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Walking It has gained a reputation for being a great form of exercise that is easy and affordable for many people, and numerous studies show that this popular activity also has numerous health benefits.
Taking at least 2,300 steps a day reduces your risk of dying from cardiovascular disease, according to a study published in a 2023 issue of the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology.
Additionally, weight-bearing exercises, such as walking, help prevent osteoporosis, according to another study published in the journal Nature Scientific Reports.
However, some experts in the fields of health and fitness claim that while walking is certainly good for health and fitness, it is not actually a high-quality exercise. One such expert is Melissa Boyd, a certified personal trainer and coach at Tempo, an online personal training platform. Boyd lives in San Francisco.
“Our lives have gotten so busy — we travel, we sit all day, and then we’re exhausted at night — that taking a short walk makes you feel like you’ve accomplished some big, exponential thing,” Boyd said. “But walking is really a basic movement that your body needs to function well, to help with things like circulation and digestion and to decompress.”
To help her clients better understand why a daily walk doesn’t result in a beach body—something many of them believe, thanks to various social media influencers—she discusses with them the three types of movement that are beneficial to their health and physical fitness in general.
The first is the movement your body must or requires every day, such as walking, stretching and bending. Second is athletic movement, which you can do a few times a week to improve your fitness or to train for a sport. The third is the social movement you do for fun or to connect with other people, like dancing or playing volleyball.
“It’s important to think about movement in these different categories because not moving throughout the day has become normalized,” Boyd said. “Our lives are so sedentary that many of us are trying to get out of movement deficit. But exercise is different from physical movement.”
Our bodies need to move in many different ways
Walking is great, but it’s only a one-way form of movement, and our bodies need more of it to be functionally fit, said Dr. Carl Cirino, a sports medicine surgeon at HSS Orthopedics at Stamford Health in Connecticut.
People use their body’s muscles and tendons to assist with all the bending, twisting and turning they do every day, Cirino said, so they need to work and stretch them in many different directions. Yoga and Pilates are two very effective and healthy activities in this regard, he said.
“Stretching is also incredibly easy and something you can do when you wake up and before you go to bed,” Cirino said.
Having loose, flexible muscles also means you’ll have more balance and stability, which helps prevent falls and injuries in all physical activities, he said. It’s also good to increase your heart rate several times a week for cardiovascular health.
Time for an exercise snack
Ideally, create a plan that incorporates “proper” daily movement like walking and stretching, with some cardiovascular work, strength training and social activity spread throughout the week, the two said. This may seem overwhelming to many, however.
Breaking down all of these different movements into exercise snacks is one way to fit in the movements your body needs, Boyd said.
“Maybe buy a walking mat and hold some of your meetings while slowly walking on it,” she said. “Maybe every time you go to the bathroom you do 20 squats, or every time you get water you do 10 push-ups against the wall. If you attach these exercise snacks to something else you’re already doing, you can make them a habit. I’ve seen huge success with it.”
Boyd also encourages her clients to find some form of movement that they enjoy that doesn’t feel like a workout, like playing kickball or pickleball. This way, you have fun and are sociable while staying in shape.
Cirino agrees. “We see kids here in sports medicine whose parents want them to play baseball, but they don’t,” he said. “It’s the same with exercise. You need to find something that is interesting and easy – maybe an activity your friends are doing – and use that as a basis for building good habits.”
Start slow and build from there
Rethinking exercise as the regular movements your body needs for functionality, fitness and social connection can also be a way to give yourself permission to set aside time to exercise, Boyd said.
It’s also helpful to keep in mind that creating an exercise plan doesn’t require a massive, immediate change to your lifestyle. In fact, it’s best to start slowly, with small new movements.
“What I typically see is that people love the way it makes them feel,” Boyd said. “So the stronger they become, the more they want to move further. Movement inspires movement.”
Melanie Radzicki McManus is a freelance writer specializing in hiking, travel and fitness.
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