Walk! Walk! Walk!

Over the years the main exercise I did was to walk.  When I worked as a school teacher I once undertook a weight loss program and lost 50#.  I ate a very conservative lunch, watched the other two meals each day to limit calorie intake and I walked.  Every afternoon after the students left I would put on my gym shorts and sneakers and simply walk.  It was wintertime so I walked inside the school. 

I would walk down every hallway and corridor in the building and would use all the various stairs as well.  By changing the route as I walked there was a lot of variety and the stairs gave me additional calorie burn climbing the steps.  That was really the only form of exercise I used.  I picked the title for this post from the words of Leslie Sansone.  My wife often uses her exercise CDs and if you’ve ever used them you’ve heard her say “Walk! Walk! Walk!” over and over again.  I find myself calling my wife “Girlfriend” often as well.  If you’ve ever used Leslie’s CDs you know what I’m talking about.  

Don’t be afraid to ‘step out’ and simply give walking a try.  I began walking once again this September when I started with WW.  At first I didn’t walk that far.  Maybe a half mile out and back.  Then the distance grew further, almost a mile and a half.  There was a bridge on the old country road I walk on and at first, when I had worked up to that distance, I would need to sit down there for a little while to catch my breath before I would walk back.  Over time I built up my stamina/distance to the point where I was walking almost to the end of that road.  That was almost two and a half miles.  That’s when I realized that it was only two miles further if I would continue on around the block and so that is now my normal route.  That means if I walk around that ‘country block’ I log four and a half miles in about an hour and a half.  I know many of you will say, “I don’t have enough time to walk that long.”  That’s fine, just do what you can.  Any amount of time will be an increase of your exercise and that, along with reducing the amount of food you eat, will make a real difference in your weight loss journey.

I have been at it long enough that I wanted to increase the impact of that four and a half miles so just recently I tried walking and then every once in a while during the walk I would jog for 100 steps.  It doesn’t sound like that much but I haven’t been able to jog in years.  My back along with my knees couldn’t take the stress and my weight made it impossible to even try jogging for more than a very short distance.  This change has been very recent but I find that it’s working.  If I feel winded or short on energy I just walk.  If I feel good about my walk then I add a 100 step jog.  Now I find that I can jog several times along the way without a problem.  Just today I decided to increase the steps to 120.  So far, so good.  I should tell you that my ‘jog’ could easily be classified as just a small step above a brisk walk but, hey, it’s a little more strenuous and I figure that’s a good thing, right?.  As a side benefit, my walk/jog time for that same four and a half miles is working out to be about an hour and fifteen minutes, so that’s a great encouragement as well.

I guess my point in all of this is that you can start getting some exercise by simply starting to walk more.  There’s no special equipment or clothing to buy and it doesn’t require a gym membership or anything else that would be a cost to you.  Just step outside (or on your treadmill if you have one) and start walking.  If you are anywhere near a mall you can use that path anytime, regardless of the weather outside.  Many malls actually open their doors hours before the stores are open and allow people to come in as early as 6AM just to walk.  If you haven’t done it yet I hope you’ll give it a try.  It’s so simple yet so effective and it puts you in total control of how long, how far and how hard you exercise.  I have found walking to be a really easy way to ‘get moving’!  I hope you’ll join me.  So put on those sneakers, step outside and WALK!  WALK!  WALK!  God bless.