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WALKING TO IMPROVE YOUR FITNESS, HEART HEATH AND MOOD
SHORT BRISK WALKS The American
College of
Sports Medicine (ACSM) has released a study that provides
new information comparing the health benefits of accumulated short
brisk walks with longer exercise programs. "People drop
out of exercise programs based on regular 30-minute activity
periods," said Marie Murphy, Ph.D., lead researcher on the study.
"We thought a series of brisk 10-minute activity periods could
collectively have the same beneficial results, and wanted to find
out more. Exercising in shorter time periods throughout the day
could be more attractive and encourage individuals to participate
more readily." The researchers designed a six-week training period
that compared long (30 minute) bouts of walking with three short
(10-minute) sessions. |
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Noting that walking is a popular and readily accessible form of moderate intensity physical activity, the researchers designed a study incorporating a crossover between the two patterns over the six-week period. They recruited sedentary (meaning not having engaged in more than 20 minutes of planned exercise a week during the previous 90-day period) men and women in their mid-forties, ultimately using a test group of 21 individuals. Measurements were taken on four occasions. A baseline of height, waist/hip circumference, skin fold thickness, blood pressure, cholesterol, heart rate, maximal oxygen uptake, and psychometric inventory measurements were established, and then followed up at the end of the first walking program, before the second program, and on completion of the second program. The study subjects monitored their own training, performing the walking programs outside near the campus or their homes. They checked and reported their own heart rates and were available for the other assessments at the appropriate intervals. Although readiness to take up an exercise program sometimes coincides with motivation to improve other health behaviors, the participants in this study agreed not to modify their diets or alter their health behavior in any other way. |
After collecting and analyzing the data, the researchers found that both patterns of brisk walking resulted in improved aerobic fitness, as expected. They also found that brisk walking, in both long and short accumulated bouts, can alter body fat distribution, which may be expected to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. They found that both patterns of brisk walking lead to a decrease in diastolic blood pressure. Significant reductions in feelings of tension and anxiety were found with brisk walking of both patterns. Maximal oxygen uptake increased more with short bouts than with long, however.
Because adherence was one of the most important reasons for undertaking this research, study facilitators note that while the present work indicates positive health benefits from both short and long bouts of brisk walking, future studies should consider whether starting with a short bout of walking will motivate adherence to a longer activity program. "It may be a useful stepping stone," said Murphy. "But it is yet to be discovered whether long-term adherence results."
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