“A vigorous five-mile walk will do more good for an unhappy but otherwise healthy adult than all the medicine and psychology in the world.”
– Paul Dudley White

Every year, there’s always a predominant trend in fitness. From Jazzercise to Brazil Butt Lift, there’s always a workout du jour to define a point in time. Some of these past trends have managed to live on, and evolve, from their formative years (look no further than yoga). Others, like the Shake Weight and Ab belt, are nothing but the subject of parody. So, like fashion, music, and movies, they come and go.
But do you know what doesn’t go out of style? Walking. No kidding, walking.
Now, I know what you’re thinking. Really, Zuzka, walking? How is that going to give me abs or grow my booty? Don’t be so quick to judge! You see, with walking, I have nothing to sell. It’s such a fundamental part of human movement that there’s no patent or income to be made through touting its benefits. And sure, it’s not as sexy or groundbreaking as say my Summer Shred, but it’s definitely something you’d be wise to incorporate into your fitness regimen. Want to know why? Read on to find out! Who knows, maybe you’ll want to head out for a brisk walk around the block once you’re finished reading this through!

Boosts Your NEAT

A while back I wrote about the benefits of NEAT, aka, Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis, and why it’s important for things like circulation, avoiding premature aging, maintaining muscle strength, and burning even more calories throughout the day. NEAT can be done through things like chore work, using a standing desk, and, of course, walking. And don’t discount it as a bad way to burn an extra bit of calories. Depending on your weight and walking speed, you could be burning as little as 148 to as many as 300+ calories per hour. [1] If time is of the essence, you can also split the hour into two 30-minute sessions a day (one in the morning, and one in the afternoon or evening), or three 20-minute sessions a day (taking a brief stroll after breakfast, lunch, and dinner).

Active Recovery

According to Dr. John Rusin, an internationally recognized strength coach and physical therapist, walking is one of the simplest, underrated forms of recovery. In fact, it can serve as a “protective mechanism for future injuries to the spine, hips, and other regions of the body. It all has to do with the idea of the ‘active muscle pump,’ which is essentially the muscles of the lower extremities contracting over and over in an antagonist and agonist nature. This puts pressure on the vasculature and aids in lymphatic drainage, which is a powerful recovery mechanism.” [2] As I’ve mentioned in the past, our lymphatic system is important for keeping our body in tip-top shape, functioning as its “sanitation department” by helping to remove cellular waste and debris within the body through our sweat, urine, and stool. And in order to do this, it needs outside help, since it doesn’t have a “pump”. That’s where things like dry skin brushing, inversions, infrared sauna, and walking come into play. Regularly supporting our lymph through these actions helps both our lymph and our recovery from intense exercise. So if you don’t have access to a sauna or inversion station, then consider walking as your cheapest, easiest resource. Your workout performance will definitely receive an enormous boost!

Good for Stress

Are you feeling burned out from life’s daily stressors? Is a crazy intense workout just not in the cards for you? Then instead of skipping daily exercise altogether, why not turn down the intensity instead? Walking is an awesome alternative to high-intensity training. It’s less prone to spiking cortisol, the infamous stress hormone that can lead to moodiness, acne, muscle weakness, high blood pressure, extra belly fat, and a whole host of nasty side effects. [3] Luckily, a simple walk can help you to keep it under control. Walking helps to clear your mind, as well as create a temporary distance between yourself and the scene of your troubles. It’s like a moving meditation, helping you to refocus and center yourself.
As an added bonus, walking somewhere out in nature- like a botanical garden or hiking trail- can further help to ease the stress. In Japan, the practice of Shinrin-Yoku, or forest bathing, has been widely used strategically as a potent tactic against stress. [4] So, if you have the opportunity, get out there and bond with nature!

Easy on the Joints

If find yourself unable to regularly engage in plyometric jumps and bursts of movement like I do in some of my workouts, fear not! Walking is also very friendly and great for the joints. My recommendation is to combine it with something like my Low Impact Full Body Series, so that you can still work and maintain your lean muscles without stressing your joints. That way, you can have it all. Strong, toned, functional muscle, and regular movement that can be incorporated throughout the day.

Longevity

This last point about walking is very important. If easing your joints, burning more calories, and relieving stress aren’t enough to convince you, then let these benefits sink in.
Starting off, according to research the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, walking can cut one’s risk of dying from brain cancer by nearly 40%. The researchers further recommend one aim to walk about 12 miles a week in order to reap the benefits. [5]
Harvard University also has written about the benefits of walking, echoing research finding that it helped to reduce the risk of cardiovascular-related incidents (i.e., heart attack) by 31% as well as dying from said incidents by 32%. From their research, all it took was walking about 5 ½ miles per week, with the people who walked faster and at longer distances enjoying even greater benefits. [6]
Further research has surprisingly discovered an anti-aging component to walking as well. A 2015 study that was presented to the European Society of Cardiology Congress found that simply adding 20-25 minutes of walking to your day could add nearly three to seven years to your lifespan. [7]

The Walk- or Take- Away

As you can see, walking is obviously a beneficial form of exercise. It’s simple, free, and can be done practically anywhere. I myself enjoy escaping to nature for a long hike or walking my dogs. Next to my daily ZGYM workouts, it’s one of the best things I can recommend when it comes to exercise!

Sources:
[1] https://www.healthline.com/health/calories-burned-walking#increase-your-burn
[2] https://www.t-nation.com/training/4-best-recovery-methods-youre-not-using
[3] https://www.healthline.com/health/high-cortisol-symptoms#symptoms
[4] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19568835
[5] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4157907/
[6]https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/walking-your-steps-to-health
[7] https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/a-daily-walk-can-add-seven-years-to-your-life-10478821.html