If there’s one thing that I do almost every day that helps support my physical and mental health it’s taking walks. Walks are perhaps the simplest form of exercise and one that most people can engage in, even as they move on to their later years. I’ve been exercising on a regular basis for decades but it’s only in the past few years that I’ve come to value the benefits of a vigorous walk. Many decades ago when I was a professional fitness trainer I was introduced to walking as a primary exercise (rather than just a warm up or cool down technique) via a program that was called Reebok Power Walk. It was something that Reebok was promoting to help sell their cross training fitness shoes and they sent people to gyms around the U.S. to advise the trainers on power walk workouts. At the time I can’t say I was immediately convinced but it was impressive how, with the right technique, a walk could translate into a strong cardiovascular workout.
Many years have passed since those days and I continued to favor things like running outside, running on a treadmill and using a stationary bike for my cardiovascular exercise. That started to change for me about eight years ago when on a brisk run in a hilly neighborhood I took a bad step and fell forward near the bottom of a hill. As my body launched forward during the fall I had an instant decision to make regarding impact. My hand or my face! I chose to put my hand out front to save my face (mostly as it turned out) and the result was a thick gash in the base of my palm. I was a mile from my apartment at the time but it was all up hill on the return. I found, of all things, a discarded Starbucks cup to press into my palm to stem the steady flow of blood. Gross I know, but any port in a storm! I cleaned and bandaged the wound at home but I knew that stitches were required and luckily my primary care doctor was able to see me on short notice and he cleaned and sewed my hand up. From that point forward I reassessed my desire to run outside. It was too painful to run for a few weeks till the hand healed so I began walking more for cardiovascular exercise.
Initially I split my walking time between the treadmill and outside but not too long after I recovered from my fall I moved from an apartment that had an onsite gym to a house where my only cardio option was a stationary bike. The bike was convenient since I could jump on it anytime I was home but I found myself getting cranky and de-motivated if I hadn’t walked outside in a while. This is when it dawned on me that there was a mental health aspect to my walks that I hadn’t really considered. While exercise in general made me feel better during times of stress it was definitely walks that soothed my mind the most. I can’t say exactly why. I think it’s just one of those mysteries. What I can say is that after a good hour long walk I found many of the immediate things troubling me to be mostly resolved or at least in a place where I felt that I would definitely resolve them in short order. Then the pandemic time arrived.
If there’s one thing that I can credit with keeping me sane during the pandemic it’s the walks I took. Like just about everyone I was working at home more than ever during that time and at first I kept my workouts inside since I had my stationary bike and a small but quite functional gym in my basement that included a padded bag that I could pound with boxing gloves on. Hitting the bag and lifting weights was cathartic but the feeling of isolation weighed on my mind. So I started with the walks again. About a mile away from me there was a university that was deserted and they had a building with a nice long set of outdoor steps that I took great advantage of. A brisk twelve minute walk to the building, then a few times up and down the steps and then a brisk walk back to my house was all that it took to get my heart rate into cardio range and melt away quite a bit of stress. As time went on I scoped out a couple of other routes in my general area to keep things interesting for me. I learned the spots in the neighborhood that were good, safe and mentally relaxing for my walking. I avoided being adjacent to main roads or crossing busy intersections as much as possible. Because there’s no point walking for stress relieving benefit if you have to deal with the stress of noise or unsafe conditions.
During the pandemic winter weather was a mitigating factor as I lived in the northeast and the winter of 2020-2021 was particularly brutal. That was not a great time as I spent most of my free time and energy shoveling mounds of snow and chopping ice. Since then I’ve moved to Florida where the winters are mostly dry and mild. Now it’s the heat and storms in the summer that cut into my walking time but it’s not as bad as the long cold winters in the northeast U.S. As things stand today I attribute my ability to stay healthy and active to my walks several times a week which I supplement with strength exercises at least once per week. For those of you interested in walking outdoors as a form of exercise beneficial to physical and mental health below are a few of my personal tips to get the most out of the experience.
- Become familiar with routes in your local area that are best for walking, where you’ll have to worry about cars or noisy traffic the least.
- I prefer walking starting from my front door but occasionally drive to parks that have great walking trails.
- Check the weather prior to heading out for a walk and dress accordingly, including applying sunblock on very sunny days.
- Wear a smart watch or fitness watch that tracks time and heart rate. Try to stay in a cardiovascular heart rate zone for most of your walk to enjoy the cardiovascular benefits of a brisk walk.
- Sometimes I put ear buds in to listen to music or audiobooks, but often I will avoid listening to anything so I can gather my thoughts and be more aware of my surroundings.
- At the beginning of a week look at your schedule and make a note of what days and times might be best for walking.
Hopefully sharing my experiences with regular walking can help others who want to get started on an exercise program and motivate those who might have thought walking was for “old folks” or otherwise couldn’t see the benefits of a good walk! As always, if you have medical conditions that limit what you can do please consult your primary care physician before starting a new exercise program. Otherwise, please enjoy the great physical and mental health benefits of regular walks.
In The Midst Of A Journey 