METRO WORKOUT

Brisk steps to health

Photo: T. Saravanan

Purposeful Walk to stay healthy

The very idea of a long walk down the track enveloped in greenery on a cool early morning, with like-minded friends is an inspiration enough even for a passive soul like me.

I am lured into walking by my office colleague with the twin purpose of busting my stress and reducing my weight. The Walker’s Club at Vandiyur Lake, is the most appropriate choice.

On reaching there one fine morning, I find hordes of people walking in groups in measured steps and exchanging notes on they saw on the satellite television the previous night. In the middle, a heated debate on the revision of fuel prices also takes off.

“Exactly, this is something we will like to ask those interested in reducing weight to avoid,” enters P. Pothi, executive committee member of the club.

“When you are on the walk, concentrate on your work and gradually lose flab. Don’t divert your attention so much so that you feel the strain. But here we have different sets of people coming with varied objectives. Some come to shed a few extra kilos, some are here to improve their general fitness and there are a few regulars who come to relieve themselves off the mundane pressures.”

Whatever be the reason, the fact is the Walkers’ Club has become a much “happening place today”.

The sexagenarian member with his more than two decades of association with the club puts me to shame when he reveals that he has never been to a hospital for any old age-related ailment. “I don’t have diabetes and I am fit as a fiddle. The secret behind my fitness is that I have never missed a day’s walk here. Once you start, it becomes a routine. More than the exercise part, you get addicted to it in due course,” he tells.

I also learn that walking is a good stress-buster that facilitates secretion of endorphins, which are natural pain relievers and creates a sense of well being in a person.

“You get immuned to common infectious diseases as walking induces this ‘happy hormone’ and you feel fresh always. Besides as you walk, your breathing also gets regularised,” says K. Shanmugam, the president.

“We have provided a protective environment for walkers as walking along the main roads and streets can be risky. Our walking track is 960 km long and we have more than 500 members including women members,” he shares.

I gather all this information on the walk and by the time I come to the end of my conversation, I have completed 30 minutes of brisk walking along with some sweating too. Am I not glad?

For more details, dial 9443918739 for K. Shanmugam, president, Walkers’ Club.

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