A growing body of evidence shows how walking around 30-45 minutes a day can have positive effects physically and mentally.
Even if you mostly walk close to your home and take the same routes, your walks don’t have to be monotonous and boring. There are ways, little tricks, and ideas that can help you not to give up walking locally.
Find A Company
If you usually walk alone, why not invite a friend to join you. Anyone with whom you will enjoy a pleasant conversation that will serve as an excellent motivation to continue the activity.
Listen To Music / Podcasts / Audiobooks
If you’re the type of person who enjoys solo walks, sometimes you can break the silence with your favorite music, interesting podcasts, or audiobooks. Choose content that interests you or music that will lift your mood. You can even sing if you enjoy it. Why not?
Set A Goal
Set a goal to go through your favorite location faster than usual. The goal may be to reduce the time required to complete the route by five (or more) minutes. Every shift is encouraging and you will have great motivation for every new walk.
Walking without a specific goal seems boring to most children. So, if you take your child for a walk, the final destination can be a waterfall, a hiking trail or an interesting tree, playground, or lake where you can feed the ducks.
Use an App
Most cell phones nowadays have the option of tracking the number of steps, and there are also smartwatches and other devices. Here you can set a goal or use it as a tool that arouses intrigue.
For example, you can download apps that count your steps, nature apps that reveals information about trees, flowers, insects, birds and everything else you find in nature.
Include Interval Walking
Instead of walking at the same pace all the time, try to include intervals. For example, during a 30-minute walk, walk for five minutes at a moderate pace, and then one minute as fast as you can. Make changes until the end of the walk.
This will take your walk to a next level and you will boost your endurance and burn more calories. If you want to lose weight, you can benefit from interval walking.
Walk In Nature
Calming effects of nature are instant. Being outside among the trees, fresh air, breeze, and birdsong help us to slow down and bring our body and mind into the rhythm.
The human brain and body respond together to nature in ways that improve our sense of connection, reduce pain, help fight anxiety, and allow us to experience a deep sense of calm.
But if you have small kids it is not always possible to enjoy a nature walk. Or to get them to go along. In order to make walking in nature more fun for everyone, think about novel activities such as collecting stones, wood, leaves, and other natural materials. Alternatively, check out the article from sweatcoin for more great ideas.