Why would walking be better than CrossFit, Barre, Pilates, Yoga, Kickboxing, Zumba, or the myriad of other exercise programs out there? Any physical program you like to do is great for your health as long as you are motivated to stick with the regimen. It is my experience that when life gets hectic it is easy to fall off the fitness wagon if it takes work to keep it up. Walking is one of the activities that requires zero preparation, is gentle on your muscles yet great for your heart, and it only requires you to put one foot in front of the other to get started. The best reason of all is that it is free and a daily part of college life. Free is best when you are a broke college student.
College campuses are by definition large and spread out. Their large sizes translate to daily opportunities to fit in walking. That short walk from your car to your class or from your dorm to the library adds up over the day. You might not consider either of them as a workout or fitness time, but together, they add up quickly to 30 minutes or more of exercise. I would advise you to stick to walking and not get a bike, despite its convenience, because by walking everywhere you will be laying the foundation for a a healthier life. That foundation will make walking a habit, just like brushing your teeth or hair, that is easy to keep up once you leave college life behind.
Walking daily will benefit your heart, bones, and waist line. Furthermore, it might provide you with unexpected cancer preventing defenses and improve your mental and emotional health. You might not believe this, but walking rakes is as many benefits as running, with less wear to your joints. Of course, we are talking about brisk or fast walking, the type that makes your heart rate speed up and feels rushed because you are trying to get somewhere on time. Decades of research show that walking improves cardiovascular health by strengthening your aerobic conditioning. Walking engages the major body muscles and helps turn the extra sugar into energy rather than fat, this keeps your waist line circumference in check thanks to those mighty strides. The range of motion in those strides helps lower glucose readings, particularly if it is done after mealtime, making it an effective habit in managing diabetes. Studies have even found that regular physical activity can strengthen your body’s immune defense against cancers. In 2005 the Journal of the American Medical Association found that women who had cancer and walked three to five hours a week at an average pace were at a reduced risk for death when compared to sedentary women with cancer. Those are a lot of benefits from walking daily at a brisk pace, and should be great motivation to get walking right now.
If you don’t believe the studies at least believe my story. Walking daily is what helped me improve my health once I was diagnosed with pre-diabetes. This diagnosis came in one year after my last child was born. I had three pregnancies with gestational diabetes so my chances of developing diabetes increased with every pregnancy. To make matters worse I was suffering from post-partum depression.
On February of 2018 I started walking daily on a treadmill. At the start I could barely walk 20 minutes at a speed of 2 miles per hour; a 30-minute mile. It is embarrassing to admit, but walking at that leisurely pace made me break into a sweat and had me gasping for air. Fast-forward three months and I had worked up my cardiovascular system to do a 15 minute mile!!! It felt great to not run out of breath!!! It is hard to feel down after your heart gets pumping. It helped my emotional and mental health so much to know I had done something good for myself. Did I mention mproved mental and emotional health are two more benefits attributed to walking?
My waist circumference shrank from 45 inches to 34 inches. I only lost 15 lbs but went from a jean size 12 to a size 8 by just walking. The best news showed up in my triglycerides lab results which decreased from 160 to 50!!! My A1C dropped from a 6.15 to a 5.8 in three months. The health benefits were fast and I was not exhausted. I didn’t dread walking so it was easy to stay consistent. The goal was to get in 60 minutes of walking daily doing a little here and a little there. It would be 15 minutes in the morning, 20 after lunch, or 25 at night. The flexibility to break it down into sessions, or in your case into walks from class to class, makes it easy to score 30 to 60 minutes daily.
Heart health benefits aside, the biggest benefit to your college life will come in the form of mental health. Balancing the responsibilities of your independence will generate anxiety at times. When you are getting closer to a midterm or the deadline for that term paper is drawing near you will be in need of a stress releasing hack. Walking can offer a sense of calm and thought clearing on a daily basis. Taking a walk provides opportunities to notice nature or the neighborhood aesthetics. The shift in focus from midterm stress to a bird’s song will clear your headspace. You can then go back and really focus on studying or finishing that midterm paper. Try heading outside for a walk whenever emotions are starting to take over your mental space. If you really want to release stress I recommend putting on some headphones while walking and jamMing along to the happiest music to get your heart pumping and drawing on your inner “Rocky” in Eye of the Tiger style.
Walking can be a partner sport. The 10 to 20 minutes you may take to get somewhere could easily become short conversations that turn acquaintances into friends. One of the most stressful years of my life was my Masters year but it was also one of the healthiest. Walks were the main component in keeping me slim, but more importantly they helped me build friendships. I walked daily to and from class, but two to three times a week I would walk with my cohort peers after seminar. We started as a group of five or six that dwindled as we got to our apartments. I would walk most of the way with Jenna and Robert, two amazing educators that I remember most fondly because of those walks, and the conversations we had built on each other to create deeper relationships. Chances are that you may be starting college in a new city with zero friends. I encourage you to find a walking partner and take a chance on turning your walks into a friendship. Just like the little walks add up to a whole hours, those little talks add up to hours of conversation and deeper connections. We need to foster those connections now more than ever because newer generations are feeling more disconnected and isolated due to the rise of technologies.
Here is how to adopt walking into your life starting today. I am going to share great advice I learned from Mark Fenton’s book The Complete Guide to Walking for Health, Weight Loss and Fitness. Think of walking the way you think of a pyramid. Begin at the bottom with daily walks followed by two or three minutes of stretching. When you stretch take about 7 breaths for each stretch. Once you have become a regular daily walker move to the middle part of the pyramid by walking longer distances to build strength. Add a few isometric exercises to your exercise routine such as push-ups, planks, and side planks to build upper body strength. The top portion of the pyramid will focus on speed. Keep walking daily, keep stretching, and start focusing on walking longer distances in less time. If you are constantly taking 20 minutes to get from point A to point B, then try getting one extra block in the twenty minutes the following week. Keep your goal increments in the 10% to 15% of your current stats for optimum motivation. If you have trouble with accountability use a log.
The most important part of the process, as Mark Fenton taught me, is that you must trust walking. Trust the process and the benefits. Trust your own ability to make it a daily health habit. I know you have it in you and I will be here cheering you on.
Your life coach,
Kim
