A lot of times people in the fitness industry like to overcomplicate things.
People are led to believe that unless they use sophisticated equipment, contort their body into uncomfortable positions, or sweat profusely, it doesn’t count as exercise.
Wrong.
With no fancy equipment, gymnasium, or playing field necessary, simply going for a walk can improve your health. In our sedentary culture, we could all use a little more of that medicine.
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20 Benefits of Walking
1. Walking Creates a More Social Community
To move is to feel invigorated…alive! Perhaps that is why several cultures—the Spanish and the Italians, notably— take an evening stroll. It’s not about fitness in the same way that Americans like to think of it.
Rather, the evening walk is about connecting with community in an active way. Just going out for a little after-dinner stroll provides time for socialization, connection, and getting in those daily steps.
2. No Fancy Equipment Needed
All you need is a good pair of walking shoes, and you’re ready to go. (Need help figuring out what shoe is best? Check out my guide to choosing the right exercise shoe for you!) Just pop on your shoes, and head out the door– easy as that!
If you’re motivated by data and personal challenges, using a simple pedometer or a more sophisticated fitness tracker may help keep you walking on the path to health. But, really…a good pair of supportive shoes is all the equipment you need.
3. Build Professional Connections
The mobile meeting has a well-established place within American corporate culture. Do you have an opportunity to introduce more movement into your day at work? You can become a workplace health leader by encouraging more walking meetings.
Even if you’re working from home, you could encourage your co-workers to have a “zooming Zoom” where you walk during your virtual meeting. It’s so easy to get stuck inside the house– help people get up and move!
4. Strengthen your Cardiovascular Health
This benefit of walking for exercise is probably the best well known. In fact, it’s the very reason many people start walking for exercise!
Walking is an accessible way to increase your heart rate and breathe more deeply in response to the greater physical effort. When you raise your heart rate regularly, you improve the strength of your heart and lungs. This is a tremendous benefit of walking!
5. Walking Intensity Scales with your Fitness
As you get more fit, walking can adapt to continue to give you a fitness challenge. Whether you walk faster or choose hillier routes, you can always increase the intensity of your workouts. This means walking continuously offers a great workout– all for free!
6. Walking Boosts Sleep Quality
A 2019 study quoted in the New York Times indicates that a moderate amount of daily walking (7000 steps) led to improved sleep in test subject. Given that sleep issues negatively affect overall health, adding in regular daily walking is an easy strategy to improve your sleep– and your health. Better sleep makes for a happier, healthier you!
7. Improve Your Balance
Walking is really nothing more than falling and catching yourself over and over again. (Go ahead and think about it a sec….try it out….I’ll wait!)
By shifting your weight side to side, every step is a balance challenge. When you walk on a hill or trail, the uneven footing creates an even greater balance challenge for your body. Improving your balance is especially important as you age.
8. Increase Your Metabolism
Remember benefit #4– strengthen your cardiovascular health? One of the reasons your cardiovascular health is so important is that it’s one of the main factors that contributes to calorie burn.
When you increase your heart rate like you do when walking for exercise, you also increase your metabolism. So if you’ve been wondering why your metabolism is slowing down, start walking regularly and reap the benefits! Walking is a proven method for weight control.
9. Walking is an Ideal Family Fitness Activity
Whether you have an infant in a stroller or a surly teenager, taking a family walk is something everyone can do together. This active time as a family is the perfect opportunity for conversations that may seem awkward face-to-face. Taking a family walk regularly gives you time to connect and show your kids that being active is part of what your family values.
10. Walking Supports Bone Health
Osteoporosis is a health condition that should be on the radar of every woman, regardless of her age. Studies show that a regular walking program that lasts six months of more can improve the bone density in the hip bone. Because hip fractures greatly affect a woman’s quality of life– and mortality risk– walking is an easy way to add a health-protective benefit.
Bone strengthening exercises, like walking, are an important part of any overall fitness program. Keeping your skeleton strong is essential for your quality of life.
11. Reap the Benefits of Being in Nature
Can you imagine what our ancestors would think about modern life? We live in climate-controlled buildings with artificial lighting. This disconnect from the natural world affects both our physical and emotional health.
Walking in nature gives the body a chance to decompress from the hustle and bustle of everyday life. This allows our nervous system to take a rest and even recharge. The benefit of walking in nature is not just for the physical body but for our mental health as well.
Whether you just get outside to walk for 30 minutes or go hiking in the woods, you’ll boost your Vitamin D and reconnect with nature for better health.
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12. Reduce Stress Levels
Like any type of regular exercise, one of the benefits of walking for fitness is that it can help to reduce stress levels. When our stress levels are lower, the body creates a necessary and moderate amount of cortisol.
Cortisol is a stress hormone that, when elevated, creates inflammation in the body. It’s also responsible for that “spare tire” of fat that many midlife women hold around their midsection. Reducing cortisol is one of the best changes you can make for your health. And walking can help!
13. Walking Boosts your Brain Power
Maybe you’ll feel motivated by knowing some of our greatest human minds walked daily. Albert Einstein, Ludwig Beethoven, and Steve Jobs are all well-documented regular walkers. When you think about all they contributed to society, maybe you’ll be motivated to get up and go get your great idea!
14. It’s Your Link to Longevity
Even though Hippocrates lived over 2000 years ago, his wisdom still holds true: “Walking is man’s best medicine.” Simply put, walking is the easiest and most accessible way to improve both your quality of life and its likely duration. It is important to note, though, that the speed you walk is important. To get the longevity boost, women need to walk faster than three miles per hour (20 minutes per mile).
15. Energize Your Everyday Life
One of the reasons many people don’t exercise regularly is because it takes time out of their busy schedule. The reality is, however, that a daily walk is one of the best ways to boost your energy levels. So even if you spend 30 minutes out walking, you’re firing up your brain and skyrocketing your productivity. Walking it time well spent!
16. Help Control Your Blood Sugar
Engaging in regular exercise is one of the best ways to control your blood sugar. If you’ve been diagnosed with prediabetes or diabetes, getting out for a daily walk can help balance your blood sugar and keep it in a moderated range. Given the far-reaching effects balanced blood sugar has on your overall health and energy levels, going for a walk is an easy answer to a host of medical issues.
17. Ease Joint Pain
Knees always aching? Wish you could move around more easily?
Because walking helps to strengthen your muscles, that takes pressure off of the joints. As regular walking helps you get stronger, your joints are under less pressure. With less pressure on the joints, your pain lessens.
Does it hurt too much to even start a walking routine? Get into a pool! The buoyancy of the water helps displace some of your body weight to take pressure off the joints as you build up your muscles.
18. Clear Your Mind with a Walking Meditation
Is your life so busy that you wish you could have a little space to think and reflect? Because walking doesn’t require any special equipment or course, you don’t have to pay close attention to what you are doing as you walk. This allows your mind the time and space to wander.
If you find walking a wonderful reflection time, you might want to seek out a labyrinth which is specially-designed for walking meditation. The proven benefits of meditation for stress relief— especially for midlife women– are so worth it!
19. Forge Friendships While Walking
Next time you’re working to arrange a coffee chat with a friend, offer instead to meet her for a walk. The walk doesn’t have to be fast, nor does it have to be far.
But if you spend an hour moving rather than an hour sitting, you’ve done something good for yourself. (Not to mention that you’re less likely to be tempted by goodies in a pastry case at the coffee shop if you’re out walking.) Having a regular walking buddy is an even better idea!
20. Fuel Your Creativity
Want to boost your creativity by up to 60%? Go for a walk!
Whether you’re stuck on a problem at work or dealing with a difficult relationship or just want to see the world in a new way, it’s as easy as going for a walk right out your front door.
When we can combine something simple that is good for our body physically with something that buoys us mentally, why wouldn’t we want to do it more often?
Walking really can be the answer to so many of life’s problems.
Did these 20 benefits of walking convince you to lace up? I hope so!
If you’re still feeling like walking isn’t really exercise, then don’t think of it as such. Walking is, however, meaningful movement that contributes positively to your health.
Walking is the perfect beginner’s exercise! Join the movement. All it takes is putting one foot in front of the other.
The Well Balanced Women blog is for educational purposes only and is not medical advice. Please discuss your health issues with a licensed medical practitioner.
