I {used to} hate running. With a burning, insane passion. I run about as fast as a turtle, even when trying my hardest. (I can run with purpose – I’ve played soccer my whole life). The thought of walking out the door and just running down the street used to(and still sometimes does) sound akin to diving into a lit fire pit for me. If running is your thing, go do it and do it well! I am, in all honesty, envious of those natural runners, because I know how great it is for you, and those marathons and 5K’s you all run look fun, and you get beer at the end of a lot of them so that’s something. 3 miles right now is about my limit but I digress.

I can, however, walk! And I like it. AND they say it’s good for you!

I haven’t always made the time every day to walk, but I’ve found that the more I wear my Fitbit, the more I walk…I’m hyper-competitive that way.  I do my best to at least get out and do a loop around my office every day, and if not, then a few times a week. It makes me feel good, warms me up (I have no circulation) and wakes me up in the middle of the day when office life makes me want a nap

I also have a TreadDesk for my desk at work, so I can walk in crummy weather – hello, I do live in the Pacific Northwest. We have 2 months of awesome summer, 2 months of transition-to-fall summer, and then…gray. Which I love, don’t get me wrong, but it is not conducive to 15-30 minute walks for someone who is mostly cold all the time, especially whilst at ones workplace. I can hit my 10,000 steps by early afternoon if I try hard enough, and it keeps me awake and helps me focus better. Plus, the white noise is nice – even for my office mates! (I promise, I’ve asked. One says she turns her music on AFTER I stop walking, because the white noise goes away.)

But I know it can get boring to just…walk.

So, here’s what I do to keep enjoying my walks:

• Invite a friend: Having someone to walk with you will distract you enough that you’ll walk further and longer and not notice it! Since you’re walking, you can chat while you go, and if you are like me, you won’t be embarrassed by your lack of physical ability like you might be whilst running.
• Pray: As a Christian, I spend my walk time praying when I am alone. I can just talk to God, and ensure that I pray for people in my life, for desires of my own heart, and for the world.
• Goal Setting: This is a great time to set goals, decide on a game plan, and get excited to crush them!
• Blog prep: Its great, undistracted thinking time to prep what you read from me next! If you come up with suggestions for me – tell me!!
• Take the baby: I love taking my kiddo for walks around our neighborhood. First, I love her stroller and its easy to wander further when you aren’t focused on pushing a tough stroller. Second, she gets SO excited about walks, she loves being outside and seeing all the sights. Third, I can talk to her the ENTIRE time and not look like I am talking to myself! She is in a phase where she is interested in everything, so I can just describe all that we see as we walk, and she loves it.
• Listen to music: I turn on one of my Spotify playlists and cruise. I love how music makes you feel less alone!
• Make a phone call: I hate talking on the phone…unless I am doing something mundane that I want to distract myself from. My parents always call me out on it (“is this a boredom call?!”). Yet, they still talk! So, I call them or someone else and we chat, suddenly I am a half mile further than my last walk!
• Challenge myself: I love to set a goal, either a time or a distance or both, and see if I can demolish it.

Another huge plus to walking is that when you walk, you are doing SO much good for your body! And it isn’t as hard on your body as running is on your joints. So it’s kind of a win win. 

There are so many benefits to walking, but here are my top 10:

1. Walking helps your heart and lung fitness – Better breathing and blood flow? Yes please!
2. It strengthens your bones – While I don’t have *quite* the laundry list of broken bones as my husband does, I have had a few. The older I get, the less I want to break any more of them, I have too much to do to be laid up!
3.  It helps you sleep – I’ve never suffered as an insomniac, but I have had nights where I cant sleep, cant fall asleep, or cant stay asleep for the life of me. Those nights don’t often happen after I’ve hit 10,000 steps in a day. More likely, its days when I’ve done 5,000 or less.
4. Walking improves balance – all you self-described klutzes out there pay attention! The more you walk, the better your balance and coordination. Keep moving, and you’ll keep standing.
5. Slows down weight gain – When you walk consistently, you’re helping to improve your body’s overall function, which then helps stave off quick weight loss. If you change 0 eating habits, but add walking into your life 30 min a day? You’ll slow down that gain significantly. (but do change your bad habits, please and thank you)
6. Walking lowers body fat – the more you move, the more you lose! If you DO make some of those changes I just said you didn’t have to but should, and add walking to your routine? Buh-bye stubborn fat!!
7. It boosts your mood – this one is a big one for me. In the throws of my depression, I didn’t want to move, which made me feel worse, which made me not walk to move more, down and down into a sneaky hate spiral of blah. When I started moving, it helped. Not the whole “magic pill poof I was better” helped, but it boosted me for the day. I don’t often struggle like that anymore, but my days where I move my body and get outside and walk around, even just for 15 minutes? I feel refreshed, energized, and encouraged. I’m happier and I can feel it.
8. It keeps your energy UP! – I know I am not the only one who eats lunch then about an hour later could use an epically nice nap on their desk…right? I like to walk right as that hits, because after my walk, I have found my second wind, and am refreshed and ready to go!
9. Walking helps with your immunity – There are studies which suggest that walking daily can help your body fight against sickness. In my mind, that makes sense, because you are flushing bacteria and lowering your stress from exercise. But you are also protecting yourself from bigger, scarier things, like certain types of cancer and type 2 diabetes through keeping your weight and body fat lower.
10. Walking helps your memory – seriously! There was a study done that shows that regular walking increases the size of your hippocampus, which is where some your memory and learning ability is stored!

No more excuses, its time to get out there and walk every day! Even just for a little bit. Find the time in a 15 minute break at work, before or after work, or on a glorious weekend afternoon. Walk the treadmill at the gym, loop your parking garage, whatever it takes. Buy yourself some cute workout clothes to motivate you to go. Grab a friend who keeps you accountable and walk and talk. Just get out there and MOVE!  

Now tell me – How do YOU make your walking easier?

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