10K A Day Keeps The Doctor Away!
I haven’t posted about fitness for a long while. Yet, staying in Byron Bay, I have never had more opportunities to get fit. I do a short, stretchy Yoga sequence most mornings, have found a Body Pump class, walk 10 thousand steps a day, or more, cycle everywhere and am having swimming lessons for the crawl! (More on that in a later post) All ideal exercises for increasing stamina and keeping your body toned – at any age. No wonder I’m exhausted!
Byron BayBut, having suffered the end of Tropical Cyclone Marcia here for the last few days, it’s been really hard to accomplish any outdoor exercise, reminding me how difficult it will be when I get back home to the UK! However, with the right clothes on ( Billy Connolly’s wise words: ‘there’s no such thing as bad weather, just the wrong clothes!’) I have persevered through this weather blip (apart from one day) and still managed my 10 thousand steps almost daily! Here’s how easy it is and why it’s so good for you.
TIPS & BENEFITS
It’s one of the safest exercise to do, at any age. But….
Check with your doctor first if you have any health conditions.
Don’t forget sunscreen, a hat, and plenty of water if it’s warm and sunny.
Get a pedometer or one of those amazing new Jawbone or Fitbit Byron Baymonitor wrist bands, to measure how much you are doing and to encourage you to reach your goal. Most people do 4-5 thousand steps a day anyway, just walking around doing chores, going to work, shopping etc. So it won’t take long.
Don’t power walk at first, go at your own comfortable speed. Build-up slowly.
Build up to 10 thousand steps. Maybe add a thousand steps every couple of days till you’re really strong.
If you have a really busy day, just try and incorporate extra steps by using the stairs instead of the lift, parking the car further from the supermarket doors, getting off the bus a stop early, etc. etc.
By the time you are walking 10k steps a day you will have walked 3-5 miles a day, burnt fat, lost weight, improved your mood and strengthened your heart.
And you don’t need to join a gym, wear special clothes or buy special shoes. In warm weather I just wear my ancient Fit Flops and get an even better workout for my thighs!
