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Part 3: Working a Walking Regimen Into Your Life
1. Use walking as your primary method of transportation. Walking purely for exercise and no other reason is a great idea, but you can greatly increase the amount of time you walk every day by making the choice to walk everywhere you go. In addition, because of its demonstrated mood-boosting effects, walking to the places you need to go during your day ensures you arrive energized, alert, and ready to perform to the utmost of your ability. If you walk enough throughout your daily routine, you may not even need to devote any extra time to exercise! Below are just a few common opportunities for walking:
Your daily commute. This is a big one. If you can manage to walk to and from work (or walk to a public transportation station) rather than driving, not only will you get exercise and avoid the tedium of morning and evening commutes, but also reduce your impact on the environment in terms of pollution.
Trips to the store. Many people make trips to the store for groceries or other common purchases several times a week. If you use this opportunity to go for a walk, you'll get exercise from walking on the way to the store and additional exercise on the way back from carrying your purchases home.
Trips to friends' houses. Finally, if you're going to hang out with a friend, take the opportunity to walk, rather than drive. Doing so helps ensure you'll be in a great mood and have plenty of energy for having fun when you show up.
2. Use walking as a form of recreation. As noted above, it's smart to walk as a way of getting where you need to be, but you don't necessarily need any reason to walk other than that you want to. Besides being a form of exercise, walking can be just plain fun (assuming that the weather is good). It's a great way to get out of the house, get some fresh air, and see what the world has to offer. Rather than spending all of your free time on the couch, devote some of your recreational time to walking. You'll find that it's a lot more rewarding than watching TV in the long run.
One good idea for walking as a form of recreation is to use the opportunity to explore. Venture off the beaten path of roads that you use to get to and from work or school. You'll discover hidden secrets, handy shortcuts, and places that you didn't know existed.
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3. Walk as a social opportunity. It's hard to meet new people if you're in your house all day, so take the opportunity to go for a stroll! Walking in public in places like malls, street fairs, and busy downtown streets is a time to present yourself to others and potentially make new connections. It also allows you to participate in your community simply by virtue of the fact that if you're physically present in it, you're more likely to participate. It's easy to forget the simple pleasures of seeing and being seen if you aren't out and about regularly, so get up and get out!
Walking is a great way to gently start "coming out of your shell" if you're shy. While there are more effective ways to meet new people, walking is a good choice for people who have been withdrawn for a long time and are looking to ease back into a new social life. Plus, on the off chance that you strike up a conversation with a new person when you're out walking, you'll naturally be more energetic and alert than you might otherwise have been because of the mood-elevating effects of walking.
4. Walk to keep up your appearance. Proper walking form has some nice side benefits for one's appearance. For starters, walking provides an obvious benefit in the form of improving your general fitness. Like all forms of exercise, walking can help you become fit and trim, increasing your attractiveness. Beyond this basic benefit, however, there are others. For instance, keeping good form while walking can gradually contribute to a habit of good posture. People almost always look better when they're standing straight and erect than when they're slouched.
For men, maintaining proper posture while walking by keeping your upper body straight and your shoulders back has the added benefit of accentuating the pectoral muscles and tensing your abdominal muscles, making you look slightly more muscular than you would otherwise. For women, this will have the benefits above.
Don't feel vain for investing time, thought, and energy in your appearance. Physical attraction is a real, legitimate component of one's dating potential and should not be ignored.
5. Be consistent. However you choose to work your new walking routine into your life, it's important to remember to stick with it. The effects of a walking routine are most pronounced when that routine is practiced regularly. Going for a few long walks and then neglecting to walk again for a month won't give you much of a benefit in terms of health, mood, or appearance. However, walking for forty-five minutes five times a week will. Give yourself a routine and stick to it - you owe it to yourself to make the most of your potential.
With the demands of your work, school, and/or family competing for your time, it can be tricky to make time for walking every day. If you're having trouble being consistent when it comes to your walking regimen, try making up for this by taking the opportunity to take small walks throughout the day. Below are just a few ideas for when you may want to do this:
During your lunch break or recess
After you finish work or school
Early in the morning, before leaving for work or school
After dinner
During commercials, while you're watching TV
In this last part, I talked about how to incorporate walking into your life. Walking helps you stay active and is beneficial for your health and body.
Artemus Vazhui