing can be farther from that. I have seen people walk every day for years, with absolutely no change in weight.

By no way should you limit yourself to just walking or any one activity. For eg, yoga, dance and sport are all equally good for sustained physical activity.

Truth — the pace of walking can make a difference. At a brisk walking pace, you could burn 100 to 300 calories in 30 minutes (depending on your weight) Walking can indeed help you lose weight, but you need to incorporate changes in diet in addition to walking. An average person weighing 68 kgs who engages in a fitness walking program, walking briskly 45 minutes a day four times a week throughout the year, eating normal home-cooked food, could lose up to 8 kilograms over a year.

Do I need expensive pedometers or other watches to monitor my steps? Absolutely not. If your body does not hurt, then you may not have walked enough, so it is important to understand your limits.

My father-in-law could never fathom why people go to a gym or use fancy pedometers, while all that was needed was to implement a healthy, active lifestyle and sustain it. He was right. I look forward to, and cherish my walking activity with my walking buddies. How about you? More than starting an activity only to drop it soon, find a micro-activity that you can sustain long term, such as walking one flight of steps. Gradually increase that activity but the key is in sustaining it.

Individuals who stay active throughout their lives appear to experience a much slower decline in cardiovascular endurance than their sedentary peers. In other words, they age gracefully.

Please share your experiences in the comments below.