If you’re looking for the easiest and best exercise for someone of any age of fitness level, walking is it! In this article, I’ll give multiple reasons why you should walk every single day for better health and wellbeing.
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Walking Is the Perfect Low Impact Exercise
If you haven’t exercised in a while or are looking for something easy you can do every single day, walking is the perfect exercise. It’s low impact which means it’s safe to do, you don’t need any special equipment, you can start at the fitness level you’re at.
If you’re not in the best of shape, start by going for a 10 or 15 minute walk around the neighborhood and work your way up from there. If you’re already in great shape, walking can still provide an effective workout. Once your body gets conditioned, you can walk faster and incorporate some hills and even stairs.
Find a pair of comfortable shoes, put them on and go for a stroll through your neighborhood. You could also find a local park with a nice path you can walk on. If the weather doesn’t permit walking outside, head to your local mall or school; some of them have walking programs. If you prefer to stay home, getting a treadmill is a great idea. I have an inexpensive lightweight non-electric treadmill that I just love! This is my saving grace for long, cold winters when I can’t walk outside. (That affiliate link will bring you right to Amazon; the treadmill gets shipped to you and it comes mostly assembled, eliminating the need to struggle bringing home a heavy clunky treadmill!)
Going for a walk outside, of course, is always the best option if you can do it. Getting out in nature has multiple benefits for the body, mind, and soul. Mix up your route and walk in different areas of town or visit different parks. Invite a friend to come along with you to walk. It’s always nice to have someone to talk to and having a walking buddy keeps you accountable. You can also use an MP3 player or your phone and listen to music, audio books, or podcasts as you walk to make the time go by faster.
The main thing is that you get out there, move around, and get some exercise in a way that’s gentle on your joints, your heart, and the rest of your body. Give it a try and see if you don’t start to feel better, happier, and stronger after a few weeks of regular walks.
The Many Health Benefits of Walking
So, what exactly are the health benefits of walking?
Walking gets you outside in the fresh air and sunshine. This alone will make you feel better as your body absorbs the oxygen and sunshine. Both are important for your health and well-being.
You will find the air quality outside, particularly if you go for a walk on the beach or in a park, will be much better than the air inside your house. Of course, the sunshine outside will help your body produce all the Vitamin D it needs.
Walking can help you get to and maintain a healthy weight. Walking particularly at a quick pace and doing it regularly can help you get to and then maintain a healthy weight. Yes, you still need to watch what you eat and aim for a healthy diet, but walking can be another tool to help you drop those extra pounds.
The nice thing about walking when you’re overweight is that you burn a lot of calories, even on short and slow walks, simply because you’re carrying so much weight around with you. As you start to lose the weight, your overall strength and endurance increases, allowing you to walk longer, further, and faster.
Walking improves your sense of balance and coordination. As you walk, particularly when walking over rougher terrain, you’re also working on your sense of balance and coordination. Just getting in the habit of going for a daily walk will help. But you can work even more on your sense of balance by moving your head around. Turn your head to the right and left as you walk for a count of 30. Then move your head up and down for a count of 30. If you do these simple exercises once or twice as you walk each day you’ll get even more benefit.
Walking strengthens your bones and muscles. Even though walking is a low impact form of exercise, it helps to strengthen and tone your body. If you’re just starting out, it is all you need to start to get into better shape. As you get more fit, consider adding weight lifting exercises in addition to your daily walks to continue to get stronger and help develop strong muscles and bones.
Regular exercise will strengthen your heart. Remember your heart is a muscle and going for a brisk walk works out more than your leg muscles. As you work out your heart, it gets stronger and better at pumping blood through your body. And as you strengthen your muscles and your body overall, you are likely losing body fat. That’s good news for your blood pressure long term. All it takes is heading out there for a short little walk each day.
Walking will boost your mood and fight depression. Walking releases endorphins that will help lift your mood and can even reduce depression. The next time you’re feeling tired or are in a bad mood, lace up your sneakers and go for a brisk walk. It works like a charm!
If walking for a long time is hard, try breaking up your walking workout into 3 shorter sessions interspersed throughout your day. Recent studies have shown that shorter exercise sessions are more effective anyway, because your body actually goes into stress mode when you work out for too long and too high of an intensity.
Healthy diet, regular exercise, and losing weight are some of the most effective ways to reduce hypertension regularly. Add to that the fact that walking helps you destress (learn more about stress here) and it’s no wonder that walking regularly has such beneficial effects on your health.
How To Get In The Habit Of Walking More
We were designed to walk for miles and miles to hunt and gather our food. Yet, in modern society, we spend most of our time sitting down. That is not good for our bodies, leading to a host of health problems. This is probably one of the most important reasons to make an effort to move around and go for a walk each day.
Of course, it’s easier said than done. Most of us sit for our work, we eat sitting down, and to be honest, all we want to do when we come home from work is plop down on the couch for a Netflix marathon until bedtime.
Getting and staying in the habit of going for a walk each day can be a bit of a challenge. We need to get in the habit of going for that walk just like we’re in the habit of brushing our teeth twice a day. Once it becomes a habit, it won’t be as much of a challenge to make sure we go for a walk each day. My printable Walking Tracker can help you plan your walks and make it a habit, as well as track how often you are walking which helps with motivation and accountability.
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