Hardwired for Fitness*

Day 18        

10,272 steps

I walked 2 1/2 miles (about 5,000 steps) to a Starbucks coffee shop today. I read Hardwired for Fitness a book by scientists Robert Portman and John Ivy. After reading for 30 minutes, I returned the  2 1/2 miles back home. Here is what I learned:

Why does walking work? Our DNA is hardwired for low-levels of sustained activity. Our DNA has evolved since the days of our caveman ancestors to stay on the move. Paleolithic man moved constantly as part of his survival. A wounded animal hunted by our ancestors may have traveled for hours before relenting and falling to the ground. The term "hunters and gatherers" describes mankind's existence prior to the development of farming techniques.

Today we serve our bodies best by pursuing less intensity activity over longer periods of time. The activity most easily sustained over an hour or more per day is-- walking. If you incorporate brisk walking into your lifestyle your health and strength will improve dramatically. The regular walker striving for 10,000 steps (about 5 miles per day) will enjoy greater benefits than a gym enthusiast following a rigorous 30 minute workout for 3-4 times a week.

Improving your health and strength just by walking defies logic-- until you try it. Get a pedometer and give it a try.

Arms in the Air... now, Bureau of Funny Walks

Day 17
12,121 steps

Walking today and I noticed a young woman on her afternoon hike. She was walking for exercise. She was moving her arms vigorously, pulling them up over her head. It looked kind of funny. Maybe she had a good idea. A great benefit of walking is that you move your arms more than you do when running.

I decided to try it and... guess what? It works. Move your arms like a silly soldier. Make believe you are on Monty Python. Loosey-goosey... Do an audition for the Bureau of Funny Walks.  Get some silliness in your step. Feel your feet making contact on the ground. Turn your feet in different directions like a ballet dancer. Walk on the outside of your foot so your ankles get stretched. You might be surprised at how much better your arms, feet, and kneest feel by the end of the walk. 'Cause you've worked it!

Check out all those steps today-- 12,121-- that's close to six miles. Anytime you walk over 10,000 steps you will feel great. The endorphins kick in. Your body relaxes and you get the athlete's sense of accomplishment.

Frappuccino and Fit-bit

Day 10
10, 397 steps

My Omron HJ-112 clip-on pedometer said I burned off 525 calories after taking 10,397 steps. I decided to reward myself with a Starbuck's coffee drink. Went to Starbucks and ordered a large-sized, 20 ounce, Java Frappuccino. One of those c's in frappuccino must stand for calories. The drink had 580 calories! So my walk of 5 miles burned off about the same number of calories I put back on with the frappuccino.

Okay, it was worth it. I have been walking consistently and this extra special coffee drink with whipped cream was my reward.

Today I read an article in the local Austin paper about the Fit-bit Force, an electronic fitness tracker synced from your wristband to your smartphone. The article said these trackers are the must-have gadget of the year. It even tracks your sleep patterns. This is too much information. I am happy with a clip-on pedometer. I like my pedometer. It gives me:

1) total steps
2) distance
3) aerobic steps
4) aerobic minutes
5) calories

So fitness is in!  Everybody will soon have a pedometer strapped to their wrist. Maybe everybody will be shooting for 10,000 steps a day.

McDonalds+Walking = weight loss

http://www.cnn.com/video/?/video/health/2014/01/04/dnt-teacher-eats-only-mcdonalds-for-90-days.kcci&hpt=hp_c3&from_homepage=yes&video_referrer=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.cnn.com%2F

Watched a 2 minute video (see link above) at the CNN website about a guy named John Cisna, a high school teacher from Iowa who ate only McDonald's food for 90 days.

John Cisna managed to lose 37 pounds. He ate only 2,000 calories of McDonald's a day. Cisna also walked 45 minutes per day. If you focus on Cisna's daily stats chart, you can see that he put in about 2.5 miles per day. The chart only appears for about a split second in the video, so I paused it.

Cisna proves the value of walking. He said, "it's the choices we make" that influence our health.  Cisna chose to walk for 45 minutes a day and averaged around 5,000 steps.