If you prefer to go for exercise and often go out with your spouse or other significant other, new research suggests that you would be wise to leave them in the dust – or at least encourage them to increase the pace. A study just published in the academic journal Walking & posture was found that couples who go together also end up at a much slower pace. If the couple was handheld? Their speed went even further down.
“If someone significantly slows down when walking with someone else, it can deny some of the health benefits recognized if they walked alone at a faster pace,” sa Libby Richards, Ph.D., MSN, RN, CHES, Associate Professor of Nursing at Purdue University, who conducted the study.
Although other studies have shown that training with friends and family is extremely beneficial for achieving more fitness gains – and to introduce a greater sense of responsibility for all involved – to walk, perhaps because it is an exercise performed at a conversational speed, seems to be an exception. “We were hoping that there would not be a reduction in the speed at which partners went together,” Richards explained. “We hoped slower partners would speed up to match the faster partner, but that was not the case.”
For the study, the researchers studied the walking and walking speeds spent for 72 couples who were between 25 and 79 years old. They performed all kinds of walks “in many settings,” says the study, “including clear or obstacle-filled paths, walking together, walking together in hands, and walking individually.”
As countless studies have shown, walking speed is extremely important for the quality of the training you receive when you are out and about. “Walking speed is important to measure because it is related to general health. Typical walking speed is predictable for fall risk, disability, disability recovery and mortality Shirley Rietdyk, PhD, MS, Professor of Health and Kinesiology at Purdue, in the official release of the study. (For further evidence of the importance of walking speed, know that a new study of cancer survivors was published in the journal Cancer epidemiology, biomarkers and prevention concluded that “those who walked at the slowest speed had more than twice the risk of death from any cause, compared to those who reported the fastest walking pace.”)
In the end, the researchers found that in all types of walking conditions, “both parties reduced speed when walking together and further reduced speed while holding hands, compared to walking alone. While walking with a partner may increase walking activity due to social support may be reduced. speed when walking together unintentionally reduces the health benefits and gait quality of both parties. “
So remember this the next time you are about to take a walk with your SO. For just some of the extra benefits you will enjoy after increasing your walking pace, read on, because we have listed them here. And for better advice on getting the most out of your walks, do not miss the big mistakes you should never make when walking, according to experts.
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If you want to stabilize your blood sugar, you can find worse ways than taking a short and quick walk in your area after eating. A study published in the journal Diabetology 2016 found that just a 10-minute walk after eating helped people with type 2 diabetes lower their blood sugar levels. If you want more good ways to get started now, you can consider trying this whole body workout that builds strength and burns fast calories.
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A study published this year in the journal Scientific reports says you should take faster walks for your creativity. And get this: The more you go, the more your mind will flourish. “The most active of the volunteers also turned out to be the most creative, especially if they often walked or otherwise trained moderately,” explained The New York Times. And if you go to lose weight, make sure you are aware of how far you should go each day to burn more fat, says top doctors.
