Walks & Talks with Our Besties. Yes, They Count as Workouts!

Do We Ever Really Read the Labels?

August 17, 2024

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Exercise—some love it, some hate it. The physical and mental demands that a good workout consists of can be grueling. Despite the fact that intense workouts are great for activating the sympathetic nervous system, boosting blood flow, and strengthening the heart, it’s not everyone’s cup of tea to enjoy. Still, doctors speak favorably of exercising, so it must be good.

Here’s the issue, Americans aren’t exercising enough.

The Mayo Clinic asserts to aim for at least 150 minutes of moderate exercise or 75 minutes of vigorous exercise each week (with the choice of combining both types of workouts, and spreading them over several days) to reap health benefits. The CDC found that, “In 2020, 24.2% of adults aged 18 and over met the 2018 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans for both aerobic and muscle-strengthening activities.” Among those findings, more men (28.3%) than women (20.4%) met both physical activity guidelines, and woefully, the percentage will progressively decrease with age for both genders.

For those unamused with exercising, the SIMPLE conspicuous alternative is to walk. No, you don’t have to do it alone; anyone can tag along. That’s why it’s so fun.

Walking the underrated workout of the past 3 Millenniums

Exercise—some love it, some hate it. The physical and mental demands that a good workout consists of can be grueling. Despite the fact that intense workouts are great for activating the sympathetic nervous system, boosting blood flow, and strengthening the heart, it’s not everyone’s cup of tea to enjoy. Still, doctors speak favorably of exercising, so it must be good.

Here’s the issue, Americans aren’t exercising enough.

The Mayo Clinic asserts to aim for at least 150 minutes of moderate exercise or 75 minutes of vigorous exercise each week (with the choice of combining both types of workouts, and spreading them over several days) to reap health benefits. The CDC found that, “In 2020, 24.2% of adults aged 18 and over met the 2018 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans for both aerobic and muscle-strengthening activities.” Among those findings, more men (28.3%) than women (20.4%) met both physical activity guidelines, and woefully, the percentage will progressively decrease with age for both genders.

For those unamused with exercising, the SIMPLE conspicuous alternative is to walk. No, you don’t have to do it alone; anyone can tag along. That’s why it’s so fun.

Walking the underrated workout of the past 3 Millenniums

Walking is not a recent discovery that we should completely take credit for. Since the beginning of time, it’s been a consistent, reliable mode of transportation that has gotten humans from point A to point B.

To put it more poetically, like Joseph A. Amato, in his book “On Foot: A History of Walking,”

“On foot humans crossed the earth, experienced life, and defined their relationship to the environment. On foot they carried their children, supported their old, hauled their tools and goods, and herded their animals. Similarly, they fled, chased, and killed, hunted and gathered, sought food, water, fuel, and habitat, traveled, played, courted, and enacted, often with the elaborate and fancy footwork of dance, their defining rituals.”

Now, if walking had been such a stipulation of life, why did it become such a rarity?

Easy. The automotive industry boomed in the 1950’s, making buying a car accessible to the average middle-class American nuclear family. Walking slowly but surely became a choice, rather than an exigency. Car dependent Americans are now more prominent than ever, with 9 in 10 Americans counting on automobiles to mobilize them.

What’s important here is that walking, although not common, is not outlawed. You have the ability to include walking into your daily routine, and being busy is not an excuse. The chance to walk can present itself during your commute to work, taking out the dog, exploring a city, parking far away from your car, doing housework or yard work, and our favorite one of all is meeting up with friends for walks.

What’s so special about meeting up with friends for these walks is the upkeep of fortifying these friendships. Which may consist of catching up on good ole gossip, exploring new routes in your neighborhood or city, and creating a community network of women, men, or unisex folks to join because the more, the merrier.

Time passes by quickly when you spend it in good company.

If you can’t find the inspiration to get up in the morning to workout, sometimes the biggest motivators in our lives are our loved ones. Those loved ones can include your family, children, partner, pets, and, indubitably, your friends. If your friends can’t make a walking session, the other previously listed alternatives before this sentence could make for great temporary replacements.

Following each walking session, a milestone could be set in place to further advance physical results. Whether it’s expanding the distance or the time of walking, even changing the environment, selecting a walking course with more incline, better scenery, and more/less people traffic.

Benefits associated with walking include, according to the Mayo Clinic:

Maintain a healthy weight and reduce fat.
Prevent or manage heart disease, stroke, and more.
Boost cardiovascular health.
Strengthen bones and muscles.
Improve muscle endurance.
Increase energy.
Enhance mood, memory, and sleep.
Improve balance and coordination.
Strengthen the immune system.
Reduce stress

Aiming for 30 minutes on your daily walks should be the ideal time. Starting simple is also a good way to commence these walking sessions, with a minimum of 5-10 minutes being set aside.

Technique

Some may be surprised by this, but walking needs technique. Being mindful of your posture by keeping your neck straight and relaxed is consequential. Stretching the body 5 minutes before your walk could help endure the walk by a greater percentage, especially if your body is not necessarily used to long-distance walking.

The informative image below will explain in further detail the do’s of walking:

Walking is not a recent discovery that we should completely take credit for. Since the beginning of time, it’s been a consistent, reliable mode of transportation that has gotten humans from point A to point B.

To put it more poetically, like Joseph A. Amato, in his book “On Foot: A History of Walking,”

“On foot humans crossed the earth, experienced life, and defined their relationship to the environment. On foot they carried their children, supported their old, hauled their tools and goods, and herded their animals. Similarly, they fled, chased, and killed, hunted and gathered, sought food, water, fuel, and habitat, traveled, played, courted, and enacted, often with the elaborate and fancy footwork of dance, their defining rituals.”

Now, if walking had been such a stipulation of life, why did it become such a rarity?

Easy. The automotive industry boomed in the 1950’s, making buying a car accessible to the average middle-class American nuclear family. Walking slowly but surely became a choice, rather than an exigency. Car dependent Americans are now more prominent than ever, with 9 in 10 Americans counting on automobiles to mobilize them.

What’s important here is that walking, although not common, is not outlawed. You have the ability to include walking into your daily routine, and being busy is not an excuse. The chance to walk can present itself during your commute to work, taking out the dog, exploring a city, parking far away from your car, doing housework or yard work, and our favorite one of all is meeting up with friends for walks.

What’s so special about meeting up with friends for these walks is the upkeep of fortifying these friendships. Which may consist of catching up on good ole gossip, exploring new routes in your neighborhood or city, and creating a community network of women, men, or unisex folks to join because the more, the merrier.

Time passes by quickly when you spend it in good company.

If you can’t find the inspiration to get up in the morning to workout, sometimes the biggest motivators in our lives are our loved ones. Those loved ones can include your family, children, partner, pets, and, indubitably, your friends. If your friends can’t make a walking session, the other previously listed alternatives before this sentence could make for great temporary replacements.

Following each walking session, a milestone could be set in place to further advance physical results. Whether it’s expanding the distance or the time of walking, even changing the environment, selecting a walking course with more incline, better scenery, and more/less people traffic.

Benefits associated with walking include, according to the Mayo Clinic:

Maintain a healthy weight and reduce fat.
Prevent or manage heart disease, stroke, and more.
Boost cardiovascular health.
Strengthen bones and muscles.
Improve muscle endurance.
Increase energy.
Enhance mood, memory, and sleep.
Improve balance and coordination.
Strengthen the immune system.
Reduce stress

Aiming for 30 minutes on your daily walks should be the ideal time. Starting simple is also a good way to commence these walking sessions, with a minimum of 5-10 minutes being set aside.

Technique

Some may be surprised by this, but walking needs technique. Being mindful of your posture by keeping your neck straight and relaxed is consequential. Stretching the body 5 minutes before your walk could help endure the walk by a greater percentage, especially if your body is not necessarily used to long-distance walking.

The informative image below will explain in further detail the do’s of walking:

Our mental health could also take a spike when we take up walking as an exercise. Depression could wane to an 18% lowered risk among adults who did 75 minutes of brisk walking weekly, compared to those with no physical activity.

Going on a walk to discuss your day with your friend, or even rant, could be a sort of "walk-n-talk" therapy. Something about being in casual clothing outside on a beautiful day can help people open up and feel less judged—almost safe. As humans, our guard is up without fail, invariably all the time. Nature brings out the good in us, and connecting with it while simultaneously connecting with a person can be nurturing to the soul.

Walk-n-talk therapy doesn't call for any of the parties involved to act as if they’re therapists, listening is enough. Don’t forget your water, sunblock, simple bar snack, and friend.

What are you waiting for? Start your walking now!

Our mental health could also take a spike when we take up walking as an exercise. Depression could wane to an 18% lowered risk among adults who did 75 minutes of brisk walking weekly, compared to those with no physical activity.

Going on a walk to discuss your day with your friend, or even rant, could be a sort of "walk-n-talk" therapy. Something about being in casual clothing outside on a beautiful day can help people open up and feel less judged—almost safe. As humans, our guard is up without fail, invariably all the time. Nature brings out the good in us, and connecting with it while simultaneously connecting with a person can be nurturing to the soul.

Walk-n-talk therapy doesn't call for any of the parties involved to act as if they’re therapists, listening is enough. Don’t forget your water, sunblock, simple bar snack, and friend.

What are you waiting for? Start your walking now!