Tips to Get the Most of Your Walk

Walking is one of the best exercises we can do. We are built to walk, and by doing so we reap so many benefits, and yet many Americans still are not getting the recommended 150 minutes of exercise per week. Recently the U.S. Surgeon General challenged Americans to #stepitup and get moving!

We agree with the Surgeon General that we need to get moving, and yet we know in spite of the best of intentions, life often gets in the way, so we thought we would share a few tips to help you make walking an important part of your day.

Tip #1: Figure out what works for you. Our bodies have a natural rhythm. Some love to exercise in the morning, while others at the end of the day, or mid-day. Whatever time is best for you is the time to walk. I personally love to walk in the morning. I walk to work and on my days off, I start out early and aim for an hour or longer. Some of this is due to the fact that I am a morning person, but I am also motivated by my desire to capture photos in good light.

Tip #2: Take advantage of every opportunity to walk. Even if you cannot walk for an hour at a time, walking for 10 minutes three times a day will bring benefits. Take the long way to an appointment, suggest a walking meeting to a colleague, take the stairs instead of the elevator, and consider parking farther away from your destination. It all counts.

Tip #3: Claim walking as your sport. It is often easy to think of runners as being more of an athlete, but walking is an excellent form of exercise, so think of yourself as a walker. I tell people that walking is my main form of exercise. Say, "I am a walker," and feel good about it. By the way there is a national effort to make every Wednesday a walk day.

Tip #4: Set realistic goals. If you are new to walking it is best to start in small segments. Start with 15 minutes then work to 30 minutes and longer. My personal goal is a minimum of 60 minutes a day (approximately 10,000 steps/5 miles), but I strive for 90 minutes if possible, especially on the weekends. I enjoy taking longer walks so that I can capture different photos.

Tip #5: Take care of your feet and body. Regardless if you are new to walking or are a pro, taking care of your bodies will payoff. Before and after your walk use a couple of exercises to strengthen your muscles. There are a couple of simple tools that can help you work out the tension in your feet and legs to ensure that you have a pain free walk. Take a look at one of our earlier posts to get some ideas on how to do that.

Tip #6: Make sure your walk is enjoyable. Research shows that if we enjoy our walk we will keep doing it. There are many ways to make walks enjoyable: find a new route, walk with a friend, and of course take photographs! When you walk with a camera the walk is transformed into an exploration, as you look for interesting photos to capture. That is what Camera Walking is all about - discovering the joy of a daily walk to achieve better health, fitness, and creativity.

Take the Surgeon General's challenge to #stepitup and get moving. I am going to personally step up my minimum of 10,000 steps a day to 12,000, as he recommends. Let us know what you do to "get moving" by commenting below, posting on our Facebook page, or sending us an email. We love to hear from you.