People have been saying it for a long time, and now the proof has been gathered. You don't have to kill yourself doing vigorous exercise to reduce the risk of heart disease. A study of 72,000 women in Massachusetts showed the same risk reduction for heart disease when they walked three hours a week at a moderate pace compared to women who engaged in 1.5 hours a week of vigorous exercise. 

This is good news for people who hate vigorous exercise, and there are many who do. This eight-year study came up with some interesting statistics. Three hours of walking a week (30 minutes, six days a week) at a 20 minute mile pace reduced the female risk of heart attack by 30 to 40 percent. If the women increased their walking to 50 minutes, six days a week, these women reduced their risk of heart attack by 50 percent!

The interesting part of this study is that it means that people who are averse to exercise can probably do something that is not impossible. A twenty-minute mile is not very fast, and 30 minutes of walking is only a mile and a half.

If you are one of the people in the world who hate exercise, of which there seem to be many, think in terms of either a half hour or a mile and a half. Could you park your car 15 minutes from where you typically go into work. That way, you would walk 30 minutes to and from your car five days a week. Is it possible to squeeze thirty minutes out of your lunch hour to walk for that period of time? At a twenty-minute mile pace, you won't have the need to shower when you are finished. 

Find out what a twenty-minute mile pace feels like if you decide to do this, or map out a mile and a half route. Start a couple of days a week, and eventually work up to a point where you will not only enjoy the benefits of reduced heart attack, but you will also begin to enjoy the invigoration that accompanies regular exercise.

Good luck.
 

Janelle Barlow, Author
The Stress Manager
 
 
 
 

Previous "Stress Management Corner" pages:
 

#1	New Approaches to Job Stress
#2	If Exercise Works as a Cure...
#3	Headaches! The Most Common Complaint
#4	Eight Glasses a Day!
#5	How Well Does Zinc Work?
#6	Intense Emotions Can Kill You
#7	Sleep!
#8	Job Stress and Compensation Claims
#9	Job-Related Stress
#10	Losing Weight - It's Not Easy!
#11	Food Supplements - How Necessary?
#12	Stress and Change
#13	Depression Among the Elderly
#14	Spirituality and Your Health
#15	It's Cold Season Again!
#16	A Positive Attitude is Important
#17	Power of Laughter
#18	More Laughter and Stress Management
#19	Go for a Massage!
#20	Aspirin: That Little White Pill
#21	Aging and Self-Conception
#22	Worker Stress Increasing
#23	Back Pain
#24	Kava: The Natural Cure for Anxiety
#25	Oxidative Stress Theory
#26	Yet Another Cause of Fatigue
#27	Can Too Much Iron Be Bad for You?
#28	Tea: A Magical Potion?
#29	Sleep, Social Attitudes & Individual Needs

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