If you cannot run, you can walk – here are 10 benefits of walking to help you on your journey. Some people just do not enjoy running, my husband is one of them. Running is my love. I am always trying to find better ways to do this. I started really late, I started in my very late 40ies and am still at it into my late 50ies. Start slowly, go for a walk first.
There are days though when I have to walk. I do this to keep my body moving and to try to keep up the routine of exercising.
10 benefits of walking – the list
- keep up fitness when dealing with an injury, or life issues
- gets you outdoors
- anyone can do it unless you cannot walk of course
- improves cardiovascular fitness, gets your heart pumping
- holiday fitness, dealing with your conscience
- family time, walk and talk
- 10 000 steps, what is that???
- home office freedom
- improves my sleep
- circulations improve
keep up fitness when dealing with an injury, or life issues
One of the most difficult things to do when working on your fitness is to maintain consistency. Life happens and I’ve experienced my fair share of injuries, sicknesses, and the occasional operation that has stopped me from running.
I am not even a professional. Cannot imagine what they go through when hindrances come their way.
Walking out a particular training session, no matter how short or how slow always makes me feel better and less frustrated. Then I do not feel that I cannot do this and prevents the temptation to give up.
I somehow manage to keep my eye on the ball, one tiny step at a time. You can too, don’t give up – go for a walk.
gets you outdoors
We have all had to deal with restrictions and been told to stay indoors. No more on that subject though. The best thing for all of us, no matter how young or how old we are is to get outside regularly. The fresh air, the movement of our bodies, and the surroundings give us a great perspective on life.
The warmth of the sun is like a hug and the crisp breeze is like a refreshing kiss on the cheek. Try it, you’ll love the outdoors. Dress according to the weather and tell someone where you’ll be. Stay safe.
We love being outdoors and we do not use much-specialized equipment. But our boots and jackets are important to us. I’ve had my HI-TEC boots now for over 10 years and they are still going strong. My husband got his Meindl hiking boots as a birthday gift, and he loves them. Our daughter loves her Timberland boots. It is easy for us now. We use our boots, winter or summer, rain or snow – they have all worked so well.
anyone can do it, unless you cannot walk, of course
Walking is easy and you do not need specialist clothing. A good pair of shoes helps of course and depending on where you will be walking you may need a good pair of hiking boots.
No training is needed. We have all learned how to walk. Start slowly if you haven’t walked for a long period of time or if you are excessively overweight. Choose to walk to the end of your street or around the block, and build up from there.
A good measure to work towards is to walk for about 30 minutes every day. If that seems daunting to do, start with what you can do. You can build on that. Everyone started somewhere, and so can you.
improves cardiovascular fitness, gets your heart pumping
Good health is important to me. I am not a professional sportsperson and this encouragement is for a very average person wanting to improve their health. Our heart is an important part of maintaining our health.
Your heart is important. Our daughter is a nurse in a heart clinic and when we listen to her stories and what her patients have to deal with, we are thankful for healthy hearts. This may be the top reason for me of the 10 benefits of walking.
To keep our heart healthy, we need to exercise it. Please be careful here. Check with your doctor what you can and cannot do.
holiday fitness, dealing with your conscience
We love hiking and walking on our holidays. We always make use of KOMOOT to explore the area. Using this app helps us discover new spots too. It is great.
We also love to cycle and either scuba dive or snorkel. One day is quite active for us and then the next day is very relaxing, we read books. Sometimes on a holiday, we go for a run or a walk really early in the morning and then for the rest of the day, we relax and there is not much activity then.
Whatever your level of fitness is or isn’t, it is a great practice to take a stroll or a quick-paced walk once a day when you are on holiday. You’ll discover new sights in the new place and you will not be completely out of puff when you return home again after the holiday.
This eases my conscience and makes it so much easier to get back into training.
family time, walk and talk
We have had the most amazing chats and discussions together on a walk. Sometimes the chat was planned but most times it happens naturally and spontaneously.
These are the special times and moments in life. Make the time. Allow the conversations to flow. We have discussed politics, religion, relationships, and a lot more during these times, they are priceless to us.
What does your family like to talk about?
What about the kid or grown-up person in your family that doesn’t like to talk – go for a walk, you’ll be surprised. One of the places that we lived at had an ice cream shop and a lake close by. A round route of about 2km had us often solving a world problem or dealing with a heart issue. We do not often purposely decide to do this heavy talking, we are more about the ice cream or the lake! The chats on the walks have been great. Give them a try. Let me know in the comments how it goes.
10 000 steps, what is that???
Where did this measurement come from? Is that a good guideline for everyone? As far as I have been able to research – it is just a guideline but it is not a scientific number to go after for everyone. That’s good news, right?
Some numbers to remember – low activity is about 4 999 to 7 500 steps per day. A bit more active or somewhat active can be around 7 499 to 10 000 steps per day. And the very active or highly active can be considered to be something more than 12 499 steps per day.
I like this rough guide as it keeps me honest with myself. Most of our watches have the means to measure this. I either use my Garmin Forerunner 35 or my Garmin Forerunner 735xt to measure my walks. I love to look at the map when I get back home. My husband recently bought a Samsung Gear S3, Gear S3 frontier and he loves tracking his walks with this. Do you have a sports watch? Which is your favorite?
How active are you generally? Let me know in the comments;) And, how active would you like to be?
I like to aim for about 150 minutes of activity per week.
home office freedom
I have to do some work at the desk, but it is not my favorite thing to do. Going for a 10 to 30-minute walk breaks this up for me. Often I simply get up, grab a drink of water, chat with a colleague or check on some people in another office. I have to do this because I just cannot sit still for hours.
This refreshes my brain, helps me to focus, and stimulates my thinking. Get up. Shake loose, go for a quick walk – you will enjoy all the benefits. This may be the most relevant of my 10 benefits of walking for all of us at the moment.
improves my sleep
Plain and simple. I sleep so much better if I have been active during the day. If you are struggling to sleep, go for a walk. It also helps me so much with stress release. Give it a try. Sweet dreams.
circulations improve
I suffer from very low blood pressure and my circulation is poor. I always have cold feet. Both of these ‘conditions’ are alleviated when I walk or exercise regularly. I have suffered from dizziness too and I notice that it hardly ever reappears when I go for walks regularly.
Check out with your doctor though, to see if these10 benefits of walking could help you too.
10 benefits of walking – my reasons for keeping at it
This is why I walk, 10 benefits worth getting out the door for. How about you? Ready to go?
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