If walking is part of your exercise routine, you might want to stop and smell the roses from time to time along your route, new research suggests.
Italian researchers have found that short walks can actually be a better metabolism-boosting workout than trekking the same distance without breaks.
Walking strengthens the muscles in your arms, chest, back, abdomen, pelvis, and legs. Doesn’t require much conscious effort To coordinate all of this, your brain gets a lot of exercise while walking.
The classic adage of 10,000 steps a day says, Origin of 1965a Japanese company developed a step counting device and sold it as follows: Wanpo system, It means “10,000 step meter”.
What started as an effective but somewhat arbitrary step goal has been tested many times with mixed results. But new research by pathophysiologists at the University of Milan shows that not all steps are created equal.
As first author Francesco Luciano and colleagues explain The published paper states that calculating energy expenditure using steady-state gait “significantly underestimates the energy expenditure of short bouts.”
This affects not only those who are trying to consume more energy, but also those who are trying to save energy.
“Exercise programs based on short walks have been used in the treatment and rehabilitation of several clinical conditions, including obesity and stroke,” the authors state. write.
This could also be important information for programs that aim to prevent weight loss while still reaping the benefits of exercise, such as eating disorder treatment programs.
“Understanding the cost of short matches is critical for tailoring.” [exercise programs]”It’s especially great for people with low aerobic fitness and whose metabolism takes longer to reach steady state,” the researchers said. I will write.
These findings are based on a very small sample size of 10 healthy participants (5 men and 5 women), all around 27 years of age, so the results may not be representative of the broader population. It is important to note that this is possible.
Each participant walked on a stairlift for 10, 30, 60, 90, and 240 seconds and walked on a treadmill for the same number of times in a separate experiment.
The researchers measured how much oxygen participants used on average while resting before the experiment, and then again after they continued walking.
During the 240-second match, oxygen uptake during walking was measured four times to evaluate the effectiveness of “”.steady stateWalking is when your metabolism changes to accommodate a specific type of movement over an extended period of time.
The researchers said, “Our findings indicate that time-averaged oxygen uptake and metabolic costs are greater during short bouts than during long bouts.” report.
During 30 seconds of exercise, participants consumed 20 to 60 percent more oxygen than standard estimates for walking exercise. This estimate is based on steady-state (long-lasting) walking, during which the body becomes more efficient.
Oxygen consumption is often used to measure how much energy is expended during exercise. Therefore, this study suggests that the length of your walk can make a big difference when it comes to calculating the calories you burn by walking.
This study Proceedings of the Royal Society B.
