Why walking is good for you
I like to think of walking as comparing it to the stock in a soup. By this I mean that it seems such a simple almost unimportant aspect of movement yet walking is the foundation of human movement because you have to learn to walk before you can learn to run or jump.
It is also the most convenient form of getting around because it is so easy. There are so many situations where running and other forms of movement will not work but walking is so often the most convenient choice.
Whether it is socialising with friends or getting to a meeting or just shopping, walking is a natural choice but running or anything else can be inconvenient.
So walking is the stock to our soup of life because soup without stock is ok but with stock it has life and depth. In the same way that when I travel through my own city or others I enjoy it by car, bus or train but when I walk through it I really feel and experience what it is likely from the smells and sounds to the general human feeling of being somewhere.
So while we all know walking is good for us it turns out that most people do not walk much and do not realise just how much they enjoy it. So this post gives you many ideas to help you ex[;pre and find how walking can work for you and make your life that bit better.
5 benefits of walking.
This is a simple video explaining good reasons to walk. Something I have done for so long and something I benefit from all the time. Includes research papers.
Neuroscience and the benefits of walking
Fantastic talk on the benefits of walking. I have an article on it several books and I love it.
This talk is going into the real differences and benefits of walking. Perfect for a series on walking.
Learn more
If you found this article helpful, then you need to check out the course it comes from. It’s full of tips and advice that you can use right now.
Further references
- CDC US Center for disease control
- Physical activity: Collection of resources related to physical activity
- Walking: Collection of resources related to walking
- Step It Up! The Surgeon General’s Call to Action to Promote Walking and Walkable Communities The goal is to increase walking by working together to increase access to safe and convenient places to walk and wheelchair roll and to create a culture that supports walking for all Americans.
- How much physical activity do older adults need?
- America walks. The US national voice for public spaces that allow people to safely walk and move.
- Simulating the effect of ankle plantarflexion and inversion-eversion exoskeleton torques on center of mass kinematics during walking investigating how exoskeleton torques applied to the ankle and subtalar joints alter centre of mass kinematics during walking
- Health gains of low-traffic schemes up to 100 times greater than costs, study finds. Research looked at three London boroughs to value overall health benefits of active travel over 20 years at up to £4,800 per head
- Strolls with stops use more energy than continuous walking, scientists show