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Walking is one of the easiest and most accessible ways to stay active—it requires no special equipment, can be done almost anywhere, and offers benefits for both physical and mental health. Whether you’re just getting started or building up your routine, staying safe while you walk is just as important as getting your steps in.
Exercising in cold weather requires careful consideration of your clothing to stay both warm and dry—not only from the elements, but from your own sweat too. Here are a few tips to guide you as you navigate exercising during the cold weather months. These tips focus on the importance of proper layering and the selection of appropriate materials for inner, middle, and outer layers to ensure comfort and safety in chilly conditions.
If you’re wondering how to order your workouts, you’re not alone. Many people include both cardio and strength training in their routine but aren’t sure where to start. The good news – for general fitness, there’s no single “right” order. What really matters is staying consistent, balancing types of exercise, and prioritizing your energy for the activities that align with your goals.
Walking for exercise has some amazing health benefits! In fact, studies have shown that walking has the potential for both physical and mental health benefits. Although research is ongoing about the exact frequency, duration, and intensity needed to gain the most benefits, research on walking has demonstrated a myriad of potential physical and mental health benefits.
People with mobility and non-mobility health conditions are less likely to be physically active, are at higher risk for chronic diseases, report more barriers to physical activity (e.g., traffic, crime, animals), and report fewer supports for physical activity (e.g., roads, sidewalks, paths, trails, relaxing places) than people without health conditions.
Walking is an excellent workout! It strengthens your heart, boosts lung function, tones your leg muscles, and supports bone health. If walking is the only exercise that is accessible to you, then by all means do it. However, if you’re able to do more, it’s a good idea to add some other types of exercise – especially strength training.
Families who participate in healthy lifestyles together have many positive benefits. The most benefits are seen when families co-participate in activities rather than just model the behaviors for each other. Co-participation is engaging in health behavior with your family and can lead to positive physical activity and nutrition outcomes.
The whole family is stronger together than each person on their own. Each family member affects the others, and this can even shape future generations. Families help shape what we believe, how we treat others, how we think, and how we take care of our health. This is important to keep in mind for both healthy and unhealthy behaviors.
Tracking how many steps we walk each can be a great motivator. Having a number, like 10,000 steps a day can help us act on moving more throughout our day, and during intentional bouts of physical activity. Still, this number can sometimes seem daunting. So, what does the science say? Are there health benefits below 10,000 steps?
Use these 3 tips to learn how to eat more vegetables: vary your veggies, make veggies the main event, and make them taste and look goooood!
Life can be busy causing us to change our schedules to accommodate tasks that we place at the top of our to-do lists. Often, physical activity is pushed toward the bottom or completely removed from our lists despite associated health benefits. Lack of time, motivation, and accessible places to walk are often reported as top barriers to being physically active.
While we often talk about the right athletic shoes and clothing, sometimes we forget about our socks. Yet, socks can make a big difference in comfort and protection. So, be sure to choose the best socks for your activity.
Set up a group step challenge at your worksite, school, church, and more!
