A new way to look at walking

Lately, it seems that a few elite coaches are going on the record to tell us that walking is not a proper way to exercise. They claim that if you make your athlete or client walk, you are not challenging them. Therefore, according to them, walking is a waste of time. Why would you choose to walk when you could do some interval training (e.g. tabatas)? Have you ever considered how long you would need to walk to burn as much fat as a 10 minutes sprint session ? Of course, if you look at walking with this perspective, you are going to miss some of the benefits it can provide in my opinion. I would like to present a new way to look at walking.

Walking is the first movement we teach kids after they learn how to crawl. It is a highly functional movement and it should be regarded as so. Walking should be included in your health plans because it increases your capillary network and that increases your fat burning. Our ancestors and current tribes walk a lot during the day because they had or have no other mean of travelling. However, this is not where I am going with this article. I would much prefer to talk about the indirect benefits of walking.

First, someone that spends a few hours walking during the week is someone that is not sitting in front of the TV or the computer. This is an important factor to consider. We were meant to stand. That’s why humans are bipeds. A lot of modern chronic pains such as back pains (lower or upper) or leg pains can be avoided by walking a bit more. This is because your posture gets better when you walk a lot (your midsection works a bit more). Great posture is something most of us are lacking. Being active also means we are burning more energy than if we were not.

Second, walking is a great way to clear your mind. I remember reading about Bruce Lee doing 30 minute low intensity jogging or walking sessions in the morning before starting his day. He said that it was one of the few activities he could do to keep his stress levels low and to not think about anything in particular. For instance, when I walk, I tend to look at what surrounds me and I tend to forget about the daily stress I am under. We all know the benefits of meditation for stress management. Well, walking offers the same benefits.

Third, walking reminds us that not everything has to be fast-paced. Our ancestors had no other way of travelling. Today, we have cars, buses, metros, etc and our current health records reflect that. Using any modern technology to travel has a cost in term of energy spent. Don’t get me wrong, cars are useful and I would not want to deprive anyone from such a practical technology. However, whenever it is sunny outside, why not just walk to your destination (or park the car a bit further than usual) ?

While walking should not replace your high intensity cardio workouts ( sprints, tabatas, HIIT, etc.),  I believe there are way too many benefits to walking to simply skip it because ”it is not challenging”.  The benefits of stress management from an active lifestyle that walking can provide are useful to anyone who wishes to improve their health and fitness. Athletes included. Sometimes, you just need to look at things with an open mind.