Learn 5 New Things About Walking

       

Preface: Start here if this is the first you are seeing these tell-tale Lx5 letters: A Mahalo November: Learned with 5. In our November study of appreciation, gratitude and thankfulness, my contributions to JJL this month have to do with the past learning I am most grateful for.

I learned how to walk in 1996.

No, not walk again. There was no accident, nothing like that. I learned how to walk for my best health.

I walk three and a half to five miles every day unless bad weather or my travel schedule interferes, and gratefully, that doesn’t happen too much. I give thanks every day for living in Hawai‘i because I get to walk outdoors and not on a treadmill; I can drink in the beauty, breathe in the ocean or mountain air, and meet my neighbors.

1996 was the year I finally broke free from the hotel business and went to work for HDC, the land developer who designed and built the Hualalai Resort. The difference wasn’t really the business, but the lifestyle of the people I soon found myself surrounded with — they were all fit and trim work-out junkies. The resort was not yet open for business, and so at 4:00pm sharp everyone turned off their cell phones and computers, locked up their construction trailers, switched from hard hats and construction boots to baseball caps and running shoes, and did 90 minutes of speed-walking before heading for home. We had the luxury of an almost-open 5-star resort at our disposal, and the fanatics among us would run and did sprints barefoot on the golf course fairways. Eventually, I did too.

Eleven years later, the habit has stuck.

It’s not always at 4:00pm, and if I head for a golf course these days some marshal will surely kick me off. But I keep walking for my best health because it makes me feel so good; I like knowing I am taking care of myself in a smart, fulfilling way.

Here is my LearnED in 5 about walking for best health:

.....Walking is serious exercise and you should treat it that way.

Walking is not an easy way out of other exercise, and you can’t cruise through it. It doesn’t count unless it’s speed-walking, at least enough to elevate your heart rate, and make you feel like you’re workin’ it. When I started with the Hualalai fitness junkies, the rule we adopted was that we’d walk at a pace that made it difficult to keep a conversation going; if you talked too much, you were a slacker. The agreement was that we were working out, and helping each other keep healthy, not making a social call.

There are rights and wrongs. Never skimp on good shoes or wear them down, or you’re asking for trouble (such as aches in your shins, calves, or lower back), especially if you are walking outdoors and on asphalt instead of grass. (Impact stress makes speed walking far better for me than running.) During the summer in Hawai‘i, sunglasses and sunscreen are musts, as is lip balm to prevent windburn.

.....Walking is one of those instances you can multi-task well.

I have become a believer in single-task focus with most things, but walking has become a terrific exception. Generally I prefer to fully immerse myself in the outdoors as I walk, and I never take my iPod (I do John’s MBA on the Run program in the car, airports and on planes!) but there are a lot of other possibilities!

Recently I’ve been working on learning to strengthen my diaphragm with the right breathing – as I walk I only breathe in through my nose, and out through my lips in a voice exercise I’d learned. In the beginning of the year I was working on improving my memorization with certain scenic markers along my route. Ladies, I’ve learned to do kegel exercises as I walk! (never mind guys, not something for you.)

.....Walking at the right time can boost your natural rhythms.

In my case, walking makes me a better writer and problem-solver. In my book Managing with Aloha. I describe it in the chapter on Kūlia i ka nu‘u, the value of achievement and excellence:

“There’s another fringe benefit I love that mystifies me in its frequency, yet I wholeheartedly welcome it—in fact I’ve begun to expect it. As I run, thinking about nothing, answers magically pop into my head for problems I had been struggling to solve while sitting at my desk or reaching some meeting’s impasse the day before. These answers come with amazing clarity and certainty. Many of my first thoughts for the chapters of this book came from my early morning runs. They were the reward of the striving.”

Lately I find that I’m switching back to afternoon runs for two reasons. First because I’m a true morning person, and I’m milking my morning hours for all the work intensity I can get from them. Second, because I have found that an afternoon walk gives me an added burst of energy for the early evening AND helps me sleep exceptionally well.

.....Walking is terrific preventive medicine.

There is a long history of type 2 diabetes in my family, and it has reared its ugly head for me briefly both times I was in the recovery room after giving birth to my two children. I am 100% convinced that walking (plus the right nutrition) keeps me diabetes free; so is my doctor. Researchers also believe that walking can reduce the risk of cancers by as much as 50%, and again I am living proof, for I have now had two breast biopsies report back negative - yeah!

Those are my personal wins, however the list of proven medical benefits from walking is long; toned muscles, less body fat, stress reduction, healthier bones and joints, reduced risks for heart disease, colon cancer, stroke, high blood pressure, osteoporosis and more. I also love the thought that walking can slow our aging! What’s not to like about that?

.....Like any other kind of exercise, walking does take self-discipline.

Much as I love it and fully realize the benefits I get, skipping a day for no good reason is way too easy to do! With my travel schedule, and because I still like the no talking rule in number 1, the buddy system doesn’t work for me and I need another trick. To the rescue; the simple practice of daily tracking.

Over the years I’ve bounced between paper calendars that I could stamp or sticker-a-day to recurring appointments on my digital calendars. I have a few runner’s journals; when people know you walk or run, you get them for Christmas! Whatever the current log of choice, it is amazing how the simple act of crossing off the day creates incentive for me.

Did you notice that weight-control didn’t make my list? Walking has become so much a part of my natural rhythms that it doesn’t keep me trim anymore on its own; I have to achieve that with different exercises and good nutrition. Walking may not be a complete fix for your health, and in my case (and I admit, at my age) flexibility and strength resistance training is really important too.

Find out what you need to keep your healthiest best. Good health is the great reality check; when you don’t have it, everything else gets to be a moot point. Try learning to walk; you may love it too!

Already walking? What would be one of your LearnED in 5 that may not be on my list?

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Just clicking in? Catch up with my other Lx5s:

• A Mahalo November: Learned with 5
• Learn a 5-Step Weekly Review: You’ll love it.
• GTD Learned with 5 Take-Aways
• Learn 5 Ways to Stop Complaining

Post Author:
Rosa Say is the founder of Say Leadership Coaching, and author of Managing with Aloha, Bringing Hawaii’s Universal Values to the Art of Business.

Read more about Mahalo, the Hawaiian value of appreciation, gratitude and thankfulness on Rosa’s coaching blog this month, Managing with Aloha Coaching. Start here ~ Mahalo: 3-way Promise, 5-fold Learning.

Comments

[Karen Wallace]

Wow Rosa - that is a terrific 5!

One of my LearnED in 5 - the thing that MAKES me walk - is my dogs. When we added two beautiful Doberman pups to our family mid-last year, I had a suspicion they may help me get out of the house, and out of head, more often. In fact, getting the whole family outdoors and enjoying the beautiful Queensland climate even more was one of our primary motivations.

What I didn't realise was the added benefit of the daily walks. I don't need to converse, and the faster I go, the happier they are. I can go at a time that suits me (varies between the seasons). The dogs are my discipline - I pay for it big time if they aren't exercised.

[Cynthia]

At this time of year, cold ears are a real problem for me when walking outdoors (or doing anything else for that matter) Anyway, a youth entrepreneur named Matthew has an outstanding solution that I really love and everyone should check it out at MittsForYourEars.com You'll be glad you did because it can make your winter walking a lot more pleasant.

[Rosa Say]

What great memories you have given me Karen! At one time we had a beautiful golden retriever we named Abby, and she was terrific company for me on my walks too. I am sure your Dobermans love their routine with you.

Cynthia, your suggestion is fabulous for those in colder climates - me too when I travel stateside! And I visited Matthew's site - so inspiring to see a young man connecting with his entrepreneurial possibilities so early.

[Joanna Young]

Rosa, you touch on it here, but I'd have to add that walking is perfect for beating writer's block. I often come back from a walk with a piece of work 80% drafted in my head.

Thanks for reminding me to set off and walk again today - it's cold here, and getting dark early, but still lovely and sunny, which is an unexpected blessing for November.

Oh! There's another one - walking is fantastic for strengthening your gratitude muscles :-)

Joanna

[Rosa Say]

You are so right Joanna - in fact, as I recall, one of your walks gave us that terrific sharing from you earlier this month on Guy Fawkes Night Gratitude!