Home » Rheumatology » Walking is healthy, Scandinavian, sports. Healthy walking is the key to longevity Arguments in favor of walking

Walking is healthy, Scandinavian, sports. Healthy walking is the key to longevity Arguments in favor of walking

3.3. Technique health walking

The most popular and most available funds health training - walking and running. However, medical monitoring data indicate that 25-50% of people who start recreational running are forced to either completely stop or interrupt training for a long time due to pain in various parts of the spine or in the joints of the legs.

Why is this happening? A well-known specialist in biomechanics, Professor V. M. Zatsifsky writes: “70-80% of men over 30 years old have one or another pathology in the spine and various neurological diseases associated with it - lumbosacral radiculitis, etc.” One of the most common hypotheses explaining the origin of such diseases is as follows: naturally, the human musculoskeletal system is adapted to walking barefoot on soft ground. He also wears hard shoes on hard surfaces. Under these conditions, each step represents a kind of blow. The shock wave, spreading throughout the body, reaches the intervertebral discs and causes one or another pathology. This issue was studied by scientists: accelemetric sensors were implanted into bone tissue.

Huge overloads have been recorded that spread throughout the body when walking quickly on a hard surface. They are especially large on the heels... somewhat smaller on the shins. Overloads reach the spine and head. When such blows are repeated continuously for many years and millions of such blows accumulate, it is not surprising that pathology arises."

Recommendations for preventing the adverse effects of fast walking (according to experts, it becomes healthy when performed at a pace of 120 steps/min or more) are usually associated with the selection of soft surfaces and rational shoes. Indeed, both are very important. Walking on soft ground, garden or forest paths covered with a carpet of foliage is not only safe (from the point of view of overload), but also simply pleasant. Therefore, think carefully about your training routes; it is best to get to the nearest park or suburban area.

The hardness of the ground can also be compensated by increasing the shock-absorbing properties of the shoes. Put foam insoles of different softness and thickness into your shoes, and wear thick woolen socks. Be sure to choose shoes with elastic, flexible soles. This allows you to engage all the numerous joints of the tarsus and metatarsus and activate the relatively small muscles of the foot. If the shoes have a hard sole and especially tight lacing, then when walking they work almost only ankle joint, which contributes to overload of various parts of the foot and impedes blood circulation.

In addition to shoes and the quality of the route, walking technique also deserves attention. Rational walking dramatically reduces shaking and shock waves. Try to minimize (it is impossible to completely avoid them) vertical movements of the body when walking. It is they who mainly generate pulsating overloads and microvibrations. Therefore, do not rush to separate the heel of the pushing leg from the support - this should happen after the free leg passes the vertical. Otherwise, so-called vertical walking is observed, in which the center of body mass moves up and down at each step by about 5-9 cm. Later heel separation allows the push-off to be directed more forward than upward.

Walking correctly is beautiful. There is a feeling of non-stop, smooth body movements. Steps are no longer perceived as separate motor acts, and each movement naturally flows into the general rhythm. Among other things, such walking is very economical. The energy saved at each step allows you to significantly increase the range of transitions.

3.4. Dosage of exercise for people with minimal deviations in health

In order to properly dose the load, you need to run with a watch with a second hand and learn to measure your pulse. It is better to do this by placing your fingers on the front of the neck (projection of the carotid artery) or on the wrist (projection of the radial artery). When running, the pulse is measured for 10 seconds, immediately after stopping. For example, you ran 1-2 laps, stopped and immediately measured your heart rate for 10 seconds without delay.

First stage. At this stage, it is necessary to maintain your heart rate during the entire jogging session at a level of 18-20 beats per 10 seconds. If even the slowest jogging is accompanied by a pulse exceeding 20 beats in 10 seconds, then you should start walking.

In general, the tactics should be approximately the following: you run 1-2 laps at a slow pace, stop and immediately measure your heart rate for 10 seconds. If the number of beats is less than 18, then you need to increase your running speed, if more than 20, you need to run slower or start walking. After running (or walking) another lap, stop again and measure your pulse and, if necessary, change the pace. Once you find the right running (or walking) pace, stop every 2-3 laps and check your pulse. Over time, you will learn to roughly determine your pulse based on how you feel, and you will be able to stop less often.

In the first two to three weeks, run for 10 minutes 3 times a week, then you can gradually increase the time to 20 minutes. Take your time to increase the load, be attentive to your feelings. Excessive stress, especially in the early stages, when the body has not yet adapted to this type of physical stimulation, can cause a stress reaction and aggravate the disease. If the background conditions (and especially nutrition) are correct, then the best guide is your own well-being. Just like other forms of exercise, running should be fun.

Second stage. From about 5 weeks, you can gradually increase the load by increasing the speed so that while running the heart rate is 22-24 beats per 10 seconds (and over time, increase to 23-25 beats per 10 seconds). The time of one lesson is 20 minutes. Let me remind you once again that you need to run every other day or 3 times a week.

To maintain health, such a running load is quite enough, especially for people involved in other types of physical exercise. For those who want to go further, I recommend turning to E.G. Milner’s book “I Choose Running.”

3.5. Self-control

When jogging, it is very important to prevent an overdose, especially for the elderly and people with changes in the cardiovascular system. Let us remind you that the main load when running falls on the cardiovascular system, and disasters in this system - heart attack, stroke - are very dangerous. Therefore, self-control is very important. The adequacy of the load can be monitored by the following tests:

Take your heart rate 10 minutes after finishing your run. If it is above 100 beats per minute, then the load was excessive.

Orthostatic test. Count your pulse in one minute while lying in bed in the morning, immediately after waking up, then slowly get up and measure your pulse after one minute while standing. If the standing pulse exceeds the initial value by 20, this indicates that the load is excessive and the body does not have time to recover. The loads need to be reduced and it is better not to run for a week at all, but to do other types of physical exercise, preferably hatha yoga and relaxation. Note that such a difference in pulses can also occur during cleaning, exacerbation chronic disease or in case of dietary irregularities.

If the difference in heart rate is no more than 12, the loads are adequate to your capabilities. A difference of 16-18 blows indicates that the load is at the permissible limit.

As your physical capabilities increase, the value of the orthostatic test and the morning pulse immediately after waking up will decrease.

Other signs of overtraining: bad dream, lethargy and drowsiness during the day, decreased performance, sometimes sweating, exacerbation of a chronic disease, discomfort in the heart area, elevation blood pressure. In this case, it is also necessary to reduce the load by about 1.5-2 times and pay more attention to diet and relaxation.

4. Conclusion

Health running and race walking have beneficial properties, which are difficult to reproduce by any other species physical activity. First of all, this has a beneficial effect on the cardiovascular system, especially at the level of the smallest vessels - arterioles, venules, capillaries. Lack of movement in modern man leads to desolation and atrophy of a large number of capillaries and disruption of the blood supply to tissues. Properly dosed running and walking opens collapsed, non-functioning capillaries, and also promotes the growth of new capillaries in depleted areas and areas damaged by disease, which is especially important.

Regular training in health running has a positive effect on all parts of the musculoskeletal system, preventing the development degenerative changes associated with age and physical inactivity. Restriction of the flow of joint fluid (lymph) during physical inactivity leads to impaired nutrition of cartilage and loss of elasticity of ligaments, a decrease in the shock-absorbing properties of joints and the development of arthrosis. Cyclic exercises (running, cycling, swimming) increase the flow of lymph to articular cartilage and intervertebral discs, which is the best prevention of arthrosis and radiculitis. The positive effect of running on joint function is possible only if adequate (not exceeding the capabilities of the musculoskeletal system) loads are used and gradually increased during exercise.

The concentration of beta-endorphins and met-endorphins - mediators of pain and pleasure - increases. Researchers suggest that a similar response occurs with all cycling exercises. Self-control during individual training. Starting self-study exercise, everyone should outline for themselves not only the most accessible means and training program, but also...

Walking) - to moderate; continuous running (for well-trained runners at an intensity of 75-80% of MOC) leads to fairly heavy physical activity. Extra-heavy loads (over 85°/about MOC) should not be used in health training, as they quickly lead to fatigue and incoordination of the respiratory and circulatory functions (with possible overstrain of adaptation mechanisms). Character...

Healthy walking is a great way to tone your body and improve your health. But every person already walks a certain distance with their feet every day? But not everyone feels the benefits of this procedure. Why? Maybe something is wrong?

What type of walking is beneficial?

In fact, therapeutic walking and walking, for example, to work, are the same thing, with the exception of some nuances. To get the most out of walking, follow some proven tips.

Movement technique

To prevent your muscles from getting tired, ensure proper posture. Move your pelvis back, chest forward, straighten your shoulders. Sometimes it takes a long time to walk. Slouching in this case will quickly tire you, and unpleasant pain will appear in your back and shoulders. Such walking only gives stress.

Choose your own step length. Your hands should be given freedom. Don't limit them. If you feel like moving your arms while walking, do so. There is no need to cross them across your chest or put them in your pockets. Let your arms move with every step.

If you want to increase the fat-burning effect of your exercise, buy poles and practice.

Breath

How to breathe correctly when walking: inhale through your nose, exhale through your mouth. Get used to this rhythm, just like that.

Even those who have a stuffy nose at rest can often do without vasoconstrictor drops. Notice that during physical activity breathing becomes easier - magic, right?

To better ventilate your lungs, periodically inhale as much air as possible, and then take a full breath. You shouldn't breathe like that all the time - you may feel dizzy. But once every 2-3 minutes is very useful. Just inhale slowly and deeply. If you pay attention to your breathing, the benefits of walking will increase significantly.

Speed and heart rate

It is important to consider what your heart rate should be when walking. Its value is affected by the speed of your steps and the characteristics of the road (slope, surface, etc.).

For healthy people, it makes sense to choose a load when walking will be a little difficult, but comfortable. That is, it should be difficult to have a long conversation while walking, but you should be able to say a couple of phrases.

You can monitor your pulse based on your feelings. If there is discomfort in your chest, you are walking too fast. It's best to use a heart rate monitor. Make sure your heart does not beat faster than 100 beats per minute. This is optimal for walking. Further acceleration of the heart is typical for running.

For a physically prepared person, cardio walking implies a fairly high pace.

People with heart disease should closely monitor their heartbeat. Make sure you have a normal pulse(80–90 beats per minute). This provides an additional guarantee that you will not harm yourself. Over time, when your cardiovascular system gets a little stronger, you will be able to increase your walking pace.

Depending on your physical training and health conditions, the optimal speed for you will vary. The dependence here is direct - the better your preparation, the faster you should walk. The average walking speed is 4–7 km per hour. The benefits of fast walking include not only a healing effect, but also a training effect on the body.

And the healing effect is achieved due to the fact that the heart begins to beat slightly more actively than at rest, and the lungs are deeply ventilated.

Healthy thoughts

Attitude and mood play a big role in any business. Let's just say, not even a big one, but a decisive one. If you do something without the mood, the result will be weak, perhaps even completely unsuccessful.

You should focus on your feelings while walking, realize that you are healing yourself, that your path is just healthy walking, and not a journey from point A to B. Then your body will “tune in” to self-healing. Our thoughts determine our existence, no matter what the skeptics say. For some, let it be some kind of magic, and for others – complex physiological processes associated with hormonal regulation. Yes, exactly with her. Thought sets the body to a certain mode of operation, this is partly the essence of psychotherapeutic auto-training.

If you're just going somewhere and you're not in a good mood, it's not a wellness event.

External conditions

If you go for a walk in cold or damp weather, there is a high chance of catching a cold. There is nothing healthy here. Although, for the sake of fairness, it is worth saying that for some such a walk can cause a hardening effect. Some have. The rest will end up with acute respiratory infections. And if you also get your feet wet and freeze well, you risk getting really sick.

Therefore, walking for health requires good and warm weather and comfortable conditions. If you live in the northern region, purchase a set of clothes that will reliably protect you from rain and cold wind.

Health-improving walking instead of medications is relevant when you are dressed appropriately. If you could walk naked in the warm season, this would be the best attire. But in our world they will not understand you. Therefore, buy comfortable and high-quality items designed for active image life.

Clothing needs to wick moisture away, keep you warm in cold times and cool in hot times.

If you are traveling long distances, take a backpack with you that contains a water bottle. This will help avoid dehydration.

A very important factor in the external environment is air, or, more precisely, the degree of its purity. Walking near a paint factory is unlikely to do you any good. On the contrary, you may even feel itching in the nasopharynx and heaviness in chest. This is not a benefit, but a clear harm. The same can be said about walking along the roadway. The best place is a park area or forest.

After all, we all know that plants are photosynthetics. Give them enough sunlight and they will literally flood their environment with oxygen. This is only to our advantage. Any blade of grass, and especially a tree, produces oxygen throughout its green period.

Some notes

Walking in the morning will be very productive. It will invigorate you before the working day and speed up your metabolism. This way, you can eat more food and not worry about your figure.
Walking is good for losing weight. Long walks are a good opportunity to burn off extra calories.
If you have flat feet, get orthopedic insoles. It is harmful to walk for a long time without them. If you have sore joints, try not to overload them.
Walking can bring not only benefits, but also harm. Yes, harm can be caused by this safe method of transportation if you constantly exhaust yourself.

The effect of walking on the body

Except in extreme cases, any walking is good for your health. Does walking help develop cardiovascular and respiratory system– yes, tone your muscles – yes, improve your mood – yes too.

But walking instead of medications, unfortunately, cannot always be used. Let's just say that walking on foot helps initial stages many diseases and serves as their prevention. But when the disease has already manifested itself, this medicine is no longer so effective. In other words, prevention is always easier than cure.

To better understand the benefits of walking, let's look at how it generally affects our body.

Mechanism of action of walking:

The benefits of walking for the heart are known - it trains in a very loyal mode.
Breathing when walking is a little deeper than at rest. This means our lungs are ventilated. Did you know that there is something called residual lung volume? At rest, some of the air is constantly in the lungs and does not leave them even during exhalation. Walking allows you to effectively renew almost the entire volume of the lung.
Speeding up the heart rate allows blood to be delivered faster and more efficiently. useful substances and oxygen to the cells and tissues of the body.
The muscles tense up while walking. This is not enough for them to grow, but it is quite enough to keep them from being in good shape.
The load on the articular system stimulates the renewal and regeneration of cartilage tissue.
Walking is also beneficial for men and women because moving the legs improves blood circulation in the pelvis, helping to eliminate congestion.

The most effective health remedy against back pain is compliance with the motor regime. Fluid enters the intervertebral discs only when they move relative to each other. But even in movements one must observe moderation.
The most accessible muscle load is walking. During movement, large groups of muscles and joints are involved in work and the respiratory system is activated.
Physiologists call large muscles the “peripheral heart,” which, when exercised, pumps blood from the legs and organs to the heart. abdominal cavity, where it stagnates during a long stay in a sitting position.
During the day we must walk 7-8 km and take 10 thousand steps - the minimum norm prescribed by doctors. Experts give an interesting example: a city dweller of the last century took 4-5 times more steps per day than a modern person.
Therapeutic walking begins with a gradual load. At first, 30 minutes is enough to walk 2-3 km. Set yourself a specific task: walk a few more steps than yesterday; go up one floor, reach a certain landmark, etc. Don't forget that you are training not for speed, but for endurance. Once you start practicing therapeutic walking, do not stop. Walk in any weather, every day. After 2-2.5 months you will get so used to it that it will not be difficult for you to walk a long distance.
Walking is especially useful for obese people, which cannot be said about running, since you have to push off the ground sharply due to high body weight, and this has a bad effect on the spine and joints.
Walking helps you lose weight. In one hour of brisk walking, 35 g of fat is burned. When walking, digestion improves, which is beneficial for people with extra pounds. Walking to work is an excellent preventative against osteochondrosis and rheumatism.
Many people who have suffered a long-term illness have learned from their own experience that lack of physical activity atrophies muscles. At rest, only 60-70% of the blood moves; the rest of the blood does not participate in the work, stagnating in the organs.
Antonina Fedorovna K., 60 years old, was in an accident and suffered severe polytrauma: a concussion, a fracture of the left clavicle and pelvic bones on both sides, and a spinal bruise. The victim was taken to the hospital, where she for a long time was on bed rest not only because of the severity of the injury, but also because bones heal slowly in older people. When, finally, she was allowed to sit up in bed, and then get out of it, Antonina Fedorovna discovered that her arms and legs obeyed her much worse than before. Forced inactivity led to atrophy of many muscle groups. It took a long time rehabilitation treatment, which included physical therapy, physical therapy and vitamin therapy before muscle strength was restored, and even then not to the same extent.
Walking is measured by distance and speed. When walking slowly, take 70-90 steps per minute; at an average pace - 90-120; with fast - 120-140 steps. Pay attention to the walking culture. Don't slouch, stay straight. Walk with your chin raised, stomach tucked, and shoulders turned.
An excellent variety of walking is skiing. Skiing develops muscles, improves metabolism, and improves blood circulation. It has a very beneficial effect on the condition of the musculoskeletal system. Strengthens bones and ligaments, increases motor function joints.
Consistency is important here too. Ski regularly and avoid injury. To develop a sense of balance, practice walking without poles.

As we have already found out, walking and running are the most popular and most accessible means of health training. However, medical monitoring data indicate that 25-50% of people who start recreational running are forced to either completely stop or interrupt training for a long time due to pain in various parts of the spine or in the joints of the legs. Why is this happening?

It is known that 70-80% of men over 30 years old have one or another pathology in the spine. One of the most common hypotheses explaining the origin of such diseases is as follows: naturally, the human musculoskeletal system is adapted to walking on soft ground. He also wears hard shoes on hard surfaces. Under these conditions, each step represents a kind of blow. The shock wave, spreading throughout the body, reaches the intervertebral discs and causes one or another pathology. Therefore, before you start race walking, you need to fulfill some requirements, since race walking also has its own technique.

Recommendations for preventing the adverse effects of fast walking (according to experts, it becomes healthy when performed at a pace of 120 steps/min or more) are usually associated with the selection of soft surfaces and rational shoes. Indeed, both are very important. Walking on soft ground, garden or forest paths covered with a carpet of foliage is not only safe (from the point of view of overload), but also simply pleasant. Therefore, you need to think carefully about your training routes; it is best to get to the nearest park or suburban area.

The hardness of the ground can also be compensated by increasing the shock-absorbing properties of the shoes. It is necessary to put foam insoles of different softness and thickness into shoes, and wear thick woolen socks. Shoes with elastic, flexible soles are best. This allows you to engage all the numerous joints of the tarsus and metatarsus and activate the relatively small muscles of the foot. If shoes have a hard sole and especially tight lacing, then when walking almost only the ankle joint works, which contributes to overload of various parts of the foot and impedes blood circulation.

In addition to shoes and the quality of the route, walking technique also deserves attention. Rational walking dramatically reduces shaking and shock waves. It is necessary to minimize (it is impossible to completely avoid them) vertical movements of the body when walking. It is they who mainly generate pulsating overloads and microvibrations. Therefore, there is no need to rush to separate the heel of the pushing leg from the support - this should happen after the free leg passes the vertical. Otherwise, so-called vertical walking is observed, in which the center of body mass moves up and down at each step by about 5-9 cm. Later heel separation allows the push-off to be directed more forward than upward.

Strict control over your movements is especially necessary in the first lessons. In the future, gradually - quite quickly - the necessary skill is developed. It is so strong and precise that the time it takes for individual muscles to turn on and off (when walking under normal conditions) can vary by only thousandths of a second. Walking correctly is beautiful. There is a feeling of non-stop, smooth body movements. Steps are no longer perceived as separate motor acts, and each movement naturally flows into the general rhythm. Among other things, such walking is very economical. The energy saved at each step allows you to significantly increase the range of transitions. Walking brings the greatest health benefits when its duration is increased to an hour, and the regularity of exercise is up to 5-6 times a week, and on one of the days off the load doubles. The minimum rate of training is 3 times a week for 30 minutes. You can exercise at any time when it is more convenient for you. You just need to remember that there should be a break of at least 30 minutes between running training and eating. You should not turn recreational walking into sports walking by increasing speed and distance. You can and should train all year round. If the air temperature is below minus 15 degrees, then the distance can be reduced somewhat, and if it is below minus 20 degrees, then it is better to cancel the workout. Although this is not necessary.

Before training, carefully check the condition of your shoes
· Thick socks made of a mixture of wool and cotton should be worn on your feet;
· You should exercise at least 3 times a week and for at least 30 minutes.
Do not increase or decrease speed unnecessarily
· You should constantly strengthen the muscles of the arch of your feet to avoid the development of flat feet
· the greatest training effect is achieved when the training time approaches one hour
· you should monitor your pulse rate - it should not be more than 180 beats per minute. minus your age.
· during training, self-control is necessary so as not to overload the body and not undermine your health

Separately, it is worth dwelling on the issue of self-control as an important component of race walking.