Walking Your Way To A Longer Life

Way back in the eighties, I took it upon myself to do a long walk of twenty-two miles around the boundaries of the town in which I lived. It was an annual event called 'The Beating of the Bounds'. The walk was in aid of some charity I cannot recall the name of, but I was always in favour of any good cause that would also do me a great deal of good.

At various points around the course, there were stewards who would hand out small bottles of refreshing water and small paper towels to mop sweaty brows. There was always a qualified doctor there too, just in case.

I did the course with a friend who was ex-military, who I imagined to be physically fit and more than capable at orienteering, just in case we got lost. And get lost we did. And my army friend was about as much use as a chocolate fireguard. In the end, we did something like twenty-six miles due to his poor navigation skills.

In the end, it took us about seven hours of none stop trekking. And oh boy, did my bones ache for days afterwards. That is one of the problems with anything like walking and running, it's hell on the skeleton, but ultra beneficial on the soft tissue such as internal organs and muscles.

One of the things I also took away from the walk was something my own doctor told me, when we stopped for water. He said that for anybody over fifty, which at that time I was very far from, a gentle walk of about three miles a day is the best exercise you can get. I believed him then and I still do now I am knocking on the door of seventy.

Here are some of the benefits of walking just three miles a day.

Walking for three miles, or about forty five minutes, is good for the cardiovascular system. Indeed, it is excellent for all of your vital organs, such as the lungs, liver and kidneys.

By walking, your blood flow will improve and your intake of oxygen will increase, improving the condition of those organs and making it a lot less likely that you will suffer any terminal illnesses, such as cancer, heart disease, or even diabetes.

Walking will also help to keep your arteries clean as it can reduce the build up of fatty plaque. That will help to avoid a whole range of illnesses like heart attacks or strokes.

Of course, like any physical exercise, walking will also help to tone up your muscles, which will improve your mobility and make getting around so much easier.

Also, walking will enhance your mental and emotional state of mind and enable you to improve your mental performance throughout the rest of the day. And from personal experience, I can tell you that you will sleep a lot sounder than you are perhaps accustomed to.

The best part about taking up walking is it will increase your life span. Yes, eight miles a day would be better still, but three miles a day is a sweet spot. With three miles a day you expect to increase your longevity by about fifty per cent.

And as if all of those health benefits were not enough, regular exercise can also vastly improve your sex life. One of the main causes of erectile, dysfunction, or brewers droop, as it is often called, is poor blood flow to the penis. In other words, you can walk your way to an enhanced sexual experience. What is not to like about that?

So remember, for just forty five minutes of time a day, anybody can enjoy a healthier, longer living life. If that is not a fair trade I don't know what is.