Walk Your Way To Happiness

Walk Your Way To Happiness

If you haven’t exercised for a while, or are trying to find something easy that you'll do every single day, give walking a try. It’s the perfect low impact way to exercise. It’s easy to do, you don’t need any special equipment and you can start at the fitness level you’re at.

If you’re not in the best of shape, start by going for a 10 or 15 minute walk round the neighborhood. The slowly work your way from there. If you’re already in great shape, walking can still provide an efficient workout. Walk fast and incorporate some hills and even stairs. But, let’s not get ahead of ourselves here. If you’re like most of us, chances are you haven’t exercised much since you got out of college and need to start small. Maybe your doctor suggested that you simply move around more. Or maybe you only want to be proactive about your health and well-being. In either case, walking is the perfect way to start. Find a pair of comfortable shoes, put them on and choose a stroll through your neighborhood. You could also find a park with a pleasant path you'll walk on. If the weather doesn’t permit walking outside, head to your local mall and walk or mount a treadmill.

You can even walk in one place at home in front of your TV. Here’s an easy little idea to urge you to move more. As you're sitting on the couch in the dark, watching TV, rise up during commercial breaks and march in one place until your favorite television program comes back on. If you’re using a service like Netflix, make yourself walk in place for 10 minutes in between episodes. Or turn on the TV and challenge yourself to march in place during the entire show. Time will fly while you’re having fun watching TV and moving. Speaking of getting fun, going for a walk outside often offers tons of fun too. Mix up your route and enter different areas of town, or visit different parks. Invite a friend to come along with you to walk. It’s always nice to have someone to speak to and having a walking buddy keeps you accountable. Last but not least, grab your phone or MP3 player and hear music or audio books as you walk to for the time to pass faster. The main thing is that you must get out there, move around, and get some exercise. Do it in a way that’s gentle on your joints, your heart, and the rest of your body and then watch what walking will do for you. You will see that you will start to feel better, happier, and stronger after a couple of weeks of normal walks.