My goal was to make walking a lifestyle rather than the exception. I can say with authority that walking has stuck around. Want to become a walker? It’s as simple as walking out the door.
GET STARTED WALKING
The average person, walking at a smooth rate, typically can cover one mile for every 20 minutes of walking, but slowing down or speeding up works, too. When you’re getting started, don’t worry too much about number of steps, mileage, or speed. Just go!
Start by taking a 15-minute walk once a day. Make it simple and just head out your front door in the morning before work, take a quick stroll during your lunch hour, or set out in the evening when you get home. Even once around the block is a good beginning.
QUICK TIPS
•Skip new shoes, especially on a long walk. You may end up with blisters, a side effect when skin needs to toughen up. Wear well-tested shoes for your first time out on a longer walk.
•Walking 30 minutes nets you roughly 3,000 steps—and a healthy glow.
•If you’re early for an appointment, walk around the block rather than sitting and waiting in your car or an office.
BEFORE YOU GO
Equipment: Comfortable shoes with minimal to no heel that you can wear for one mile or more; breathable clothing, layered, depending on weather conditions.
Cost: Free.
CHALLENGE YOURSELF
Once you master a 15-minute walk each day, consider these additional goals:
Level Up: Twice a week, increase your daily walks to 30 to 45 minutes. Map out all the locations you go to regularly that are within a one-mile radius of your home—the coffee shop, the library, the grocery store—and walk for one of those errands. Add mileage by taking transit to work if possible or by parking farther away from your destination. Add in walking meetings with coworkers.
Reach Goal: Walk 30 to 45 minutes daily. In addition, consider taking another, longer walk once a week, going for 90 minutes or up to three hours. Many city and state parks feature paved paths or dirt trail systems where you can vary the terrain under your feet.
Adventure Goal: Take a 10-, 15-, or 20-mile walk. Use an online map planner to figure out a route. You can do an urban walk, plan a route on a path or trail farther afield, or consider a wilderness hike. Bring plenty of water and snacks, and go with other people to make the walk come alive. Map out bathroom options as well as places to take breaks. Leave details of your plan with a friend or family member for safety.
DISCOVERY: Walking
| 1ST | 2ND | 3RD | |
| DATE | |||
| DURATION | |||
| RATING (1 TO 5 STARS) | |||
| What preconceptions did you have about walking as exercise when you started taking daily walks? Did you think it would be too easy or you wouldn’t have enough time? How do you feel about it now? | |||
| How did your body feel at the start of your walking journey? What did you come to enjoy about the physical act of walking and moving your body by taking steps? | |||
| When walking, I appreciated less screen time; I made my dog walks screen-free, keeping my phone in my pocket, and tried to focus more on my surroundings and my pup. What did you learn about or observe when you walked? Did you discover something new about your neighborhood? | |||
Month 1
Cross-Functional Fitness
I was suspicious of the enthusiasm. People who do cross-functional fitness, also known as high-intensity workouts or, more popularly as “CrossFit,” talk about it in rapturous tones. They blather on about how sore they are, using terminology foreign to us normal folk. They talk about how you can get in the best shape of your life with a 10-minute workout.
Skeptical didn’t even begin to cover how I felt. I had no interest in this trend. Nope. Not me. Not in this lifetime.
Then my friend Emily turned. She wasn’t just in; she was all in. The betrayal!
Emily wanted me to try this high-intensity functional fitness, too. Over dinner, she kept saying how much she loved the workouts and how great the community was. Her gym was close to our respective homes.
I looked into her gym, which utilized the CrossFit brand and required newcomers to take an introductory series that teaches you the exercises and how to safely navigate the rigorous workouts. The price made me gulp—$150 for a month—and this was several years ago. This particular intro series required 12 classes over four weeks—that’s three classes a week. That seemed like a lot of money—and time—to commit up front.
OR TRY . . . KETTLEBELLS
Advocates of kettlebells say you can get stronger than you ever thought possible—including core, leg, shoulder, and grip strength plus general conditioning—by working out with the round-shaped weights with handles that come in various sizes.
I wanted that.
I took a class at a studio that teaches Russian-style kettlebell technique, learning to swing and use the kettlebells for general strength. You train barefoot, which at first seemed dangerous to me, considering that even light kettlebells can hurt if dropped on a bare foot. But feeling your feet makes a difference for technique, according to the trainers, though not all studios train this way.
After a warm-up, we worked a halo, holding a kettlebell in both hands with the handle down and circling the kettlebell around our heads, as close to hair and ears as possible. Halos warm up the shoulder girdle, strengthen the back, and mobilize the shoulders.
We practiced squats, lowering hips toward the floor. Then we learned a hip hinge, folding at the hips, sticking your butt out, and engaging your core. For swings, holding the bell by the handle, we hinged first, dragged the kettlebell back, felt our weight in our heels, then thrust hips forward so the bell floated forward to shoulder height, repeating the swing 10 times, using a breath technique to sniff in and then hiss breath out during the swing.
I struggled with my hip hinge. If you hinge more at the hips, you won’t leak power from your core, one trainer said. I lost power at the top of the swing, pushing my hips forward instead of standing up. I muscled my kettlebell up with my shoulders. Clearly, I needed to take this class again.
We also worked deadlifts with heavy kettlebells. I hinged at my hips, squeezed my legs and upper back, sniffed, exhaled, and stood up with my kettlebell.
The goal is to master technique so that you maintain good form even if you swing a kettlebell hundreds of times in one class. I can’t wait for the day I master a beautiful kettlebell swing.
Many gyms and trainers offer a variety of multifunctional high-intensity interval training (HIIT) classes. It’s often marketed as “CrossFit,” a worldwide brand with numerous affiliates, but you can easily find gyms that use similar approaches and get the same results.
This style of training includes bodyweight exercises such as pull-ups and push-ups; weightlifting using barbells (you’ll squat and learn Olympic lifting, snatching a barbell from the floor and raising it over your head); cardio,