June 2020

Yes… walking.

Many do not see the use and benefits of the simple activity that is walking.

When someone is looking to burn more calories or become more physically active, walking is often not normally considered before exercise such as running, the stairmaster, the spin bike etc.

What people don’t see from conventional methods of cardiovascular exercise, are the negative aspects of performing such intense and demanding forms of exercise when in many cases walking can be a better option…

1) There is very little physical fatigue from walking.

Exercise methods such as running, air bikes, stairmasters etc. are more physically demanding on the muscles and joints in comparison to walking (for the majority of people). This is especially the case when this equipment is used for high intensity training.

This style of session for some, can be much less enjoyable because of the intensity and difficulty, potentially negatively affecting their adherence to their exercise routine.

The largest downside to higher intensity exercise is that it can increase soreness and fatigue.

For athletes or anyone serious about training performance, muscle soreness and general fatigue will negatively affect training performance and therefore overall progress. This can be avoided with using higher intensity sparingly and at the right times.

2) Walking is a great form of fat burning exercise.

Research on the topic of fat oxidisation during exercise (when fat is used for fuel) has provided evidence for higher intensity cardiovascular exercise utilising more glycogen (carbohydrate) than fat as a source of fuel.

It has been shown that for optimal fat oxidisation (when fat is used for fuel), lower intensity exercise methods (between 45-65% of V02 max) have been shown to produce peak levels of fat oxidisation (1,2).

It should however be noted that fat oxidisation during exercise does not mean there will always be fat lost over the course of the whole day, as there are more factors involved in fat loss (a future post on cardiovascular exercise in a fasted state will cover this!).

From this, we can safely say that walking at a moderate to fast pace is a great option for maintaining a high level of fat oxidisation (optimal pace will depend on individual factors).

3) It can be used for active recovery.

Active recovery methods normal consist of a low intensity activity to get the body moving and increase blood flow around the body.

Walking can be a great method of active recovery.

Walking increases blood flow around the body without producing too much stress on fatigued and recovering muscles and joints.

4) It’s easy!

One of the biggest benefits of walking is that it is suitable for everyone! Anyone from bodybuilders to the elderly can walk and see the benefits from it.

Walking also requires no learning or practice to perform, meaning steps can start immedietly.

Another huge benefits of walking is that it can be also be performed almost anywhere!

5) Walking is very measurable.

Monitoring your progress with walking is easy.

Treadmill walking provides you with options to adjust incline and speed while also producing a calorie burn number which is useful for monitoring.

Walking outside can also be monitored by tracking steps. All of my current clients are set daily step goals (weekly step goals are also an option) to help them reach their goals.

Walking and monitoring step count can be a game changer for some and have brought great results for my clients.

There are eventually limitations to walking however….

The few downsides to consider with walking include the time large step goals take to reach and also the top end intensity of walking may not be enough.

If your goals include achieving a VERY low bodyfat percentage, you may need to included slightly higher intensity cardio sessions to make your calorie burn more time efficient.

The take away…

Make sure you are taking advantage of steps!

They are easy, low fatigue calorie burn! You don’t even feel like you are exercising!

Walking is very easy to fit into someone’s day and takes less commitment than other forms of more intense exercise.

If you need someone to set you frequent and achievable goals, lets work together!

Get in touch. Fill out my consultation form:

https://thesandcpt.wufoo.com/forms/z14qxxod0zqdmlo/

References:

1) Purdom, T., Kravitz, L., Dokladny, K., & Mermier, C. (2018). Understanding the factors that effect maximal fat oxidation. Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, 15(1), 1-10.

2) Bogdanis, G. C., Vangelakoudi, A., & Maridaki, M. (2008). Peak fat oxidation rate during walking in sedentary overweight men and women. Journal of sports science & medicine, 7(4), 525.

Lockdown is not all bad… hopefully some of you have realised that this period of time may have actually made some of your goals easier to reach.

Here are some examples of things you can do TODAY to improve your physical performance and health.

1)Improve your nutrition

Improving the quality of your nutrition can seem like a daunting task.

However, for those that have found themselves with more time on their hands, now is a great time to experiment with some different foods and nutrition strategies.

Whether this be learning to track calories, meal prep or something as simple as setting a daily fruit and vegetable goal. Many of these goals are much more achievable at home.

Some of the most common issues I hear as a coach when it comes to staying on track with a nutrition strategy are:

• Not having enough time.
• Not having much choice in certain social situations.
• Limited options at work/on the go.

Well guess what…?

All of these issues have been made easier in lockdown! (for most people).

Make the most of your time at home and experiment with new foods, meals, meal timings etc. and see what works for you before you return to a busier schedule!

2) Get more sun exposure.

Outside light exposure is incredibly important for health. The light-dark cycle of day and night is vital for the maintenance of a healthy circadian rhythm and control of melatonin production (a hormone that helps you sleep).

We are programmed to be outside and active during the day when it is light and to slowly relax and drift off to sleep when it is dark in the evening. Avoiding this natural process does not really work in our favour.

The precursor to melatonin is serotonin, which is what is increased during exposure to sunlight. In darkness or the evening, the serotonin is then converted to melatonin to promote a relaxed and sleepy state.

Therefore, sunlight/light exposure is vital and can improve energy levels and mood in the day and help produce more melatonin for a greater sleepiness feeling in the evening and enhanced quality of sleep. Even in cloudier conditions, these benefits can still be had, so get outside!

3) Train

Hopefully a lot of you are still training hard with whatever you have available to you.

Limited equipment and facilities should not mean you need to give up on training.

A great piece of research from Bickel et al. (2011) has recently been circulating social media, highlighting the benefits of maintaining even a minimal amount of training volume.

The study from Bickel et al. (2011) shows how even training with as little as 1/9^th of your usual training volume can help largely maintain strength gains. With optimal muscle hypertrophy being maintained with slightly more volume at 1/3^rd of your usual training volume.

Aside from maintaining your progress, this may be a great time to change training goal or training methods.

Prioritising areas of training such as mobility, bodyweight training, improving cardiovascular fitness or maybe even some CrossFit workouts are all good options to help your stay fit and in shape while also giving yourself the chance to try something new.

4) Focus on optimal recovery

For those of you that are still training, this is a great time to take advantage and optimise your recovery.

With most of us finding ourselves with more time on our hands, we can spend more of that time focusing on some of the finer details that may influence recovery.

Resting well, improving sleep quality and quantity, ensuring optimal nutrition, active recovery and controlling stressors etc. are all aspects of recovery that often get forgotten about in our usual busy lives.

Focusing on introducing a couple of new recovery interventions every week can be a great way of slowly improving recovery.

Implementing more recovery strategies may even end up becoming a staple in your routine and something you may want to continue when lockdown is over!

5) Learn!

This is a great time to experiment with new things and see what works for your body!

This could be an opportunity to try new foods, a new training routine, some new health supplements, reading new training/nutrition books etc.

Although the basics of nutrition and training will apply to the majority of people, when it comes to the fine details there may be some individual differences and personal preferences.

In this period where many variables can be controlled, experimenting with what training and nutrition methods work best for you (and much more) can be very beneficial for current and future progress.

The take away

There are many benefits to having this interesting period of time we currently find ourselves in.

The important thing is realising what you can achieve during this time!

Making the most of this time to adapt and prioritise other aspects of training and nutrition might not only continue your progress; it may also improve your knowledge and experience that could lead to greater progress in the future.

References

Bickel CS, Cross JM, Bamman MM. Exercise dosing to retain resistance training adaptations in young and older adults. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2011;43(7):1177‐1187. doi:10.1249/MSS.0b013e318207c15d