Walking is one of the most fundamentally human activities, and for most of us is something we have all been doing for a very long time. It is also something that we as modern humans do not do enough of . Sedentary lifestyles, office jobs and bad weather keeps us inside and sitting. We often know we need to exercise more but feel overwhelmed by the sheer wide array of options before us including yoga, weightlifting or even running. However simple walking can be an amazing place to start with a huge array of benefits.

Heart health: walking is a proven and appropriate form of exercise to improve your cardiovascular health. Improving your health over the long term and reducing your risk of heart attack or stroke.

Reduces headaches: specifically, tension headaches and migraines. Low impact cardiovascular exercise (aka walking) can help reduce the number and intensity of headaches.

Reduces back pain: Studies show that those who walk consistently have lower instances of low back pain and overall help reduce it.

Improved digestion: a simple 10min walk after a meal can aid digestion and reduce gastrointestinal symptoms.

Okay cool. You maybe saying to yourself, but where do I start? So glad you asked.

I would recommend starting with a daily 10-20min walk, with a break in the middle for some light stretching. Slowly add 1-5min every week until you can consistently walk for 30min to 1 hour, then simply walk faster.

For anything else that walking doesn’t help you with feel free to walk on in to Advanced Physical Therapy!

Rurik