Five ways to supercharge your daily walk

Physical activity doesn’t need to be complicated. Even just a brisk, ten-minute daily walk can deliver a host of health benefits – lowering the risk of several diseases, including heart disease, stroke and several cancers.

And by making a few small changes to the way you walk, you can transform this simple everyday activity, making it even more beneficial for your health.

If you’re looking to get more out of your walks, here are five ways to supercharge them.

1. Vary your speed

One way to enhance the benefits of walking is to vary your speed. Rather than maintaining a steady pace, try incorporating intervals of faster walking followed by slower recovery periods. This technique, known as interval walking, can improve cardiovascular fitness more effectively than walking at a constant speed.

In one study conducted over a four-month period, alternating three minutes of fast walking with three minutes’ walking at a moderate pace showed greater improvements in blood sugar control and fitness levels in adults with type 2 diabetes than those who walked at a steady pace for the same time period. Interval walking also lead to reductions in body fat and better overall physical endurance.

To incorporate this into your daily walks, try picking up your pace for a few minutes, then returning to your normal speed....

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