For some reason, I thought that if I wanted to exercise, I had to go to a gym. WRONG. Since I could not make regular use of a gym membership, I knew I had to come up with another plan. Enter: walking.
Conveniently, a new Running Room franchise opened in my community. Spending time in the store talking to staff and other customers made me feel like an athlete again. Although I wanted to start running immediately, I decided to start with walking because I knew I had a lot of conditioning to do.
Benefits of walking from various sections of John Stanton’s book, “Walking: The Complete Guide to Walking for Fitness, Health and Weight Loss”:
+ No membership required+ Easily include young children
+ Burns fat
+ Reduces stress
+ Improves your self-esteem
+ Helps you sleep better
+ Increases your energy level and stamina
+ Reduces the risk of developing heart disease, osteoporosis and certain cancers
+ It’s fun
I hope that if you are anything like me, and you cannot commit to a gym, that you consider walking. Walking will allow you to exercise during the day when you have the most energy, and easily bring your child along.
Note: Don't be surprised if your child enjoys these walks too.
If you want to make walking part of your fitness routine how often and for how long would you recommend?
ReplyDeleteDurfy,
ReplyDeleteThank you for asking that question.
If you're walking to lose weight, I recommend hitting the pavement at least six times a week. Walk twice a week for 60 minutes, and four times a week for 30 minutes. Resting is a crucial part of any fitness program, so choose one day a week to take a break.
Thank you for reading!
Be sure to check out my safety tips for walkers/runners within the next few days.
I think it's great you're giving option on how to exercise without a gym membership because people often use this as an excuse not to. I also think it's nice that people can use walking as an active way to spend quality time with the people in their lives.
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like a great book, i love taking walk and i can't wait until the weather gets better to get out and enjoy it. Side-note, I have heard some great things about the running room and their running clubs. A friend of my parents join the running room and started walking with a few of the members. Soon enough she developed the endurance to begin running and lost over a 50 pounds and just ran the Boston Marathon!
ReplyDeleteLauren,
ReplyDeleteI love stories like that. It is amazing what people can do when they devote themselves to a plan.
You should check out the Running Room if you haven't all ready done so. The store and its staff have a lot to offer.
Enjoy your walks!