Walking your way to health

And if you’re determined to take steps in the right direction, it could be the perfect route back into a healthier lifestyle, without having to get all hot and sweaty, or out of your depth too quickly.

Fork in the road

You may be someone who is simply a bit out of shape from avoiding exercise and the fresh air for too long - or possibly you have decided to leave the car at home more often and walk to the shops. Perhaps you are an ex-smoker who has already made a conscious decision to set out on new path towards a better quality of life. If you are in this group, you could reap financial as well as health benefits. Analysis from Sainsbury’s Finance earlier this year found that potentially millions of ex-smokers have not informed their life insurance providers that they gave up the habit more than 12 months ago (and also haven’t used any nicotine replacement products in that time), and so could actually see a fall in their life insurance premiums.

Whether you are walking for fitness, leisure, or for practicality’s sake, the good news is that it’s possible you could see an improvement in your health too. Walking on a regular basis can help with burning fat and can have a range of other benefits including lowering the risk of heart disease, reducing blood pressure, and reducing high cholesterol. Other possible benefits could include boosting mental wellbeing, increasing bone density and even reducing the risk of cancer of the colon, according to the Ramblers, the UK’s walking charity.

As a general rule, the faster you walk, the better the effect and the more calories you will use up. A ten stone person walking at a fair pace of 3mph can burn some 277 calories in an hour. If you are heavier, or are really stepping it out, you can burn more than this in a similar time. In addition, research has suggested that those who walk briskly are far less likely than those who walk more slowly to suffer from cardiovascular disease.

Learning to walk?

 There’s a wealth of literature and online resources which will give you ideas for walking routes. And while there are many options for hiking up mountains and fells, you don’t have to be a regular Wainwright to put the best foot forward. Ramblers groups offer shorter walks of less than five miles, often in urban areas.

So, if you want to push yourself, what options are there? A variation on straightforward hiking is Nordic walking. This involves using poles to bring the muscles of the body into play more than regular walking. While it can be done anywhere and only needs a set of walking poles, Nordic Walking UK recommends taking a class with an instructor to get the most out of the activity.

Meanwhile, if you want to keep track of how much work you’re doing, there are many smartphone GPS apps which will track how far you’ve walked and how many calories you’ve burned. And an app such as Walk Score can also help you identify amenities you could walk to - rather than drive.

Ultimately, life is for living, and regular walks can be a perfect way to get you moving again. But when starting a new course of exercise it is always a good idea to take advice from your doctor - and to make sensible provisions for dependents, including a life insurance policy.

Issued by Sainsbury’s Finance

Sainsbury’s Finance is a trading name of Sainsbury’s Bank plc. All information correct at time of publication, but may be subject to change. Any views or opinions expressed in this article are the responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of any part of the Sainsbury’s Group of companies.

Sainsbury’s Finance is a financial services provider engaged in savings accounts and car insurance. It also supplies insurance services in home insurance and life insurance as well as being a provider of travel money services.

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