Walking as an Aerobics Exercise for Arthritis

The word “aerobics” simply means "using oxygen". When you do an aerobic exercise, like walking, basketball, running, or aerobics, you are breathing. The oxygen passes through your body, as opposed to using up the bodily storage like you do during sprinting, or bench pressing.

“Aerobic” just means exercise that raises your heart rate. But when people hear the word aerobic they often think of very fit people hopping about to loud music in a gym. It is actually a form of exercise that comprises rhythmic aerobic exercise with stretching and strength training routines with the goal of improving all the elements of fitness (flexibility, muscular strength, and cardiovascular fitness).

Aerobic exercise helps build stamina, control and reduce weight, improves sleep, strengthens bones (thus protecting against osteoporosis), and reduces depression. The moderate exertion used when exercising should bring about slight breathlessness and an increase in the pulse. Feeling more than that may mean you are doing too much.

I am personally a great advocate of walking, perhaps because it’s the exercise that I feel most comfortable with. As I might have mentioned in another article, I carry a walking stick as a sort of insurance against falling heavily if one of my knees gives way. It is certainly the easiest way to exercise, and it’s something that a lot of folk do sometime during the day anyway, such as going shopping, visiting, walking the dog etc. The benefits include improving the muscles around the knees and hips, and strengthening the heart and lungs. Of course, it can be carried out by people of all ages, and by those of different fitness levels. Studies have consistently shown that walkers acquire the same cardiovascular benefits as runners, and with fewer injuries into the bargain. It has also been shown that it significantly decreases arthritis pain.

As well as those routine, leisurely walks mentioned above, you should also begin to take longer ones, preferably at a brisker pace. You could begin with 10 minute ones, gradually increasing that to about 30 minutes. This should be carried out 3 or 4 times a week, maybe more, if you feel up to it after a while. Wear comfortable, non-slip shoes, such as trainers, and remember if you use a stick, like I do, to have it in the opposite hand to the painful knee, hip, or foot.

Everyone has their own preference when it comes to what kind of surface they walk on. I prefer something hard, such as a pavement, beneath me, while others will no doubt opt for the grass, as they reckon that it reduces the impact on their joints. Whatever you choose, you have to remember that your main aim is to keep the body on the move, and bearing its own weight.

I used to have a portable music player with me at first, but as I’m fortunate enough to live in a place of scenic beauty, I’ve discarded it, and feel that I’m discovering something new each day—things that I’d never bothered to notice before. Of course, most of us take walking for granted, as it’s been there since our childhood. Once you realize how easy a routine it is, even in older age, and the benefits that it can give, you’ll be hooked!