For many, walking might be an underrated exercise, often overlooked in favor of more sweat-inducing, cardio-challenging workout routines marketed for effective weight loss. But that doesn’t mean walking as a workout isn’t gaining popularity. The trending Hot Girl Walk on video platform TikTok, for example, is a routine that encourages not just walking, but also mental mindfulness that sees participants focusing their thoughts on their goals, their gratitude, and – well – how hot they are.
As people embrace the mental and emotional benefits of walking, let’s not forget the physical impact it brings. Walking 10,000 steps a day, for example, boosts your heart strength, sheds extra body fat, stabilizes your blood sugar, and improves your brain’s performance. In fact, 10000 steps a day is the equivalent of doing five 30-minute workouts a week.
The best thing about walking is that it’s something we naturally do, and with a little push, getting your steps in is just a matter of balancing this simple exercise with your daily life and work hours. Here, we’ll go over some ways you can approach walking as a daily exercise, even when you’re busy:
Walk to reflect
We’ve discussed this in a previous post, but daily stress is inevitable. And while we may not be able to prevent stress from affecting us and our loved ones, we can adopt habits like practicing yoga, deep breathing, and exercising to handle stress more effectively.
Walking meditation is a good mindfulness practice, allowing you to reflect on things you are grateful for while getting your workout in. By incorporating slow walks into your mindfulness exercises, you can even improve your posture, boost your confidence, and increase overall wellness.
Walk to socialize
It may be hard to find time to do your walking when everybody seems to want a piece of your time. Fortunately, walking can be a group activity. Aside from the shared accountability, walking with others allows you to hit two birds with one stone since you can also use this time to discuss various pressing matters.
And if you find it hard to motivate other people around you, why not take your pet with you? After all, studies show that dog owners are more physically active than non-owners, improving their blood pressure and decreasing stress reactivity. If you need extra motivation to walk and get some daily steps in, try doing it as a favor for your furry pal. Overall, walking can be a great bonding experience for everyone in your life.
Walk to avoid being desk-bound
Most of the time, a common excuse for not walking enough in a day is because we are bound to our desks and our work. Studies have long been done on the harmful effects of prolonged sitting, point to developing muscle pains on top of chronic illnesses and changes to overall posture. While work is no doubt important, it’s just as important — if not more — to take care of yourself.
Treat walking time as a break from long periods of sitting at your desk. Not only is it good for your back and muscles, it will also allow your eyes some resting time away from harmful blue light in screens. While walking, you can also do some light stretches to come back to your desk more energized than before.
Ultimately, walking is a simple but incredibly effective exercise that helps us stay fit. And because we do it every day, the motivation we need to get our steps in shouldn’t be hard to come by. In fact, it’s all around us.
This article was written by Shirley Morgan.
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