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4 variations, each with its own benefits Walking exercise for health care

4 variations, each with its own benefits Walking exercise for health care


Articles: Zhang Shumei, “Ming Pao”

On vacation, I just want to lie flat at home. do excercise? Swimming requires bathing suits, running is hard work, there are no bike lanes near the house…too many obstacles!

But you can always walk!

(Hong Kong News) Treat walking as a sport. Don’t think it’s boring or challenging. There are many walking variations: backward walking, sideways walking, cross-walking, intermittent walking, Nordic walking, etc., making walking interesting. There are also all sorts of benefits: intermittent walking can help you lose weight, Nordic walking uses all fours, walking backwards improves balance, and walking sideways stabilizes the lower body.

It’s time to go!

Do not walk intermittently if you have pain

1. Intermittent walking helps control blood lipids and blood sugar

Interval training has been heard a lot, even walking can be intermittent? “I usually ask people to do exercise, and there are many excuses. You need to bring a swimsuit for swimming, and you need to rent a car for cycling. Walking is relatively simple, and it is easier for some people who are not willing to exercise to do exercise.”

Huang Jiahao, a clinical instructor (physiotherapy) of the Department of Rehabilitation Sciences of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, said that the exercise intensity of ordinary walking is not high enough, while intermittent walking alternates between fast and slow, such as walking fast for 3 minutes and then walking slowly for 3 minutes, which can increase the heart rate to moderate Intensity exercise effect; and it is not limited to flat roads, you can take inclined roads and stairs when walking fast, as long as you go to a moderate intensity.

“There are a number of studies confirming the benefits of intermittent walking,

In particular, it can help control blood pressure and blood sugar;

Some studies have pointed out that there are 4 days in a week, walking for 30 minutes a day,

After 5 months, the thigh muscle mass increased by 13% to 17%,

Even the performance of blood pressure, blood sugar, and cardiopulmonary function has improved by 10%.

I also lost weight; it turned out that walking to lose weight was not a dream.

“In fact, it is all related to the intensity of exercise. As long as the exercise intensity is sufficient, the weight will be reduced to some extent.” However, this walking method is not suitable for people who are prone to falls and pain, and should not be walked on rough, sandy roads , otherwise it is easy to get injured.

Nordic walking uses all fours.

2. Nordic hiking is suitable for the elderly

Usually walk with two hands, while Nordic walking requires holding two walking sticks and using both limbs (see picture).

Liang Zeqi, a physical therapist at the Asian Sports and Fitness Therapy Center, said, “Walking is a kind of exercise that focuses on the lower body. Nordic walking can involve the muscles of the upper limbs, especially the latissimus dorsi and triceps, and activate the overall muscles. “

For the elderly and patients with lower limb pain, it is a good exercise choice. Walking sticks can be used to reduce the pressure on the lower limbs. “One of the causes of most lower limb pain is that the body is too heavy, and the pressure on the lower body is too great. Weight loss is needed. And this exercise can be aimed at people who are overweight, have pain, and want to start exercising.”

He reminded that you should practice in some flat places without too many people. When walking, you should pay attention to “left hand and right foot, right hand and left foot” to keep the body balanced.”

3. Cross-walking method to strengthen balance

Fashion show models walk gracefully in the catwalk, and some experts in Japan have created a similar walking method-the cross-walking method. Open your hands left and right, raise your head above your head or clasp them behind your back, and then walk forward in a straight line with your feet staggered (see picture), claiming to correct the pelvis, improve body stiffness and pain, and exercise muscles.

Correct gait reduces joint wear and tear

Huang Jiahao said that walking with crossed feet and walking on one foot is longer than normal walking. In theory, it can train balance ability and exercise the muscles near the pelvis.

“As for the correction of the pelvis, because the left and right feet are on the other side, while keeping the body straight, it may help the pelvic imbalance, but there is no scientific evidence yet. Its weight loss effect is also doubtful. He watched the online demonstration video Afterwards, I thought that walking was slower and failed to effectively eliminate fat.”

He does not recommend people with pain in both feet to try. Standing on one foot for a long time will put a greater burden on the foot, or aggravate the pain; while some people are born with one high and one low pelvis, such as scoliosis patients, forcibly doing it Instead it causes pain.

“In addition, if the balance is poor, the support provided by the ground during cross-walking is reduced, and there is a greater risk of falling.”

“If you don’t have pain, you don’t feel any pain after you try it out. It’s no harm as a new exercise. But if you have pain yourself, or the pain lasts for a while after the exercise, you should be careful.”

4. Reverse the horizontal slope to train the less used muscles

Humans are used to moving forward, so it turns out that it is beneficial to change the direction and go backward occasionally! “Walking backwards is a good way to exercise, as long as the environment is safe.”

Liang Zeqi explained that when walking forward, the hip muscles and calf muscles are often used to push the body forward, while walking backward is just the opposite. Using the front thigh muscles not only trains muscles that are rarely used, but also exercises the sense of balance.

“However, there is a certain danger in walking backwards. You should have a companion to take care of you when practicing. It is also not suitable for those who are elderly, weak in balance and concentration.”

“Practicing sideways is better. In addition to being safe, it also trains some muscles that cannot be trained normally.” Opening and closing the legs to the left and right can train the gluteus medius and increase the stability of the lower plate. If you want to increase the intensity of exercise, you can try to do the slope, which requires higher cardiopulmonary function and thigh strength.

“It is recommended to speed up when going up the slope, and go slowly when going downhill, because the knee is under a lot of pressure when going downhill. If the quadriceps cannot bear the pressure, the knee will be injured. If the knee hurts, it is advisable to fall in a Z shape. Repositioning the stress on the knee reduces discomfort.”

Except for Nordic walking, most of the walking exercises are based on the lower limbs. Liang Zeqi suggested adding hand movements to increase the fun of exercise, and at the same time activate the joints and muscles of the upper limbs. For example, opening and closing fingers, clapping hands forward, backward and upward in turn, or clapping thighs, etc., “Increasing the beat when clapping can make people more energetic.”

He suggested that the elderly can combine several walking exercises for 30 minutes, and they should wear sports clothing and running shoes during practice.

“Correct gait posture can reduce joint wear and tear, make muscles and energy use more efficient, and allow people to walk farther.”

Physical therapist Huang Jiahao pointed out that when the posture is bad, the body needs to invest a lot of muscles to help maintain this unnatural posture, which will increase the burden on the muscles, make it more laborious, and even “walk” out of a pair of “group A feet”!

Walking with the wrong force makes the calf thicker

Huang Jiahao pointed out that many people make mistakes when walking. They don’t know how to use the hip muscles to push forward. Instead, they concentrate on using the muscles of the lower limbs and make the calf thicker. This not only increases joint loss, but also may cause pain, such as heel pain, calf pain, knee pain Pain etc.

Walking also trains the core muscles. He explained that the core muscles are located deep in the abdomen, mainly including the pelvic floor muscles, transversus abdominis, diaphragm, and multifidus muscles, which are like a “natural girdle” that can help stabilize and protect the spine.

“Studies have pointed out that to exercise the core muscles, you only need to contract (muscles) to 20% to 30%, so a slight abdomen during daily walking can help exercise the core muscles.”

For those who do not have time to exercise, walking can provide light core muscle training, but if you participate in some sports that require more core muscles, such as canoeing and tennis, you cannot rely on walking alone.

Walking 4400 steps a day, the death rate dropped by 41%

Walking is closely related to health. It is often said that “walking 10,000 steps a day” seems to be an impossible task for office workers who sit for 8 hours a day! If you want to maintain your health but don’t have the time to walk so many steps, is there a compromise?

Physiotherapist Huang Jiahao cited a study on the relationship between step count and mortality. Nearly 17,000 women with an average age of 72 were asked to wear pedometers for 7 consecutive days to learn about their daily walking habits, and then tracked them for 4 During the year, 504 people died.

It was found that the higher the daily step count, the lower the mortality rate; until the daily step count reached 7500 steps, there was no significant change in the mortality rate.

7500 steps reference index

The study also pointed out that for women with the same number of steps, the speed of walking has little effect on mortality. “So do you need to walk 10,000 steps a day? It is not necessarily necessary for pure health maintenance. 7,500 steps can be a reference indicator. The study also found that compared with people who walked 2,700 steps or less per day, people who walked 4,400 steps a day, The death rate fell by 41%.”

Therefore, he suggested that even if you can’t walk 7500 steps, you should take at least 4400 steps a day.

Increase your chances of walking

After the epidemic, people are used to sitting and are more lazy to walk. How to increase the number of daily steps? “You can start with a low number of steps, and then slowly increase.”

For example, he usually takes a bus and gets off one stop earlier. When taking an elevator, leave a few floors earlier and take a few stairs back to the office. Going out for a walk after lunch, or helping colleagues buy takeaways, can increase the chance of walking.

Precautions for heart examination

Q: Before having a heart exam, what must be paid special attention to?

Answer: Before the examination, slight adjustments should be made in the work, rest and diet, but only for a short day or two.

First of all, the day before the test, you need to make sure you have enough sleep, at least 6 hours. At the same time, food must be fasted for at least 8 to 10 hours (drinks other than water), and alcoholic beverages are strictly prohibited for one to two days.

In addition, some specific drugs also need to be taken temporarily according to the doctor’s instructions.

When conducting an examination similar to the running test, the hospital will require you to wear specific clothing, usually loose underwear, etc., but not every hospital will provide the corresponding clothing, so you can prepare a set of underwear and exercise equipment by yourself. Shoes, just in case, and the current COVID-19 epidemic is still not cleared, it is more hygienic to wear the clothes prepared by yourself; it must be reminded that if you are pregnant, please inform the medical staff to cancel the X-ray examination.



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