Weekend Walking Health Benefits? Yes There Are! 😁

The theme for this week … Weekend walking health benefits

When the demands of life keep you from being active during the week, what do you do? If you’re like many people, you make up the time over the weekend. Is there still a health benefit to this approach? Read on …

Weekday schedule too busy to work out?

Kids, work, school, parents … how do you fit exercise in too? You know it’s important, but so is sleep!

A recent article in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) questioned the health benefits of weekend low intensity exercise (walking) to see if there was any tangible benefit to health.

The results were unexpected!

Yes, there were benefits! Even better was the threshold of activity studied — 8000 steps. Very achievable for most people.

According to the report, “The key finding from this analysis was that individuals who achieve at least 8000 steps in just 1 or 2 days per week have substantial reductions in 10-year mortality compared with those who never reach the 8000-step mark on any day of the week.”

The primary benefits were improved cardiovascular health and general mortality.

Bottom line — shoot for daily activity, but when you can’t, get your feet moving on the weekend for at least 8k steps (approx. 45 minutes).

How can Bridging® play a role?

What we’ve seen at the Bridging® Institute is that our clients want to move. They are willing to try a different approach to regain the ability to be active so they can feel better and do more.

Clients find Bridging’s targeted approach to problem-solving finds the issues that create stress or pain. Often these are issues that other professionals don’t take into account.

Even better is the gentle, rocking, and stretch-based way muscles are reset during Bridging®, which is often very relaxing.

Insight of the Week from Cara

When time is a limiting factor in being active, what can you do?

How can you fit in enough activity?

Although there are many goals for exercise, the most fundamental are cardiovascular health and long-term health.

The good news, as this JAMA article noted, is that 8000 steps in two days per week shows tangible health benefits.

Getting started …

Start with 8000 steps on two days per week. As your schedule changes, you can gradually increase your daily activity, add recommended strength training, and some higher intensity interval training.

In the meantime, rest easy because you’re still doing something positive for your well-being. 😁

How does Bridging® help?

When pain, coordination/balance, or anxiety are limiting your ability to get in at least 8000 steps, it’s time to figure out why.

Our Bridging® assessment quickly finds which of your specific micromovements are stuck. The reasons are found in your past —

• Injuries, even from long ago
• Illness, especially severe respiratory
• Medical interventions such as surgery or immobilizations
• Early life trauma from birth, or early health concerns

We use the gentle stretch-based rocking motions of the Bridging® Technique to quickly reset your muscle memory.

Your 8000 steps await!