Going for A Walk

fitness

By David Bonifacio

One of the things I wish Manila had more of are parks. I wish we had more large patches of green in our cities to escape to.

And we all need our moments of escape.

So in the absence of a park, I many times find myself walking through the sidewalks of Fort Bonifacio. While I can’t say I prefer concrete to grass, I do notice that going for a walk helps calm me. Walking is known to have benefits that are more than just physical but also mental and, some say, even spiritual.

I remember reading about a study that talked about how people over 60 found that walking 45 minutes a day at 16-minutes / mile pace increased the thinking skills of these people. This was said to be because walking, like other exercises, increases the blood flow to the brain.

Also like other exercises, walking releases the body’s natural happy drug – endorphins. This makes walking a good and easy solution to depression and stress.

So I guess I really need to walk more…

Anyway, here are some of the things I do when I take a walk:

1. Start slowly – What’s the rush? Walking is perfect for those who want to jumpstart their health. Don’t try to race or beat records. Just take one step at a time.
2. Build pace as you go – While it’s good to start slow, going faster, working harder, helps get your heart rate up and do your body some good.
3. Enjoy yourself – While the goal might be difficult, there’s no reason why we can’t have fun. Try to enjoy the scenes you see, or try to understand the people in their locality. Get lost in good thoughts. Enjoy the endorphins!

Sometimes we get asked how to start working out and stuff, and while we all have our own favorite, we all always agree on starting small and building up slowly. The reason for this is that health should be a lifestyle, and lifestyles are not simply taken from a shelf.

Lifestyles are the product of consistently living a certain way, and a healthy lifestyle is a product of consistently living healthily. I keep this in mind when I try to fix my own health blindsides (particularly my lack of sleep). I can’t sleep all Sunday to make up for the sleep I missed during the week. I know I like to try but things just don’t work that way.

So we encourage you to start living a healthy lifestyle, and start small and simply. And just like walking, the secret isn’t in the speed, it’s in the consistency.