7 ms·

I'm a massive fan of walking for mental, psychological, and physical benefits and have been walking at least 25k steps a day for the last two years. The only (s

I'm a massive fan of walking for mental, psychological, and physical benefits and have been walking at least 25k steps a day for the last two years. The only (somewhat major) downside is that it takes quite a bit of time, some days, particularly weekends when I don't have work to do, I look at the clock and it's approaching dinner time and I feel like the day just disappeared without being able to sit down and relax at all. 25k is excessive in that regard and I wouldn't recommend that much, but 10k is incredibly achievable and I would highly recommend anyone make a habit of walking every day.

pan69 6y ago
I do these walks on weekends. Doing 25k steps usually takes me a little over 3 hours (3 and ~20 mins). I walk the exact same route each time. When I work in the office, on such day I usually do about 10k step. I wish I had the time to walk more, for me it's almost as good as sleeping (brain wise).
dTal 6y ago
Maybe shift a bit to running? You should be able to jog without breaking much of a sweat now, and it's more time-efficient than walking for getting steps in.
- jacobmischka 6y ago
  I do also run occasionally when the weather is nice. My cardio of choice is bicycling, which I do twice a week either for 1.5 hours on a trainer or 40 miles (~2.5 hours) outdoors. I used to run a lot more, but I never actually enjoyed it. I just forced myself to do it to burn calories. Walking I enjoy much more, so I do that more now instead.
- ghaff 6y ago
  For me, I really like getting out for a walk but don't care for running at all. It's not a matter of sweating--if there were walking/hiking available that involved some climbing convenient I'd do that. But just don't enjoy running and it falls into the category of maybe tomorrow.
  - jacobmischka 6y ago
    Agreed, sweating and needing to take a shower afterward is annoying, and I also tend to push myself to near limit when running so I'm just completely out of breath the entire time and miserable. And my knees get pretty annoyed with me if I do it too often or for too much at a time. Weighted or incline walking is a great compromise to increase effort, but I do enough strenuous activity with weight training that I would rather take it easy and enjoy the walk instead most of the time.
kruxigt 6y ago
I had a mentally rough start to my work life. I graduated as an engineer in 2009 and for several years I couldn't really make much choices for myself, but after 7 years I quit having a boos. I now work for myself and all is good. Anyway. One of the important steps (pun somewhat intended) of getting back in mental shape was to walk part of the way back from work. If I would have walked all the way that would probably have been something like 80 k steps and I could get off the train at several places on that way. And since I could also get on it again I could both choose the length of my walks and the vary where they took place. My record during that period was a day where I in tota walked almost 40 k steps. There is something that happens after about 3-4 hours of walking like that. At least I can achieve something similar to a runners high. Also, I had some problems around let's say my more sensitive parts, which also got completely fixed by that treatment. If you've just walked for 1-1.5 hours, that's still good and everything. But if you have the time and have some mental/physical problems, and like walking, try 3-4 hours several times a week. There's some magic in that. I recommend having a start and a goal but taking different paths and exploring. Listen to some pods sure, but also explore and think. Most important though, put in those 25 k + steps, and do it in a pace you like!
IkmoIkmo 6y ago
Wow, 25k is a LOT! I try to average 7-8k a day, and post-Covid I hope to bring that average to 10k a day. It's the perfect base to stay healthy for me, with all other more intense cardiovascular exercise (e.g. strength training or HIIT) being extra 2 or 3 times a week. 25k would really take a huge chunk out of my day, I think at least 3 - 3.5 hours or so. But it really depends, working from home means I'm sedentary all day. In other jobs you wouldn't have to squeeze everything into the few evening hours so much. The biggest issue I have with walking is that the city becomes a bit boring. I love walking and exploring, but I've also lived in the capital city of my country for decades. Every day is new and brings new little experiences, yet also many similar ones. Especially because I'm always leaving and returning from and to the same place, there's a limit to my routes. I've walked the same streets thousands of times by now. On holidays in Europe or Asia I easily hit >40k steps daily because it's just so much fun, every corner brings something new, architecture, a river, a forest, a square or park, or lots of little shops or eateries or public art pieces.
- jacobmischka 6y ago
  Agreed, it is much more pleasant when exploring. These days I also end up often seeing mostly the same things in my few staple routes, but also usually something new as well. I usually listen to audiobooks or bring a book to read when taking a path I've taken before, which usually alleviates the boredom problem. But it's not always necessary, sometimes if I'm in an energy surplus from delicious bread and sweets walking just feels so good on its own.
- smichel17 6y ago
  > The biggest issue I have with walking is that the city becomes a bit boring. Check out StreetComplete -- I find it a great way to give walks a little more purpose. https://github.com/streetcomplete/StreetComplete https://github.com/streetcomplete/StreetComplete
spiderjerusalem 6y ago
I hate gym culture and I hate running too because the exercise is the 'core' of what you're doing in that time. Walking works for me because I can listen to new music and podcasts or sometimes just go through my mental monologue backlog without any stress. Living in an extremely walkable European capital is also a plus. Human legs are heavily optimized for walking. Running is a hunting/fleeing mechanism and it just feels wrong for me to artificially simulate that stress environment.
- busymom0 6y ago
  > I can listen to new music and podcasts That's exactly what I started doing last year when covid hit. Before then, I used to do decent running / stepper cardio in the gym. When covid hit, I cancelled my bus pass membership and have been walking everywhere since then. I do all my groceries, buying pet food etc walking. It takes about 40 minutes and I get to listen to podcasts during then. I have even started to "plan" my groceries - so I only buy around 2-3 days worth of meat and that ends up forcing me to leave the house at least every couple days. I sometimes plan things like buying larger items like toilet paper on separate days so I can walk with all my items without having to do uber or something else.
  - spiderjerusalem 6y ago
    Yes haha, I've also been 'cheating' myself to walk more. Grocery planning as you mentioned, also picking up food from far away restaurants that I miss due to the lockdown.
- akvadrako 6y ago
  > Walking works for me because I can listen to new music and podcasts or sometimes just go through my mental monologue backlog without any stress. That's why I like running.
  - spiderjerusalem 6y ago
    Any sort of intense exercise makes it impossible for me to actually think or concentrate on listening. It's a heightened state in many ways biochemically and is very different from the calm that walking gives. Running would just make what I'm listening to background noise, but that's not the correct level of engagement I want. I want 'exercise' to be the side effect and not the main activity I'm engaging in. Running is the other way around.
elric 6y ago
10-15k steps is (relatively) easily achievable simply by not driving. Walking to the office, walking to the shop, walking over to a friend's house for dinner, etc. It takes a little more time than driving, but not as much as one might fear (I'm guessing, I've never owned a car). It keeps you fit(ish). It helps you sober up after getting drunk in a bar. It helps you unwind from a shitty day at the office. Throw in the occasional random walk and you'll reach 10k+ easily. I basically do everything on foot that is within a 5k step radius. I make allowances for when I'm carrying heavy stuff (once made the mistake of walking 7km with a 10liter bucket of paint). It's not something I would recommend to everyone, but I would recommend it to almost everyone.
- grayfaced 6y ago
  That really only works in urban areas, the suburbs are just too spread out. It would take me over that many steps to get to a bus stop that would get me to work. If I wanted to walk the whole way, I'd be walking along roads without sidewalks most of way. Google maps has it as over 4 hours to get to my closest friends place on foot, a 25 minute drive.
hansvm 6y ago
> 25k steps 14 mi, 22 km, 3.5+ hr?

pan69 6y ago

I do these walks on weekends. Doing 25k steps usually takes me a little over 3 hours (3 and ~20 mins). I walk the exact same route each time. When I work in the office, on such day I usually do about 10k step. I wish I had the time to walk more, for me it's almost as good as sleeping (brain wise).

dTal 6y ago

Maybe shift a bit to running? You should be able to jog without breaking much of a sweat now, and it's more time-efficient than walking for getting steps in.

jacobmischka 6y ago
I do also run occasionally when the weather is nice. My cardio of choice is bicycling, which I do twice a week either for 1.5 hours on a trainer or 40 miles (~2.5 hours) outdoors. I used to run a lot more, but I never actually enjoyed it. I just forced myself to do it to burn calories. Walking I enjoy much more, so I do that more now instead.
ghaff 6y ago
For me, I really like getting out for a walk but don't care for running at all. It's not a matter of sweating--if there were walking/hiking available that involved some climbing convenient I'd do that. But just don't enjoy running and it falls into the category of maybe tomorrow.
- jacobmischka 6y ago
  Agreed, sweating and needing to take a shower afterward is annoying, and I also tend to push myself to near limit when running so I'm just completely out of breath the entire time and miserable. And my knees get pretty annoyed with me if I do it too often or for too much at a time. Weighted or incline walking is a great compromise to increase effort, but I do enough strenuous activity with weight training that I would rather take it easy and enjoy the walk instead most of the time.

kruxigt 6y ago

I had a mentally rough start to my work life. I graduated as an engineer in 2009 and for several years I couldn't really make much choices for myself, but after 7 years I quit having a boos. I now work for myself and all is good. Anyway. One of the important steps (pun somewhat intended) of getting back in mental shape was to walk part of the way back from work. If I would have walked all the way that would probably have been something like 80 k steps and I could get off the train at several places on that way. And since I could also get on it again I could both choose the length of my walks and the vary where they took place. My record during that period was a day where I in tota walked almost 40 k steps. There is something that happens after about 3-4 hours of walking like that. At least I can achieve something similar to a runners high. Also, I had some problems around let's say my more sensitive parts, which also got completely fixed by that treatment. If you've just walked for 1-1.5 hours, that's still good and everything. But if you have the time and have some mental/physical problems, and like walking, try 3-4 hours several times a week. There's some magic in that. I recommend having a start and a goal but taking different paths and exploring. Listen to some pods sure, but also explore and think. Most important though, put in those 25 k + steps, and do it in a pace you like!

IkmoIkmo 6y ago

Wow, 25k is a LOT! I try to average 7-8k a day, and post-Covid I hope to bring that average to 10k a day. It's the perfect base to stay healthy for me, with all other more intense cardiovascular exercise (e.g. strength training or HIIT) being extra 2 or 3 times a week. 25k would really take a huge chunk out of my day, I think at least 3 - 3.5 hours or so. But it really depends, working from home means I'm sedentary all day. In other jobs you wouldn't have to squeeze everything into the few evening hours so much. The biggest issue I have with walking is that the city becomes a bit boring. I love walking and exploring, but I've also lived in the capital city of my country for decades. Every day is new and brings new little experiences, yet also many similar ones. Especially because I'm always leaving and returning from and to the same place, there's a limit to my routes. I've walked the same streets thousands of times by now. On holidays in Europe or Asia I easily hit >40k steps daily because it's just so much fun, every corner brings something new, architecture, a river, a forest, a square or park, or lots of little shops or eateries or public art pieces.

jacobmischka 6y ago
Agreed, it is much more pleasant when exploring. These days I also end up often seeing mostly the same things in my few staple routes, but also usually something new as well. I usually listen to audiobooks or bring a book to read when taking a path I've taken before, which usually alleviates the boredom problem. But it's not always necessary, sometimes if I'm in an energy surplus from delicious bread and sweets walking just feels so good on its own.
smichel17 6y ago
> The biggest issue I have with walking is that the city becomes a bit boring. Check out StreetComplete -- I find it a great way to give walks a little more purpose. https://github.com/streetcomplete/StreetComplete https://github.com/streetcomplete/StreetComplete

spiderjerusalem 6y ago

I hate gym culture and I hate running too because the exercise is the 'core' of what you're doing in that time. Walking works for me because I can listen to new music and podcasts or sometimes just go through my mental monologue backlog without any stress. Living in an extremely walkable European capital is also a plus. Human legs are heavily optimized for walking. Running is a hunting/fleeing mechanism and it just feels wrong for me to artificially simulate that stress environment.

busymom0 6y ago
> I can listen to new music and podcasts That's exactly what I started doing last year when covid hit. Before then, I used to do decent running / stepper cardio in the gym. When covid hit, I cancelled my bus pass membership and have been walking everywhere since then. I do all my groceries, buying pet food etc walking. It takes about 40 minutes and I get to listen to podcasts during then. I have even started to "plan" my groceries - so I only buy around 2-3 days worth of meat and that ends up forcing me to leave the house at least every couple days. I sometimes plan things like buying larger items like toilet paper on separate days so I can walk with all my items without having to do uber or something else.
- spiderjerusalem 6y ago
  Yes haha, I've also been 'cheating' myself to walk more. Grocery planning as you mentioned, also picking up food from far away restaurants that I miss due to the lockdown.
akvadrako 6y ago
> Walking works for me because I can listen to new music and podcasts or sometimes just go through my mental monologue backlog without any stress. That's why I like running.
- spiderjerusalem 6y ago
  Any sort of intense exercise makes it impossible for me to actually think or concentrate on listening. It's a heightened state in many ways biochemically and is very different from the calm that walking gives. Running would just make what I'm listening to background noise, but that's not the correct level of engagement I want. I want 'exercise' to be the side effect and not the main activity I'm engaging in. Running is the other way around.

elric 6y ago

10-15k steps is (relatively) easily achievable simply by not driving. Walking to the office, walking to the shop, walking over to a friend's house for dinner, etc. It takes a little more time than driving, but not as much as one might fear (I'm guessing, I've never owned a car). It keeps you fit(ish). It helps you sober up after getting drunk in a bar. It helps you unwind from a shitty day at the office. Throw in the occasional random walk and you'll reach 10k+ easily. I basically do everything on foot that is within a 5k step radius. I make allowances for when I'm carrying heavy stuff (once made the mistake of walking 7km with a 10liter bucket of paint). It's not something I would recommend to everyone, but I would recommend it to almost everyone.

grayfaced 6y ago
That really only works in urban areas, the suburbs are just too spread out. It would take me over that many steps to get to a bus stop that would get me to work. If I wanted to walk the whole way, I'd be walking along roads without sidewalks most of way. Google maps has it as over 4 hours to get to my closest friends place on foot, a 25 minute drive.

hansvm 6y ago

> 25k steps 14 mi, 22 km, 3.5+ hr?