Now I think we can agree that not everybody loves to break a sweat with rigors workout routines and living that gym rat lifestyle. But for mental and physical health benefits that exercise provides, this isn’t something to be ignored.
When the body gets very little movement, it can lead to a variety of negative effects on the muscles, joints, and major mobility functions. For example, without regular movement and exercise, muscles may become weak and atrophied making it very difficult for everyday activities, like walking, lifting or bending down. When there is no movement your muscles become tight, limiting your range of motion making you ver inflexible - now that can’t be fun, can it?
Imagine what happens when your joints gets very little movement. Ever tried to open a door with a rusty hinge? Just like a rusty hinge that hasn't been used in a while, a joint that hasn't been moved regularly can become stiff and difficult to move. When joints are not regularly moved through their full range of motion, the surrounding muscles, tendons, and ligaments can become tight and inflexible, which can contribute to arthritis. Just as applying oil to a rusty door hinge can improve its function, regular movement and exercise can help to improve joint mobility and reduce stiffness.
But I hate exercising, can’t stretching be enough?
This might be enough if you live in a major city, like New York, San Francisco, Tokyo, London- honestly any major city in the world where walking is the primary form of transportation. But let’s just analyze NY for the fun of it (and I love that city). New Yorkers on average walk 3-5 miles a day - and that is on the low end of the spectrum, I might add - commuting to work, meeting for lunches, running errands, you name it - not to even mention the leisure activities.
Here’s the thing, walking is actually a form of exercise - I know mind blown 🤯. Walking is a low-impact form of exercise that can help to improve cardiovascular health, maintain muscle strength, and burn calories. So imagine your life where you never have to think about “working out”, well, if you walked everywhere then yes, stretching can be enough without intense exercises.
Are there more benefits to walking?
I’m glade you asked, yes, yes there are. Did you know that walking can reduce stress and anxiety by clearing your mind and helps release tension from your body? Another interesting fact about walking is that it releases endorphins, which are natural mood-boosters and give you a sense of well-being. Even therapist will advise long walks for client suffering from depression, as it will help uplift their mood.
Do you ever get brilliant ideas when you're out walking? Because I sure do. Every time I take my dogs out for a long walk, my mind gets flooded with ideas that sometimes don’t make sense to me at that moment but later on I can see why that idea was creatively delivered to me. So now I always carry my voice records for any ideas that come my way. You see, walking has been shown to improve cognitive function, stimulating the brain that helps generate new ideas, especially when you break away from your routine and engage in something different that can inspire fresh perspective.
Overall, walking is highly beneficial for numerous mental and physical reasons. I mean look at Adele, Rebel Wilson and yes even Oprah Winfrey! These women all have attributed walking as their main form of exercise that helped them during their major weight loss journey. Not only that but walking is not stressful on your joints like HIIT or CrossFit type exercises, major weight training exercise can actually compress the spinal cord and stress joints - not to mention the injuries it can cause.
So, in a world where hitting the gym isn't your cup of tea, it's important not to ignore the mental and physical benefits that exercise provides. Consider how you can incorporate walking in your everyday lifestyle. If you do that, then you never have to think about exercising - and remember, stretch regularly.
