Winter Walking is Great Exercise

The holiday season is officially over and now it’s time to jump back into our excercise regimen. Yes, I am sure many, many of us slacked off over these last two weeks, but now it’s time to get busy! Over the next couple of months I am going to provide you with alternatives to the gym. It is so hard for me to go to the gym during the winter. It’s cold and blustery outside, too dark in the morning and too dark at night to go. This is what I tell myself anyway. Perhaps many of you are feeling that way too and need some new ways to get your heart pumping. So begins our first alternative to the gym — walking outside. Yes, I know it’s very cold in most of the U.S. right now, so this may not be the best alternative for you if it’s 0 degrees. No worries, I will have other alternatives later this month.

This was written by a guest blogger (Sara) and I hope you enjoy it.
I still run into the days when “I don’t feel like exercising.” I can come up with ten reasons on the spot of why I can’t do it today. “I had a long day, I ate too much, I didn’t eat enough, I have to be home to meet my husband/friend in three hours so I better go now, and so on.” If I put this kind of speedy creativity to good use, I could be working in politics. Of course, it is important to define “good use” – split-second creative answers are not always good in politics and NEVER good for an argument against exercise. To combat my fight or flight response, I tell myself that after 5 minutes at the exercising at gym or walking outside, if I still “don’t feel like it,” I can stop. After 5 minutes of exercise, I rarely feel like stopping. Also, having to meet my friend for a walk helps me follow through with it because I know that she is depending on me. Spending time with my friends lifts my spirits as we discuss important (and not-so important) issues. I have found that I can combine exercise and spending time with my friends. Instead of meeting for lunch, we grab a bite and then go for a walk. We walk together on weekends and I often catch up with out-of-state friends over the cell phone while out on a walk.

Walking is also a great way for me to clear my mind, give me energy and relieve my stress! Walking is good exercise – it gets your heart rate up and burns calories. For a 15 minute/mile walk (4 miles per hour), a 145 lb woman will burn 435 calories. You can calculate the calories you burn through exercise based on your weight in pounds at the Daily Plate. Walking has a range of health benefits such as lowering your blood pressure and your risks of osteoporosis, cancer and heart disease. It also helps to improve your cholesterol profile. Walking has little impact on your joints compared to other exercises and it is a great way to get some Vitamin D on your skin. Vitamin D plays a major role in calcium absorption and bone health so combining that latte with a walk will help your bones! Little did I know that I was helping ward off osteoporosis! So bundle up, grab a friend and head out for a winter walk!