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Walking Has Its Ups and Downs
A recent study conducted at an Austrian hospital suggests that all walks are not equal when it comes to the health benefits they provide. Researchers at the Academic teaching Hospital in Feldkirch followed the progress of 45 sedentary volunteers who took part in a four-month hiking program. Participants spent two months walking downhill three to five times a week, about an hour a session. They then spent two months walking uphill for the same amount of days and hours as the previous two months.
The researchers learned that walking uphill lowered the volunteers’ triglyceride level by 11 percent. This figure went down 6.8 percent when they were walking downhill, but they improved their glucose tolerance by 8.2 percent, compared to 4.5 percent when trekking uphill.
It’s not known conclusively why walking in different directions led to different results. Researchers think it could be due to the increase in concentric muscle activity when headed uphill and more eccentric activity going downhill. Concentric muscle activity takes place when a person is performing an activity, while eccentric activity occurs when you’re about to stop moving.
The researchers learned that walking uphill lowered the volunteers’ triglyceride level by 11 percent. This figure went down 6.8 percent when they were walking downhill, but they improved their glucose tolerance by 8.2 percent, compared to 4.5 percent when trekking uphill.
It’s not known conclusively why walking in different directions led to different results. Researchers think it could be due to the increase in concentric muscle activity when headed uphill and more eccentric activity going downhill. Concentric muscle activity takes place when a person is performing an activity, while eccentric activity occurs when you’re about to stop moving.
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Women Partner
Very interesting article! But I want to know about waling neither up, nor down. How is that influencing us?