Walking or running which is actually better?

People often are found choosing between the two exercises, one a more fast paced often quicker exercise the other a slower more sedate paced exercise.

Walking is Superior

Walking surpasses running by far, despite it being less strenuous, its benefits arguably exceed that of running. Both obviously are much more healthier then standing still or laying down and provide immense health benefits to those who do it regularly.

Although runners are shown to have reduced risk of heart disease, walkers have shown a much larger risk reduction rate of likeliness to attract heart disease of almost double that of runners. So Interestingly enough the health benefits are greater than that of running, at least for ones heart.

Injury levels are much lower when walking as it is a low impact exercise. Where running actually risks a person more injuries, as it is a medium-to high impact exercise. Running ius more likely to result in muscle strains, ankle injuries and even fall impact damage.

Walking is simple and much easier to do, people feel less self conscious wen walking down a busy street then they do running. It is truly the superior lazy type of exercise!

Who Walks?

Often you find that those who begin walking are those more unhealthier people, which allows for much greater changes in their lives then those who run. Runners tend to already be fairly healthy and this leads to only small changes to their overall health compared to walkers. 

It tends to be more of an older persons exercise, from what I have observed the serious walkers tend to be those who are older. However this doesn't make walking an exercise for only older people, in fact lots of people do it in the simplest ways. Walking down to the shops, to the bus stop, visiting a nearby friend or family member. Though these people do it less seriously they are still walking when they can.

This is the brilliance behind walking, you can do it anywhere, well almost anywhere. Running can be more embarrassing in public which creates a certain disincentive to even try it. Walking is easier and more acceptable in a persons own eyes due to it being considered more normal. 

This is why walking will always be superior to running, the health benefits and the social stigma of the exercises.

External Links: 

http://health.ninemsn.com.au/whatsgoodforyou/theshow/694482/walking-versus-running-151-whats-better

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/05/29/is-it-better-to-walk-or-run/

Mental Health Improved Through Simple Body Actions

Ever noticed people who are slouching while they walk seem much more unhappier then those who walk upright? 

Studies have discovered that people can have a more happy disposition simply by moving to a more upright posture. This originated from San Francisco State University researchers who looked at how happy people were after slouching and skipping.

Slouching in Society 

Arguably, people seem to be slouching a lot more today then ever before. This I believe can be attributed to the level of comfort now available and our overall laziness today. Even now I am writing this from the comfort of my couch, legs kicked up slouching comfortably on this beautiful feeling couch.

Keeping an eye out during the week I have spotted a rare few who sat or walked in a more upright position then others. From my experience the majority of these tended to be older females as well as those of ethnic descent.

This may be because they grew up with an emphasis on the important of posture (Possibly not in the sense that it makes you happy but because it is expected by society).

Maybe today people are more unhappy with their lives because they slouch more, we are seeing more people diagnosed with depression every day. Can we not combat depression by sitting and walking more upright? I say why not, simple small changes everyday could vastly improves someone disposition and mental health.


Improve your Health!!

Running a few simple tests on myself I have noted some additional benefits to not slouching.

1. Your mind becomes more active and productive

My usual posture of slouching down saw my production towards finishing an assignment or even writing up a blog post as very slow going. I would frequently get side tracked by social media, games, videos the whole lot.
However while sitting more upright I become a lot more focused and productive. Getting a lot more done and arguably even having it of a higher quality then normal.

2. Feels good on the body.

Shoulders back seems to stretch out my usual slouched back, which feels amazing in itself. Physically it feels great and mentally I am believing that it is good for my back, posture and now even my overall positive disposition towards the day.

3. Become a lot more approachable

With crossed arms body slouched I must appear more of a closed off person and difficult for people to talk too. Whereas this openness of good posture and an open body language seems to get more people friends and even those I have never met before alike to socialize more with me.



Comment on your own observations, whether it be yourself or others who appear to have or bad posture and their overall attitude. Do we think that people are actually more lazier today which has resulted in more slouching and closed off body language?

Related External Links: http://health.ninemsn.com.au/family/familyhealth/8559355/change-how-you-sit-to-feel-happy
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2228003/Sit-cheer-Slouching-making-sad-study-shows.html

I Hate to Exercise, but I Love Running from the Police in GTA5

Grand Theft Auto and Games

So here we are another recently released game where you take on the life of a vicious criminal roaming the streets and causing mayhem. I have to admit I love the games, and as of yet still need to purchase the newest addition to the GTA series.

What interests me from an exercise perspective is peoples mentality towards such games. Here I don't want to focus on how violence could effect kids yada yada yada. But I want to look at the idea that people enjoy games and exercising acts within games but otherwise avoid it at all opportunities outside of it.

An excellent example as illustrated above is riding bicycles and trying to catch moving vehicles or escape from various enemies. Of course the situations in these games are far more unrealistic then the real world and maybe this is why people enjoy it inside games yet despise it outside of it.


Are Kids becoming desensitized towards exercise?

This desensitized term is much more popular in the violence context yet it is very applicable to exercise as well. Movies and video games are becoming increasingly violent which lead to people arguing that kids become desensitized towards it, but what does this mean? Desensitizing is making people less sensitive towards something, meaning they are less likely to react favorably or negatively towards something as it becomes commonplace.

So Why do i think people becoming less sensitive towards exercise is a bad thing? Simply because they don't look on it favorably which is ideally what you want to achieve in order to get people exercising. It becomes commonplace for kids to exercise in games and not think about doing it in real life because maybe its less effective or exciting.

Are there ways to make exercising more exciting and game like then? There is, especially with the advances in technology and the growing popularity of the Xbox Kinnect, and Playstation Move.

Xbox Kinnect/ Playstation Move a step in the right direction for gaming

I believe this is a small but very significant step towards combining exercise with gaming. Yes, I am aware of Wii type games being out for a while now and providing a very active atmosphere for the players. I do feel however the Wii console isn't that used by more serious gamers, I believe that these serious gamers revolve around bigger consoles such as the Xbox and Playstation and even PC.

These serious gamers can be more of a problem to target and the brilliance of providing a chance to move which in turn effects the game is a masterstroke. For thos who are not familiar with the Kinnect or Move these are like cameras being set up which track a persons movement to some degree and this can effect a characters motion within the game.

It is a small movement change but it is a start in the right direction I believe, especially if it becomes popular among gamers. time will hopefully tell that it does and this increase in movement may even be enhanced further with more advanced technology, the possibilities are endless.

What does the Future Hold?

Granted the above clip doesn't show an increase in movement but if you think beyond this room becoming part of the world to a person also joining the mix, standing up running or walking on spot to get to place in the game/room.

There is so much possibilities with the exponential technological growth we are seeing today. Not just in the gaming world but everywhere such as medically helping people who are paraplegic to walk again.

There is also however the flip side to this technological advancement if nurtured wrongly we could see a more lazy society. This I see as the more likely, we as human beings constantly strive to make our lives easier it seems, Technology is arguably a means to this end.

I believe we need to control this technological advancement and focus it in the right places to help society grow but keep people active and healthy at the same time.

If anyone else has seen any upcoming technological advances they believe may have some good or even bad impact on people exercising I would love to see it.

Exercise vs Healthy Eating, Which is the better option?

In an imperfect world we find people are often choosing one or the other.

Ideally people should do both to be healthier and possibly prevent a range of different potential illnesses. However it has been my experience people are happy with simply doing one or the other and expecting results.

So which is better?

I guess this would depend on what you want to achieve, maybe you feel dead on your feet all the time and with no energy in which case food may be the way to choose. on the other hand you may feel you need to lose some weight or cant walk as far as you would like, in which case exercise would probably be the better choice.

I for one eat quite unhealthier yet am a big exerciser. I believe this is the better option then one whom is a healthy eater but does not exercise. I believe it is the better option for a few reasons:

1. Exercise is often far more cheaper then purchasing healthier food.
2. Is more effective at helping losing weight and keeping fit.
3. Helps deal with stress.

Here is 20 great other reasons exercise helps: http://www.health24.com/Fitness/Exercise/20-proven-benefits-of-exercise-20120721
My personal favorite is number 13: Exercise is great for your sex life.


Eat more healthily or exercise more?