Eric Smith   Online Professional
I must confess i'm a twice a week morning walker. I head out at around 4:00am and am usually back at the computer by 5:00am. Some days i don't get back until 6 or 7 but thats only when i get carried away.
Nov 9th 2007 18:20   

Penny Young   Consultant
4:00am ! That must be cold in Winter.

I don't really enjoy setting off for a walk, but once I get going I love it. I try and walk at least every second day - usually more often - for about an hour or so.

I would like to be disciplined enough to walk every morning, but I would have to get up too early to be back before my husband left for work. So, usually it is mid morning or afternoon.

For mums or dads caring for young children, I recommend walking on a public oval or sportsground. They are often quiet during the week, and the little ones can play in the middle while you walk around the outside.
Nov 9th 2007 18:54   

Eric Smith   Online Professional
Yeah thats a good idea Penny,

Yep its freezing in Tassie Winters, but i look the part in my beanie and fingerless gloves :o)
Nov 9th 2007 19:15   

Penny Young   Consultant
: D I can imagine it would be lovely. I did a lot of walking when I went to Tasmania.
Nov 9th 2007 20:11   

David Dubb   ESL Coach + InternetWork Marketer
Hi Lynn,

I walk every morning from between 30 minutes to 1 hour.
Clears my head, sort out what I need to do for the day.
Healthy and energizing
Nov 10th 2007 03:51   

Arthur Webster   Just plain honesty
Hi, Lynn,

A great question and one which many people will, hopefully, get pulled up by.

Far too many people do not acknowledge the value of simple exercise. Walking is the easiest and probably the most beneficial form of free, no special equipment needed exercise available to everybody capable of standing - even with the aid of sticks or crutches (and, yes, I do speak from a great deal of experience).

I have always valued walking. It is not only a healthy exercise, it is also a curiosity piquer (I think that's a word) and can get you seeing things that you would not otherwise know were there.

My two dogs demand that I walk them twice a day for at least two hours.

I live on the edge of town and never drive in to do my shopping despite the fact that it is up hill all the way.

When I am walking for pleasure I stroll and gather as many sights and sounds as I can but, if I am simply out for the exercise it is easy to walk that little bit faster and feel the strength in my muscles, the increase in my heart rate and the necessary increase in my respiration rate - and I can still gather sights and sounds. Walking is a great cardio vascular work out.

Just as the TV has dominated and devalued family life, so the motor car has damaged family health in far too many cases.
Nov 10th 2007 04:31   

Penny Young   Consultant
That's true. For that reason, I don't like walking to music. I prefer to just think - it clears my head. Plus I enjoy the things I see - just today I saw (and heard!) a pond full of frogs, ibises on the oval, I was befriended by some crows, startled a kookaburra and frightened a large brown rabbit. I also met a guy practising golf and lots of people I see regularly walking their dogs. I love it.
Nov 10th 2007 04:58   

Noemi Puskas   Mechanical Engineer
I have no choice. There is no bus connection between my village and the one that is connected to the railways. So... I'm one of them too
Nov 10th 2007 13:51   

Lynn I.   Earning Online Since 1999
Wow!! It is great to see so many walkers with us :) Lynn

Nov 10th 2007 14:04   

Lisa G.   Health Wellness & Wealth Consultant
Love to walk! My husband and I decided to walk about an hour every evening. Fortuantely, in California, we are able to walk at night, most of the time.

We started out with a brisk 1hour walk, and soon found we did not feel it was enough. We enjoy a two hour walk about 3 times a week, and a 1 hour walk the other nights. We would do 2 every night, but I have to be home with my boys for homework. Not that they always need to my help, but to make sure they are doing their homework..lol. I dropped 30 lbs. in three months too! I know that was a bit too fast, but my body responded very well to getting up and moving! I'm actually eating more than I was before too, but healthier.

I challenged myself to walk through 3 cities, a month ago. We did a 16 miles round trip. (Our cities are pretty small..lol..when you walk straight) I did not feel tired, until I set down..lol. I went out and bought some better walking shoes the very next day.
Nov 10th 2007 14:10   

Lynn I.   Earning Online Since 1999
OC ( is this ok with you?),
I wanted to touch on what you mentioned about taking in the sights. I walk in my neighborhood park, and once in awhile around the neighborhood. I have gotten to know more people, as they see me as a constant in their day, instead of a stranger. I notice the goings on, and know when something is amiss. Which gives me more of a sense of security. One of the parts I like best is seeing the young children play...I think it gives me more energy :) Lynn
Nov 10th 2007 14:15   

Beth Schmillen   
I do walk at least every other day. That's how I get my groceries. I walk to the store and carry them home. Last Saturday I walked to my daughters which is quite a ways away.

But I'm glad I found others who walk just for walking. Because I need to go out the door and just walk. As long as I'm home, there's really no excuse not to take a nice break and walk for even just 20 minutes...

here's to having a walkabout!
Beth
Nov 10th 2007 14:24   

Arthur Webster   Just plain honesty
Hi, Lynn (OC is fine by me)

You hit upon one of the benefits of walking that I am so ingrained into that I had totally missed it - being a member of my local community!

Although an imigrant, I have always been made welcome here and, because I wear quite a distintive straw hat (it has teddy bears around the crown), many people who do not know me recognise me and give an even friendlier greeting than normal.

I wonder how many other things I take for granted?

But that's for another blog. lol.
Nov 11th 2007 04:45   

Lynn I.   Earning Online Since 1999
Penny,
I do listen to music when I power walk at the park sometimes, it helps me to have a fast rhythm in my head :)

Lynn
Nov 11th 2007 19:31   

Lisa G.   Health Wellness & Wealth Consultant
Okay, share something personal with you all.
If my husband and I are a little bit "niff" with each other, (upset)..
we may not speak to each other on the way out, but on the way back..problem is solved. We talk laugh, and get over what ever it was. Excercise is good for you, in many more ways than one!
Nov 12th 2007 19:22   

Penny Young   Consultant
Hi Lynn,

You are more on the ball than me. If I listened to music I'd probably just mindlessly step out in front of a fire engine! I love dancing around to music at home though. It's a fun way to clean ... well, as fun as cleaning can be.

Penny
Nov 12th 2007 19:51   

Lynn I.   Earning Online Since 1999
Penny,
I must add that I only listen to music when I am walking in the park, never where there is traffic.
Dancing & cleaning do mix!!!! My daughter and I have fun doing that...end up having more fun than cleaning. But, thats okay she will only be 10 for a little while...I have years of house cleaning :) Lynn
Nov 13th 2007 08:03   

Karen Weir  Local Internet Advertising Consultant
I am a daily walker... not because I want to, but because I have to. I have two children and they each have a little yorkshire terrier - both the kids and their dogs require daily walking. Like Penny, I enjoy it once I'm out there, but I do have to push myself to get out there - especially when it's cold. One of the reasons I got the kids dogs was to ensure that we would go walking everyday. Before the doggies it was a two or three times per week thing.
Nov 13th 2007 11:02   

Lynn I.   Earning Online Since 1999
You know it just dawned on me that I have been a daily walker for 10 years, not just 6 months....I never considered walking the kids either to and from school with my son and to and from the park with my daughter....as walking....lol...it was just something I needed to do. Only the last 6 months I have been making them extended walks....this does bring up a question though.....I am good about walking on the weekends...but will I keep the motivation next school year when my daughter will be in middle school. And there will be no reason to go to the park...except to walk.. I am hoping by then that it will just be a part of my daily routine :) Lynn
Nov 13th 2007 11:18   

Karen Weir  Local Internet Advertising Consultant
Ah yes Lynn, it all counts. My kids take the bus to school when I don't drive them. Most days, I will walk the dogs to pick them up from school. We rarely get moving quick enough to walk in the morning. It takes us about an hour one way, so that makes mornings more difficult - especially for my daughter who likes to take her time waking. She's only 8, but she's practising to be a teenager ;)


Nov 13th 2007 19:57