Thursday, June 18, 2009

Creative Walking



Journal Entry: Weight = 174.6; Coinage = 45 pennies, 1 nickel, 2 dimes, 3 quarters; Glass bottles retrieved =8; Ground Scores = 3; Best coinage find = 3 quarters at a Chevron gas station newspaper vending machine.

Feature Entry: A few years ago (1970) Harry J. Johnson, M.D. wrote a book with this eye catching title, Creative Walking for Physical Fitness. Right on the jacket, he claimed to have conceived “A new, scientifically conceived program to reduce weight and inches and increase muscle tone.” I grabbed it from the dusty shelves of our local library’s every Thursday book sale before someone else snapped it up. Finally at home with it, I eagerly opened to the Table of Contents for evidence of “creative” walking techniques. There were chapters on Walking and aging, walking and mood enhancement, walking and sleep enhancement, walking and alcohol, but nothing about money walking.

If not finding money, what aspect of creativity will the good doctor describe? He didn’t. I suppose in 1970 walking for exercise in itself was consider a creative way to manage good health and weight control. [Note to Dr. Johnson, buried cadillacs are creative.] Dr. Johnson did identify several advantages of daily walking. One was the prevention of sludge build-up in the arteries. Cholesterol and other irritates can either break away from artery walls in the form of a death threatening blood clot, or completely block one of the heart arteries causing a heart attack.

Regular mild walking over time works by providing just enough stress so that the body compensates by a specific adaptation in the arteries and heart itself. Professionals define the response as the SAID Principle, Specific Adaptation to Imposed Demand. Johnson called it a building of a collateral supply system that allows the heart to bypass a clogged artery by using the collateral arteries.
SAID also applies to the one-way valves of the leg muscles. Through walking, the leg muscles place pressure on the values which in turn help pump the blood back to the heart. Weak one-way values are a leading cause of hypertension.

His “creative” walking plan is rigorous. After a few weeks of building stamina, he recommends 6 to 10 miles of daily walking at a moderate pace of 15 minutes per mile. In addition he insists on planned walks that are habit formed. He offered several plans such as three small walks a day, walking to complete shopping chores (what the MoneyWalker calls residual walking), and trip shortening (parking several blocks short of your destination and walking the balance.)

Like the MoneyWalker, he recommends maintain a chart for miles walked and daily weighing results. He also cautions against mindless eating, encourages moderation in alcohol and food. To his I add the need for a daily whole grain low fat breakfast.

So get creative in your walking, like Home Depot, we can help. Happy walking from the real source of creative walking.

MoneyWalker

4 comments:

  1. Ant Farm's Cadillac Ranch! Did you find any money there? I didn't when I was there. All I got was a headache from the relentless sun (maybe the night before at the Spotted Pony had some influence on the headache).

    Thanks for stopping by Found Moolah - glad to see you're still with the cause. I will hit my year anniversary this weekend!

    ReplyDelete
  2. No money at ant farm, but did keep my head down and eyes scanning. Did have good luck in Amarillo, see blog "money Walking in Marillo, Nothing to Lose. "Nothing to Lose" by Lee Child was a ground score find, a new paperback near Barnes and Noble. Must have fallen out of shopping bag. It was a fair read. Did you do Palo Duro Canyon while in Amarillo. Not the Grand Canyon, but very impressive.

    ReplyDelete
  3. No mention of six-pack abs? Bending over to pick up all that coinage (with the accompanying sound effects) is certainly worth some kind of acknowledgement! Also, the weight of the retrieved coinage in the left pocket must count as something.

    No charts for me, thanks. There is no way I could keep track of miles because I never ralk a straight line. Used to have a great pedometer but it quit working after I forgot to take it off when I jumped into a pool. Time is my measurement.

    ReplyDelete