With shorter days, inclement weather, and a pandemic, sometimes it’s hard to find inspiration (and a place), to workout. I walk my dog, which gets me out moving, but he’s older and his walks are shorter, so they don’t do a whole lot for me. So recently, I decided to take a second walk each day, and it’s been awesome.
You might not think that walking is a workout, and granted it’s not like playing a game of basketball. But it is something that most of us can do, even if we need to get some snowshoes to do it. It’s helped me feel more fit, and just getting out of the house for some fresh air, has been good for my mental health.
According to the Mayo Clinic, a brisk walk can help you live a healthier life. It can help you to maintain a healthy weight, prevent or manage conditions like heart disease, high blood pressure and type 2 diabetes, help strengthen your bones and muscles, and improve your balance, coordination and mood.
A 2014 Stanford study, Give Your Ideas Some Legs, found that walking increased creative output by an average of 60 percent. They found that, “walking opens up the free flow of ideas, and it is a simple and robust solution to the goals of increasing creativity and increasing physical activity.”
Who can’t use a little more creativity? I know I sure can.
So on those days when you don’t feel like doing a “workout”. Give yourself a break, go for a walk and let your mind wander. You’ll actually be getting a workout and who knows what wondrous idea you’ll come up with.
I live near a beach and when the kids were young almost every weekend we would walk to the beach. It was a good haul. A couple miles, but a couple miles of fun. Walking, talking and through most of the kids lifetimes, catching. We usually brought a football and once we hit the beach my husband would toss the ball to the kids and they would run and dive and catch the ball and then run it back to him like a golden retriever and then it would all start again. We loved walking to the beach.
I like to walk, which is good, because I have a dog and he needs to go on walks. Walking your dog is a great way to get some exercise and keep your body fit. I walk at a pretty good clip, but just getting out there and moving your body does the trick to burn some calories, not to mention getting you some fresh air.