WALKING is a very underrated, functional exercise, and as such not practised by enough in many cities and suburbs, where cars and trains and lack of pavements have people fixed and disconnected with the movement of their body. Being fixed is very pro-aging IMO, and while *any* movement is life, WALKING carries a host of psychological and physiological effects, that you cannot necessarily get from other forms of exercise.
I was inspired by one of Weil's books and I've started walking much more often, also to cover longer distances (45 mins-1.5 hour), - a good walk in a medium brisk tempo on a sunny day to get from A to B is a great functional workout and helps lower any possible mental discomfort and elevates my mood. When done often (every day!) incorporated as a *natural part* of my daily life, it's a great calorie expender, blood sugar burner, stress reducer, immune function improver, metabolism & digestive stimulator, energy production enhancer, action mode encourager etc. etc. while carrying the least risk of injury of any exercise AFAIK. The key is seeing this in a context, - that you need to move to live, and not just picking out 5 mins of the day to walk goddamnit, or even isolating 20 mins to run, but simply - walk for life!
One day a Year ago (once Upon a time...), I walked through my city (to think some things over, yea good therapy, 3 hours of walking) to visit a friend and I saved some good music to reward myself for the last 30 mins of the journey, -- the music through my headphones had a very strong and vibrant effect in my ears and being goosey all over I felt Xtremely, breathtakingly alive after this long walk, my elevated mood lasted for the rest of the day and perhaps some ideas generated from the journey, would not (?) have happened, if I'd taken the bus or car. Yes, my body was sore, but this proved that my legs indeed are medicine when used!
If you "feel" daily walks are not "important" enough and effective enough for you, or too primitive or whatever, REPLACE that "feeling" with the notion that we are MEANT to walk, just look down; it's the most concerned exercise you can give yourself and an amazing life enhancer when done daily in situations free of stress.
I usually run 30 mins every other day for energy, but since starting WALKING more, I've not kept up with running so often, and I feel even MORE mentally energetic, due to the more constant milder exercise from walking.
A few !'s to enhance the experience:
! Absolute basics: A good pair of socks and shoes, a nice tall poisture, eyes on horizon, and free movements during the walk (cross patterning movements - right arm moves naturally forward with the left leg w/o any exaggeration). When walking faster for an aerobic workout, focus on faster strides instead of longer, bending arms more, but keeping elbows close to the side. Keep the tall poisture.
! Bring along some books on tape on subjects that interest you and/or some music in your headphones during the walk; this can yield VERY powerful personal growth; combining a cognitive stimulation when using your body.
! Don't just walk to "count steps", but to actually bring yourself to a destination and to incorporate walking into your daily life, - eventually save the car for very long distances.
! Walk & talk with a friend, - after a not-too-heavy dinner, this is amazing.
! Warm-up muscles and joints with a simple routine, like walking coach Mark Fenton's:
I recommend the following five simple moves before any brisk walk, as they target some muscles that do lots of the work in walking. All are done standing up, and the movements are slow, controlled, and comfortable. If you spend 30 seconds on each the whole routine takes under three minutes. (Rest one hand on something for balance when needed.)
Ankle circles. Stand on one foot and lift the other off the ground. Slowly flex that ankle through its full range of motion, making large circles with the toes, but only by moving the ankle joint, not the lower leg. Do 6 to 8 in each direction, then switch feet and repeat.
Leg swings. Stand on one leg, and swing the other loosely from the hip, front to back. It should be a relaxed, unforced motion like the swinging of a pendulum, and your foot should swing no higher than a foot or so off the ground. Do 15 to 20 swings on each leg.
Pelvic Loops. Put your hands on your hips with your knees "soft" (slightly bent) and feet shoulder width apart. Keep your body upright and make 10 slow continuous circles with your hips, pushing them gently forward, to the left, back and to the right. Then reverse directions and repeat.
Arm Circles. Hold both arms straight out to the sides, making yourself a letter "T." Make 10 to 12 slow backward circles with your hands, starting small and finishing with large circles, using your entire arm. Shake your arms out, then repeat with 10 to 12 forward circles again starting small and getting larger.
Hula hoop jumps. Begin jumping in place on both feet. Keep your head and shoulders facing forward, and twist your feet and lower body left then right, back and forth, on successive jumps. Jump 15 to 20 times, facing forward but twisting the hips and legs left and right on alternate jumps.
