Walking is a simple, inexpensive and easy activity offering many benefits for health and general wellbeing. Despite this, it can be challenging to find time to walk in a busy day.
Whether it’s our family, work, studies or other commitments vying for our attention, sometimes we need to be creative in how we incorporate walking into our daily life.
As we embark on the new year ahead, here are some ideas on how you can incorporate walking into your daily life:
- Morning: Starting your day off with a walk is a great way to get your exercise done and dusted early. You might have to go to bed a bit earlier to squeeze in your 30-minute walk, but you will gain the energy you need to kick-start your day and feel accomplished.
- In transit: Live in waking distance to the station or never any parking around work? Park a little further away from your destination and enjoy a brisk stroll. You can split your walk up between going from and coming home if you can’t do it all in one hit.
- Lunch time: Everyone deserves a break, so commit to not working through lunch, or sitting down the whole time, and go for a midday walk. It’s a great way to clear your head, refresh yourself for the rest of the day, and get some fresh air. Grab a colleague and head out together to keep each other motivated.
- Meetings: Is your day filled up with meetings and calls? If in person, why not suggest a walking meeting. If a call, why not put your headphones in and make a phone call while walking. Being outdoors can help generate fresh ideas by stepping outside of your regular environment to help spark creativity and open conversations.
- Afternoon/night: Sometimes it can take a little while to decompress after work. An afternoon 30-minute walk can help you relax into the evening. Use a walk to catch up with family and friends all while feeling the benefits of walking and exercise.
- Socialising: While we often catch up with friends and family over a meal or drink, why not over a walk? Walking is a great activity for socialising and you can even reward yourself afterwards by walking to a desired destination such as a shop or cafe.
Not only is walking a great way to get active and improve both your mental and physical wellbeing, it is also a simple way that you can look after your spinal health. Walking just 30 minutes a day can help you to maintain and improve your health.
If you need a little more help to get out and moving, the Just Start Walking app is a great tool. It allows you to set reminders about going for daily walks, tracks and maps your walks, connects to Spotify and so much more. It also allows you to save your walks so you can track you progress. Use the app on your next walk by downloading it for free from the App Store or Google Play.
Your local ACA chiropractor can also provide you with advice and assistance on improving your spinal health and overall wellbeing during this time. To find your local ACA chiropractor visit findachiro.org.au
