It’s time to put one foot in front of the other to commemorate National Walking Day on April 7^th, 2021! Held annually on the first Wednesday in April, National Walking Day was created by the American Heart Association as a way to raise awareness about the importance of physical activity. On National Walking Day, millions of people across the United States will (literally) take steps to live healthier lifestyles.

Adventure Fitness Athletic Club offers countless ways for our Thornton gym members to incorporate walking and other low-impact exercises into their fitness routines. From our full range of machines like treadmills, ellipticals, climbers, and bikes, to our unique classes like Nordic Walking, AFAC has what you need to celebrate National Walking Day, every day.

The great news is, walking can be as easy as lacing up your shoes and hitting the pavement. And it doesn’t take that much walking to make big strides toward better health. Many studies have shown that:

• Walking is the best thing we can all do to improve our health, increase our longevity, and stay functional as we age.
• Walking has one of the lowest injury rates of any exercise.
• Just 30 minutes of moderate-intensity walking, five days a week, will provide you with a significant portion of its health benefits, while 60 minutes or more is even better.

Today’s blog is dedicated to National Walking Day and all the opportunities that AFAC members have to walk more at the best gym in Thornton, Colorado!

Nordic Walking Classes at Our Thornton Gym

The owner of Adventure Fitness Athletic Club, Susan Schaffner, is a Certified American Nordic Walking Association Personal Instructor and, weather permitting, holds regular Nordic walking classes for gym members (non-members can join for a small fee). Nordic Walking is an exciting combination of walking and another favorite pastime in Colorado — skiing.

This popular fitness activity involves walking while holding specially designed ski poles in your hands. Once you learn the technique, Nordic Walking is a very effective low-impact exercise that can give you the same intensity as running but with less pressure on your joints.

Originally, Nordic Walking was a training exercise used over 100 years ago by cross-country skiers in Finland during the off-season. In the 1990s, a group of Finnish investors, athletes, and sports medicine experts created a wrist strap system for skiing poles which turned this skier’s training exercise into an exercise opportunity for virtually anyone.

AFAC gym members are fortunate because Susan’s Nordic Walking classes are the only ones in the area that use both Nordic Walking poles and Bungee poles. With Bungee poles, you can get a more intense workout because they require extra coordination and muscles to use.

Nordic Walking comes with all the benefits of regular walking, and then some! A few of the many advantages of Nordic Walking include:

• People of all ages and fitness levels can participate in Nordic Walking.
• Nordic Walking gives you an opportunity to enjoy Colorado’s beautiful scenery and trails, as well as other areas when you’re traveling.
• It provides a very effective cardiovascular workout that uses 90% of the body’s muscles, compared to a maximum of 70% for regular walking.
• Nordic Walking burns up to 46% more calories than regular walking — up to 400 calories per hour.
• It’s low impact and reduces strain on the knees, hips, ankles, and feet compared to jogging and running.
• In addition to toning, strengthening, and stabilizing the lower body, Nordic Walking provides those same benefits for the core and upper body including the arms, shoulders, and back.

To learn more about Susan’s Nordic Walking classes, contact her at 720-849-0245 or email susan@adventurefitness.club.

You can also sign up for Nordic Walking and all of our other fitness classes here.

Walking and Other Low-Impact Exercises at Our Gym

In addition to our Nordic Walking Classes, Adventure Fitness Athletic Club offers a variety of other low-impact exercise options at our gym. Our personal trainers and other fitness experts will be happy to show you around the gym and teach you how to use each piece of equipment with proper form so that you get the most out of every workout.

• Treadmills and elliptical machines — When it comes to walking more, the use of treadmills is a no-brainer. On a treadmill, you can walk to your heart’s content at the speed and incline of your choosing regardless of the weather outside and time of day. Elliptical machines offer similar workout benefits but are even lower-impact than treadmills. Instead of walking, ellipticals provide more of a bike-riding motion for your feet while your hands pump two poles back-and-forth, which engages your upper-body and lower-body muscles.

• Upright bikes, recumbent bikes, Airdyne bikes, and spin bikes — Our gym has every model of indoor cycling equipment you can imagine, all under one roof. While each bike offers its own unique benefits, overall, indoor cycling is a non-weight bearing exercise, which means it takes all pressure off your joints for a true no-impact workout.

• Rowing machines — Our rowing machines provide an exceptional upper- and lower-body workout that other machines and exercises can’t match. On a rowing machine, you can experience the intensity of running but without the impact on your joints. A rowing machine also engages 86% of the muscles in your body.

• VersaClimbers — A VersaClimber is a workout machine that helps you mimic the movements of climbing a mountain. It has two pedals for your feet and two poles for your hands. When you’re on a VersaClimber, you stand upright with your feet on the pedals and your hands grasping the handles. The machine makes you use your lower and upper body during the workout, but without any pressure on your joints.

• Stepper machines — Stepper machines help you simulate the movement of climbing stairs without any impact on your joints. One difference, however, is that the stairs never stop so you keep climbing for as long as you want the workout to last. This machine is perfect for strengthening and toning your lower body in addition to giving you a solid cardiovascular workout.

• Helix machines — While most cardio machines work your feet and legs front to back, helix machines move your feet in a lateral (side-to-side) motion in circles. This lateral, circular movement engages more muscles in the legs, glutes, core, and back, increasing calorie burn and cardiovascular fitness.

• Resistance bands — Our gym stocks every type and strength of resistance band. True to their name, these simple tools provide users with a level of resistance during exercise, which increases the intensity and effectiveness of each movement. Resistance bands can even be used when walking short distances in the gym.

• Smovey — Smovey’s hollowed-out rings have steels balls inside that move as the Smovey moves. The movement creates a vibration in the user’s hands that massages and soothes the body. In addition, swinging Smovey rings while walking provides a centrifugal force that helps train the legs, arms, back, chest, and more. The owner of our gym, Susan, is a Certified SmoveyVIBROSWING® System Coach.

• Spin and More classes — Burn calories, sculpt your muscles, and have a great time at the Spin and More classes at our gym.

• Power Plate classes — While walking on a trail gives you a good workout, Power Plates kick things up a notch because they vibrate, which stimulates your muscles to contract and relax in order to maintain your balance as you stand on the plate and perform various low-impact exercises.

8 More Benefits of Walking        

While we’ve covered quite a few advantages of walking, the benefits of this simple exercise are seemingly endless. If you’re not already convinced about how wonderful walking is for your health, read on to learn more benefits of walking:

1. Walking can help you clear your head, reduce stress, and think more creatively. Research has found that people who are walking think of new ideas faster than those who are sitting.
2. It burns calories to help you maintain or lose weight
3. Studies show that walking 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week, can reduce your risk of coronary heart disease by 19 percent. Walking more reduces your risk even further.
4. It can help you lower your blood sugar levels.
5. It can help lubricate and strengthen muscles that support your joints, thereby easing joint pain.
6. It can boost your immune system and energy levels. One study found that walking at a moderate pace for 30-45 minutes a day resulted in 43% fewer sick days in participants.
7. It can help improve your mood and mental health.
8. It can extend your life by reducing the risk of common causes of death like cardiovascular disease and cancer.

Walking and Working Out at the Best Local Gym in Thornton

As you can see, Adventure Fitness Athletic Club is fully equipped with all the tools, knowledge, and support you need to integrate every low-impact exercise imaginable into your regular workout, including walking. After your workout, we also have ways to help you relax and recover thanks to our recovery methods like our hydro massage bed and cryotherapy chamber. To learn more about our gym, equipment, classes, and memberships, visit Adventure Fitness Athletic Club. You can also contact our gym owner, Susan at 720-849-0245 or susan@adventurefitness.club.

To read more articles from Adventure Fitness Athletic Club, check out our Adventure Corner blogs by clicking here.