With the weather getting warmer and the days getting longer, the message is clear: If at all possible, it’s time to get out and about, and get those legs moving again. We’ve extolled the health benefits of regular walking for years. As a good review, a recent post from the McMaster Optimal Aging Portal underscores the value of walking for healthy aging: from maintaining and improving your joints and mobility to keeping your cardiovascular system in check, to strengthening your bones and balance, and even supporting your mental health and cognitive functioning. So strap on that Fitbit and read more here. 

In fact, a recent study published in Scientific Reports considered the connection between daily physical activity involving steps (such as walking) and cognitive functioning. What the researchers report is that keeping your step count habitual and consistent could improve your cognitive flexibility, which may then lower your risk of cognitive decline. Thus a daily walk may do more good than merely upping your step numbers: it may also keep your brain functioning well into your later years. So put down your brain teaser, and take a look here. 

As far as exercise goes, you already know that you need to engage in both aerobic activity (to elevate your heart rate and get your blood pumping) and strength training, as both are important for healthy aging. While walking doesn’t completely eliminate the need for strength training, it does get you a long way toward meeting your essential exercise requirements. By standing upright with good posture and allowing your arms to naturally swing as you walk, you’ll engage your abdominal muscles along with your core, back, arm, leg, ankle, and feet muscles. If you ramp up the intensity with an uphill incline, you’ll further engage your calf muscles along with your quads and glutes (thigh and buttock muscles). You can then separately use strength training exercises to improve your walking stability and endurance. Take a look here to see a demonstration of the exercises you can do to enhance your walking capabilities.

Not yet motivated? Maybe a little companionship and walking comradery will help. The New York Times recently posted an article about “Rambling Groups” in London that serve to get you walking while socially engaging with fellow walkers on the ramble. It seems gathering a group, whether acquaintances or strangers, can be just the incentive you need to stroll on a regular basis. Another incentive? A competitive challenge, either with or without a “reward.” The website Well and Good just started a walking challenge (you’ve only missed one day if you start today!) to increase your daily step count, record your progress on a downloadable calendar, and share your success with a Facebook group. Or, consider the website and app 99 Walks, a platform for women of all ages and abilities to gain confidence and encouragement (and challenge) with their walking goals. You’ll even get rewarded with an engraved bracelet from 99 Walks as an additional incentive to meet your goals. Finally, you may get all the incentive you need from April Hattori and her mom, the women behind Yes2Next, who just released their most recent video of a 10-minute HIIT Walking Workout, designed for either indoor or outdoor walking. Adding in a bit of intensity to make the walk a little more challenging and calorie-burning, you’ll be incentivized to up your effort as you embark on your daily spring walks!