We’re halfway through our monthlong newsletter series dedicated to the joys of walking. This week, we’re making our walk into a workout.
Walking, at any intensity, is good for you. A slow, steady pace has been shown to lower the risk of heart disease and diabetes. But research suggests that increasing the length of your walk can lower the risk of premature death and diseases such as cancer — and raising the intensity brings additional benefits.
To help us level up our walks, I reached out to Janet Dufek, a professor of kinesiology and nutrition sciences at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. I also took a fitness-focused walk with Martinus Evans, a certified running coach and the founder of Slow AF Run Club.
Evans and I explored Prospect Park in Brooklyn, where he reminded me that a workout walk, more than anything else, should be fun. “We’re not elite athletes,” he said. “We’re walking for joy, and we can make up our own rules.”
Get your arms involved.
Walking engages large muscle groups — like glutes and quads — but if it’s your only form of movement, try adding exercises that focus on your upper body, Dr. Dufek said.
Consider bringing one- or two-pound weights with you, Evans suggested. You can use them while you’re walking, he said, or pull over and do bicep curls or shoulder presses.
Dr. Dufek suggested trying arm motions like air punching: holding the weights and extending your arms in front of you, as if you were boxing. You can also make a “T” shape with your arms as you hold the weights, bending and extending at the elbow.
Instead of weights, you can bring filled-up water bottles, which can serve as makeshift weights as you first start out, Dr. Dufek added. They will also serve as motivation to stay hydrated later in your walk, she added, “as you drink down your stash.”
If you don’t want to carry weights, you can swing your arms more vigorously or try arm circles. Start with wide arcs and slowly “minimize them until they’re very small circles,” Evans said. Go in one direction for 30 seconds, and then switch to the other direction.
Use your environment.
As you walk, Evans said, look for ways to build in a little more activity. When we passed a park bench, he suggested we do a few squats. (“Get up, sit back down.”) Another option: Stop and do 10 standing calf raises. (Raise your heels slowly, hold for a few seconds, and then lower your heels back to the ground.)
Change up your pace and route.
You can boost your workout by walking on different terrain, Dr. Dufek said. “It is harder to walk on loose trail dirt than on a sidewalk,” she said. If you can go to the beach, Dr. Dufek added, dry sand is “an extreme walking surface” that requires more effort.
You can also vary your intensity and speed, she said. Pick up the pace for 30 seconds, she said, and then recover for three minutes.
If you’re with a friend, consider a contest.
If you’re walking with someone, try engaging in “a little friendly competition,” Evans said. “You can say, ‘All right, the last person to the stoplight — and you got to walk, no running — buys coffee.’”
Count dogs instead of minutes.
To build endurance and keep on the trail longer, don’t fixate on time, Evans said. Instead, he suggested counting “all the dogs you see, and make it a goal not to go home until you see 25 dogs.” Or you can count stoplights, he said, or fire hydrants. “Make it fun,” he said.
As Evans and I walked along, we pointed out pups to each other. At the end of our walk, we sat on a bench and totaled up everything we’d seen. Ten dogs. Two hot dog vendors. And, Evans reminded me, one shirtless guy on a unicycle.
“If you’re counting shirtless guys on unicycles instead of dogs,” he said, “your walk may be shorter.”
A workout-walk playlist from Lindsay Zoladz of The Amplifier.
Need a little motivation to amp up your walk? Below, you’ll find a curated playlist — and commentary — from Lindsay Zoladz, a pop music critic at The Times who writes our subscriber-only newsletter The Amplifier.
Check out her recommendations, and listen to the entire playlist while you walk.
1. Haim: “I Want You Back”
Practice your walking swagger by channeling the synced-up Haim sisters strutting down the empty streets of Los Angeles in the great music video for this 2017 hit. (Listen on YouTube.)
2. The Magnetic Fields: “When My Boy Walks Down the Street”
Just one of the titular “69 Love Songs” on the Magnetic Fields’ landmark 1999 triple album, this hazy power-pop song makes any stroll feel a little more cinematic. (Listen on YouTube.)
3. Nancy Sinatra: “These Boots Are Made for Walkin’”
Are you ready, boots? Lee Hazlewood wrote this classic and initially sang it himself onstage before Nancy Sinatra convinced him to let her record it. Coming from a man, she thought the song sounded “harsh,” though it was “perfect for a little girl to sing.” (Listen on YouTube.)
4. Stevie Wonder: “Uptight (Everything’s Alright)”
Nothing like some vintage Stevie to put that extra pep in your step. (Listen on YouTube.)
5. Hugh Masekela: “Grazing in the Grass”
Despite what its title says, the tempo of this 1968 instrumental classic recorded by the jazz great Hugh Masekela is a bit too fast for grazing. (Listen on YouTube.)
6. Mitski: “Washing Machine Heart”
Speaking of tempo, the stomping percussion — which sounds like a pair of shoes knocking around in a washing machine — in this off-kilter TikTok hit from the indie pop star Mitski is sure to keep you moving. (Listen on YouTube.)
7. Parquet Courts: “Walking at a Downtown Pace”
Released in 2021, this driving tune by New York’s own Parquet Courts perfectly captured the desire to hit the streets after the lockdown. As frontman Andrew Savage puts it in his signature deadpan, “Walk at a downtown pace and treasure the crowds that once made me act so annoyed.” (Listen on YouTube.)
8. Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band: “Out in the Street”
This fan favorite from Springsteen’s 1980 album “The River” is a staple of his live shows, and a celebration of freedom after a long workday: “When I’m out in the street, I walk the way I want to walk.” (Listen on YouTube.)
9. Fats Domino: “I’m Walkin’”
How much richer is popular music because the word “walk” rhymes with “talk”? Among the many songs that feature this rhyme scheme is this ambling anthem from the rock ‘n’ roll pioneer Fats Domino. Good luck standing still while this one’s playing. (Listen on YouTube.)
Women have more sleep difficulties than men do. Here’s why.
Research shows that women are significantly more likely than men to report challenges falling and staying asleep. Reasons can include the hormonal changes that occur throughout a woman’s reproductive cycle and an increased risk of anxiety and depression, which can disrupt sleep. Fortunately, treatments are available, such as cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia, or CBT-I.
Read the article: “Why Do Women Have More Sleep Issues Than Men?”
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Let’s keep the conversation going. Follow Well on Instagram, or write to us at [email protected]. And check out last week’s newsletter about the beauty of a “walk and talk.”
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