Just Like I’ve Always Said, Walking is Not Enough For Significant Exercise: “

Just Like I’ve Always Said, Walking is Not Enough For Significant Exercise

As a postscript to a blog I posted earlier this week, experts are finally realizing far more than a walk around the block is necessary to repay the serious exercise debt their patients need to optimize their health.

Canadian researchers put this belief to the test by comparing the fitness of 128 patients by assigning them either to a pedometer-centered, 10,000-step walking program — and going at their own pace — versus a traditional one, incorporating cardio-based exercise at a moderate intensity for six months.

Patients in the latter group who exercised more vigorously increased their peak oxygen intake (indicating aerobic fitness) and lowered their systolic blood pressure by 10 percent, more than double the benefits enjoyed by walkers.

Those findings demonstrate beyond a doubt, you’ll derive the maximum benefits from exercise if you treat it like a drug that needs to be prescribed precisely. If you’re not sure where to start, review my beginner’s exercise page.

And, if you have difficulty making time for exercise, you’ll want to read a new series of articles about a practical and effective training program developed by Ryan Lee.

EurekAlert September 20, 2006

(Via mercola.com blog.)