“Walk and be happy. Walk and be healthy. The best way to lengthen out our days is to walk steadily and with a purpose.” – Charles Dickens

Walking. The easiest and the most effective way to lose fat. We’ve been doing it since we were one year old. At first, it was hard. Over time and after many failed attempts, we don’t even think about it anymore. It’s perhaps the easiest, most accessible form of exercise there is. No equipment needed. All you need is you. No more excuses.

If you’re sitting on the couch and you haven’t worked out in a year or 10 years, all you have to do is get up and take a 5 minute walk and you’re instantly doing better than you were yesterday. It’s literally the first step that is the hardest. Just go outside and walk for 5 minutes. You have 5 minutes, right? Then walk a bit farther as time goes on. It’s that simple. Don’t worry about running a 5k or running for 45 minutes or doing that high intensity boot camp that all your friends want you do to. Just walk.

Let me make my case for walking.

• Walking is low impact. Walking provides a low impact cardio workout that is easy on the joints and body. It also has no effect on your strength workouts, while other forms of cardio do. Walking places very little stress on your body.
• Walking is good for your health. Walking maintains a healthy weight and lose body fat. It prevents or manages various conditions, including heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, cancer and type 2 diabetes. It strengthens your bones and muscles. It improves muscle endurance, mood, cognition, cardiovascular fitness, energy levels, and balance. It strengthens your immune system and reduces stress. [i]
• Walking burns calories and targets fat as fuel. The average person will burn 200-350 calories per hour walking. This might not seem like a lot but walking 15-30 minutes a day on top of the regular steps you are taking will add up over the long run. You should aim to hit 10,000 steps a day which will burn around 400 calories each day. Stack that for a week and that’s almost 3000 calories burned just by walking around. Many moderate to high intensity forms of cardio use carbohydrates/glucose as fuel to burn first, while low intensity forms of cardio, like walking, use fat as fuel.
• Walking is good for your mental health. Walking outside is very beneficial for your mental health. Moving our bodies outside is very beneficial for our health and mental health. It is a great de-stressor at the end of the day and it’s also a great way to start the day, with that natural sunlight on your skin and in your eyes.
• Walking brings families together. Many people will skip their work out and say that they don’t have time. But what if you can combine fitness and family? After supper, go for a 15 minute walk as a family. Talk about your day. Connect with each other in nature. Take your dog for a walk. Play. Not only are you getting your walk in but your kids and spouse are also exercising. You are together as a family. You are reconnecting with your spouse and asking about their day. It doesn’t feel like exercise.
• Walking does not increase your hunger. Many other forms of cardio require a large expenditure of energy. We get hungrier after high intensity bouts of exercise, due to it being very glycolytic (using glycogen/carbs as fuel). Walking can be done at any time of day, whether you have eaten or not. It does not require high amounts of energy to complete. This is especially critical when you are trying to lose weight.
• Progression is easy to track. You can make walking more difficult by a) walking further or longer, b) walking uphill or an incline on the treadmill, and/or c) adding weight such as a weighted vest, a ruck sack or a backpack.
• You can walk even when you are injured or tired. Walking is a good form of exercise to stay active when you have an injury, especially for back and knee injuries. If you did not have time to get a workout in and you’ve had a long day, you still likely have enough energy to at least go for a short walk.
• Everyone can do it. Even if you can only go for 5-10 minutes, you can do it. Then, as time goes on, keep progressing. Walk a minute further, then 5, then 10. Before you know it, you’ll be melting off the fat and easily walking for 45 minutes.

All of those reasons are great. But I truly believe that walking is so powerful because it is 100% sustainable. You can walk today, until the day that you die. The earlier you start, the easier it will be when you are older. There is no excuse as to why you can’t go for a walk.

Too tired? You can walk.

Too sore? You can walk.

No time? Walk with your family.

No equipment? No equipment needed.

No expertise? You mastered it at age 3.

No money? It’s free.

Too out of shape? It’s scalable. Walk for as long as you can.

Too sad? Walking boosts your mental health.

Too much stress? Walking outside decreases stress.

Overwhelmed? Walking allows you to think deeply.

There really are no excuses for why you can’t walk. Maybe you can’t get in a structured 30-45 minute walk after work. No worries. Just take 5 minute breaks throughout the day and get your steps in.

Ah, doesn’t that feel great? You’ve just been freed from the burden of long intense cardio sessions, where you are soaked in sweat and can’t move the next day. Of course, if you’re into that thing, by all means go for it. But all you really need to do is walk.

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[i] Mayo Clinic Staff. Walking: trim your waistline, improve your health. https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/fitness/in-depth/walking/art-20046261