Penrose & Associates PT - June 2024

360-456-1444 | PenrosePT.com

PRST STD US POSTAGE PAID BOISE, ID PERMIT 411

1445 Galaxy Dr. NE, Suite 301 Lacey, WA 98516

1. Revitalize Your Routine With Our Boxing and Balance Classes 2. Swimmers Score Health and Fitness Gains 3. Up Your Salad Game With a Veggie Chopper Summer Chicken Salad 4. TikTok Embraces Power Walking INSIDE THIS ISSUE

STRIDING TO SUCCESS How Power Walking Boosts Your Fitness

Runners and other workout buffs often make fun of power walkers, saying that walking — even at a vigorous pace — isn’t a real workout. Try telling that to TikTok fitness influencer Stefana Avara. Avara says she got great results from power walking 30–45 minutes daily at a 15-minute mile pace (about 4 mph on a treadmill). In the past, she had built strong, bulky thighs playing lacrosse and claimed she wanted to smooth out her quads. After just five weeks of power walking, she attained slimmer thighs while maintaining excellent muscle tone. Power walking involves moving faster and with more intention than regular walking. You keep your arms bent at a 90-degree angle and pump them vigorously back and forth as you stride. Power walkers also move their feet smoothly from heel to toe while striding ahead. Doing this correctly engages

your whole body, including your core muscles, raises your heart rate, and burns more calories. A brisk walk elevates fat-burning hormones. According to Health.com, an hour of power walking uses more than 500 calories, compared with the 340 calories burned by a brisk walker and the 238 calories consumed by a casual stroller. Power walking is also easier on the joints than running. Power walkers’ feet never leave the ground at the same time, while runners’ feet repeatedly strike the ground with greater force. People who take frequent, vigorous walks reap almost as many health benefits as runners, according to a peer- reviewed 2013 study by researchers at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and Hartford Hospital. Another study found that runners and vigorous walkers showed similar reductions in the

risk of hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and coronary heart disease. Vigorous exercise also reduces such mental health problems as depression and anxiety, according to a 2006 study. To get the most out of a power walk, keep your chin up and focus your eyes on a point about 10 feet ahead of you to lengthen your stride. Pull your abdomen muscles in toward your spine. Tighten your glutes to help propel you ahead. Follow these rules of good form and swing your arms while striding energetically ahead, Avara says, and you will get a workout worth doing!

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