No money for a gym membership? Can’t get to the gym in time before it closes? Can’t afford a babysitter to look after the kids while you go look after yourself?
No problem!
Walking may be the best answer!
Walking is free, and can be done indoors or outdoors! It’s one of the best exercises and can be accommodated to various fitness levels by simply altering the speed, distance and the difficulty of the pathway.
There are many parks where walking paths post the mileage so you can set challenges for yourself… Some even have stationary equipment where you can do sit-ups, modified push-ups etc.
Benefits of walking
Not having money myself for long stretches of time forced me to take walks…and now I’m grateful for that, because it gives me something no gym can: FRESH AIR!
Fresh air is vitally important for our physical health and our mental well-being! Just see how much better you feel after a lovely walk!
It’s a great way not only to get the blood moving in our bodies, but to clear our minds and work through problems by simply allowing the mind and spirit time off to roam freely!
Some of my best problem solving has occurred when I go for my walks. I don’t have to specifically be thinking about the problem or be trying to come up with a solution, but experience has shown me that by taking a walk my mind start to free associate and solutions will start to formulate. (When that happens I use the note taking app in my phone to jot down the ideas so I won’t forget them.)
Speaking of Apps
There’s a number of excellent phone apps which will track your steps and distance, track your fitness, and even suggest walking paths near you! Check with your company or health care provider if you need to sync up to their health incentive programs!
How do you squeeze in time for walking when your schedule is packed and overloaded?
Here a few sneaky ways I’ve discovered and implemented in my own life:
- Park further away from the door! Even a few extra steps walking from the far side of the parking lot will add up!
- Do a few extra laps around the aisles in the grocery store!
- Bring the kids to school earlier and sneak in a bit of walking before work!
- If the bus isn’t coming for a while and you know you can walk to the next stop or two before it arrives, do it! Sometimes I’ve made it almost halfway on my trip before it came!
- When the kids are in the playground, do laps around the play area… You can keep an eye on them and sneak in a little exercise!
- Let the kids stay in the after school program a half hour extra and grab a little walking time for yourself!
What if it’s raining?
- Go to big box stores when it’s raining or too cold to walk outside and do laps around the store! Lots of people do this!
- Go walk laps inside a mall, if one still exists in your area!
If you are able to schedule daily walking time
- I’ve found that bringing my walking clothes and shoes to change into after work gets me into the walking mood and helps me to focus on the walk longer instead of getting side-tracked, and helps me to transition from work mode to after work mode!
- Wearing nice office clothes out on a walk on a hot day doesn’t make me feel very comfortable, so having comfortable and weather appropriate workout clothes is my preference!
- At least keep a pair of walking shoes with you, either in your car or in a bag you bring to work.
I’m sure you’ll come up with a few sneaky tricks of your own once you read mine! Please come back and share them here so other people can benefit from your genius!
“Always believe something good will happen” – Unknown
More:
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My top 10 most viewed posts, plus a few bonuses!
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A helpful trick to be able to overcome negatively Comparing Ourselves to others…
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10 Steps to Owning Our Happiness
Please go to my Archived Posts page to find a list of posts to check out!
Peace,
Tamara
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