Camera Walking for Fitness!
It is just a few weeks into the New Year, and many of us are either embracing our commitment to becoming more active and losing weight, or finding ourselves running out of steam. The weather is cold, the days are short, and it is just so easy to hit the snooze button.
We know that this is a tough time of year to walk outside, but the benefits are many. To inspire you to keep your fitness goals we are sharing this short video with you, so take a look.
Fitness Matters
At Camera Walking health and fitness are cornerstones of our work, so I was pleased to discover an interesting study that found that fitness may be more important to your health than how much you weigh! According to Carl Lavie, M.D., medical director of the Ochsner Heart and Vascular Institute in New Orleans, “It looks like it’s more important to maintain your fitness than your leanness.”
This is great news, and walking is a effective way to achieve fitness. A recent British study found that people who regularly walked briskly for fitness weighed less than those who worked out in a gym, or participated in other physcial activities. Yes! Walking is king!
Walking Strategies
And yet there are those moments and times of the year, like winter, that make it challenging to maintain our walking commitment. To help jumpstart your walking, here are a few tips:
Do it Daily. If you are new to walking regularly, start in small segments. Walk for 10-15 minutes each day for a week building up to 30 minutes a day. As you get fitter, work toward an hour a day, even if it is broken into segments. As soon as you start walking, look for photo opportunities. This will change your walk from “exercise” to a “creative exploration.”
Be consistent. Most of us have certain times in the day that are better for walking. If you are a morning person, put your shoes and clothes by the bed as a reminder when the alarm goes off. Walking in the morning brings added benefits of the early light for your photos. If evening is the best time to walk, have your shoes and camera ready by the front door, so that you can resist the temptation to sit down and relax.
Be prepared. The reality is that winter brings rain, sleet, snow, and colder temperatures. Wear layers of clothing and invest in rain pants, warm jackets, hats, neck warmers, and good gloves. Snow and ice shouldn’t keep you from walking if you have good boots, and something that I discovered when traveling in Russia, YakTrax. They slip over your boots and are like tire chains, enabling you to walk at your normal pace and gait. Also protect your camera. I often use my iPhone and DXO One Camera during wet days, leaving my Canon 6D DSLR behind for another day.
Be flexible. I like to walk in the morning, but when it is just too cold, like the other day (21 degrees!), I walk later in the day. Walking at the end of the day can also give you different light for your photos, such as the one below that I took just before sunset.
Get creative: When it is really too cold and miserable to go outside for a walk, drive to an indoor mall and walk with your camera. What could seem to be a boring walk becomes an exercise in creativity. You might be surprised with the photos opportunities you can find in shop windows, and most importantly, you get a good walk!
Walking is possible year round if we stay commited to our health and fitness goals. Remind yourself of the benefits: increased physical and mental health, and, if you take your camera with you, fun photos! So, grab your camera and go out Camera Walking for better health, fitness, and creativity.
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