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Modern fitness seems obsessed with running. Marathons recently got usurped by Ultra-marathons as the epitome of endurance sports. While running is certainly beneficial, it is the “slower” cousin of running that doesn’t get its due. Yes, walking has myriad benefits that are worth knowing and practicing daily. So here are 5 to get you moving. 

Mood enhancer

Lets start with something less physical but important nonetheless. Daily stress is as ubiquitous as smart phones but somehow moves in only one direction – steady increase. Meditation is certainly one way to curb this increase. Walking is another. Multiple studies now prove that walking enhances the mood, increasing alertness and self confidence. That alone is enough reason to go for a walk.

Creativity

It is not just your mood that gets better with walking. It also increases your creative output. A Stanford study found that walking boosts creative inspiration by an average of 60% when walking. Now that is significant! A fair number of jobs require some kind of creativity – whether you are an entrepreneur thinking about how to grow your business or a marketeer thinking of your next campaign. Walking seems to hold the key. Anecdotally, many people report new and fresh ideas during walks. Steve Jobs was famous for his walking meetings and so are many other successful leaders. Time to walk and get creative. 

Bonding

Walking doesn’t always need to be solo. It can be a great way to bond with people you care about – your children, spouse, partner, parents of friends. Hold your partner’s hands and walk in a park, feel the breeze on your face and enjoy the scenery. You will feel more connected to everything – nature, time as well as your partner. 

Weight Loss

No benefit of a physical activity can be comprehensive unless it doesn’t involve some kind of weight loss. Well, the good news is walking does aid in weight loss. Walking burns significant calories, and the numbers are not as less vs running as people believe. Brisk or power walking at almost 7 km/h for an hour burns the same number of calories as running at close to 10 km/h for 30 mins. Minute to minute running burns more but over duration walking can burn as much. Walking is also easier on joints with lesser chances of injury. Irrespective of speed, regular walking does enhance the metabolism leading to sustained fat burn.

Longer Life

Just 25 minutes of brisk walking daily can add up to 7 years to your life as per health experts. While ageing is inevitable and natural, the speed and quality of ageing can be controlled. Walking helps to reduce heart diseases and impact ageing markers like telomerase activity. Walk your walk to a younger body now.

Now that you know the benefits of walking, here are some ways in which you can get the best out of your walk:

1. Wear comfortable and light weight shoes
2. Walk with a straight and upright posture, swinging your arms comfortably
3. Tr incline walks to burn more and push your heart rate
4. Fix a morning or evening walk schedule. If you walk with your walking buddy (child, partner, parent, spouse, friend) then block it in the calendar
5. Walk to your workplace if the weather and distance permit. Get off a few bus or taxi stops before your final stop so that you can walk to it.
6. Try walk meetings esp. for creative ideas and discussions. Ditching the Powerpoint might make the meeting more fun and productive too.
7. Listen to a podcast or e-book while walking to learn something new. When attempting this, avoid busy walking areas where cyclists or e-bikes might be whizzing past you as you won’t hear them.
8. Set a daily target – 5000 steps is a good place to start and gradually move it to over 10,000 steps.
9. Invest in a fitness tracker to measure steps, heart rate and speed. Try to increase steps and speed over time.
10. Choose walking for daily chores like buying milk instead of taxi or car. This will be economical and healthy together. 

So, walk the talk now and reap the benefits of walking. It is what humans were made to do naturally. So lets reclaim our health and lives one step at a time. Keep walking.