THE LIFESTYLE ENTREPRENEUR

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Walking

What’s your favorite exercise?

Running, lifting, swimming, biking, HIIT, sports, martial arts, yoga, pilates?

I’ve done them all, and lived exercise full-time as a fitness entrepreneur - and as I’m thinking about my exercise career, I don’t think I’ve taken more than a few weeks off exercise since I was 14 or 15.

Except in business school that is - when I definitely took months off at a time to enjoy some post-military softness - I got through 12 hour days at the Car Barn in Georgetown with fried chicken sandwiches and minimal movement during those days.

While weight lifting is the sexy thing to call my favorite, and it is in terms of it’s ability to transform people from current to desired state - my actual pound for pound exercise is walking.

Walking? Something my 30 year old self didn’t even consider exercise? Yes indeed, over the past 10 years I’ve finally accepted what we all heard 20 years ago - the europeans are healthier than us because they walk everywhere, and other similar claims.

Walking is the cure to so many of our ailments.

To be specific - lots of low intensity movement - is what humans need to thrive. And practically speaking, walking is the most likely and simple way to get that movement.

The problem most humans currently face, even those who exercise every day, is we are mostly sedentary most of the day. We sit for work, and when we get home we sit and watch stuff or talk to our families. Then we go to bed. We hardly move except for that one-hour or exercise we do each day.

And that’s not enough - we’re meant to move for large parts of the day to be as vibrant as possible.

This disconnect is one of many reasons our society is so fat, sick, depressed, anxious, and unwell.

If you’re like almost everyone in the developed world, you fall into at least one of the above categories. And if you do, here’s a simple way to make real improvement in all categories.

Walk more.

Those who read my stuff are probably saying, “no shit Mike. 10,000 steps a day, I get it”.

I know you do - but do you get those 10,000 steps a day? Is that the right number for you? Maybe 15,000 is better?

If you’re not getting in enough movement - here’s a few ways to amp things up, especially going into winter when we all have a tendency to decrease our output.

1. Turn meetings into walks - I write about this all the time, and most people I network with know I love walking meetings. They’re not only healthy, they’re often more productive. Some meetings require face to face conversations and/or media support, but everything else should be turned into a walk if possible.

2. Walk while you’re doing other daily stuff - This week I had a delayed flight home, so I walked from my gate to my entrance and got in a bunch of movement. Bonus it was weighted so it was actually a decent workout.

   The weekend before my daughter had a volleyball tournament - I stood for her games, and walked in between. I got a few thousand steps during those few hours.

3. Walk after meals - this has been my easiest way to get my kids to join me for walks. Making a ritual of eating together, and then going for a short walk (that I always extend a bit), creates really healthy habits for us all. It also is great bonding for everyone.

4. Make activities walking based - I took my older kids to the local corn maze/pumpkin place. We did the corn maze and turned it into a challenge between me and Alex my 10 year old, and my 14 year old twins. The teenagers quit prematurely, because they’re teenagers, but we all got plenty of walking in yesterday. And had fun!

5. Turn walking into your workouts - A walk alone is a workout for some people. To make it a challenging event for anyone, add weight to it. Referred to as “Rucking” now, the act of adding weight to your walk and making it a brisk pace, is one of the most effective forms of exercise there is.

I’ve been focusing on walking for enough years that it’s second nature to get enough activity on a weekly basis, but it took some changes to get there.

A simple way to get started is to look at your calendar for the week - and ask “what can I turn into a walk”? I’m sure most people will be able to find one thing a day.

Start there, and compound over time.

Combined high walking/activity with a good nutrition and exercise routine will make you unstoppable.

I’ll talk to you next week,

Mike

Thanks for reading The Lifestyle Entrepreneur

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