How and how fast to walk for better health

The recommendations on physical activity are often noted: it is more useful to walk faster than to walk quietly. But what is the rhythm in mind? The New York Times wrote about the study of scientists from the University of Mbadachusetts who understood this problem.

According to Professor at the University of Mbadachusetts Catherine Tudor-Lock Existing definitions of brisk walking are too complex or too vague.

For example, in some guides, this brisk walk is one that speeds up your heart's heart rate until it reaches 70% of the maximum heart rate. But not everyone has a fitness bracelet to measure the pulse while walking.

In other recommendations, brisk walking is described as "moving at a pace where you can still talk, but you can not sing anymore". But singing for a walk is not very practical.

In a new work published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, scientists have tried to put all the points over and over again. To do this, they studied the results of 38 qualitative studies on the rapid walk of people of different ages and weights. Despite the differences among participants, data on when their walk was considered fast coincided.

Go fast – that is, keep up the pace that made walking the recommended physical activity – in most jobs meant moving about 4, 3 km per hour. Or, if it's easier, do about a hundred steps in a minute.

– This figure is easy to identify and control for everyone, "said Catherine Tudor-Lock. – For example, count how many steps you make in six seconds – and multiply that number by ten. The good news is that it will probably be easy for the healthiest people to maintain such a pace.

If you are ambitious, you can walk even faster. At a speed of 130 steps per minute, your walk will be considered not only fast, but also energetic. And the jog starts from 140 steps per minute, explain the authors of the study.

The "one hundred paces a minute" rule applies to all those who have not reached the age of 60. For older people, brisk walking research data is not so obvious.

Moderate aerobic activities such as brisk walking should last about 150 minutes per week. In addition, strength and balance exercises are recommended twice a week