Exercise: a step into the right direction

10,000 steps equates to roughly 5 miles (the equivalent of climbing the Eiffel Tower six times or walking two lengths of Heathrow’s longest runway) and Japanese research has shown that doing this small amount of exercise daily is a good way of maintaining a healthy heart and reducing body fat. Most people only walk less than half of this suggested amount and cite various excuses for doing so, but it doesn’t have to be difficult! The proposed routine breaks a healthy lifestyle down into small, achievable goals which can be accomplished in various easy ways:

You could:

Walk to the local shop on a regular basis
Use the stairs instead of a lift
Get off the bus a stop earlier
Even parking at the far end of the car park could make a significant difference
Failing that, throw away the remote control!
Try and enjoy yourself doing it – there are bound to be plenty of naturally attractive places near you that provide a pleasant location for a stroll – and remember it’s free!

In time you should be able to find small but effective ways of your own to bump up your daily total. On their website, the British Heart Foundation Medical Director, Professor Sir Charles George states that: “Walking is one of the easiest, most convenient and inexpensive forms read more