Somewhere between the ages of six and eighteen months, humans accomplish one of the most remarkable feats in our species’ physical development. We figure out how to crawl, and not long after, we push ourselves up onto two wobbly legs and begin walking. Becoming bipedal is one of the defining traits that make humans unique. Once we master this skill, walking quickly becomes so automatic that most of us stop noticing it altogether. We wake up in the morning, walk to the kitchen, drive to work, walk into the office, and not a single thought about the miraculous coordination required of a sophisticated automated network of neuromuscular signaling for any of those actions enters our minds.
That is, until walking is taken away. A lower extremity surgery that puts someone on crutches for months or a medical event that introduces a wheelchair into someone’s life can change a person’s world almost overnight. Suddenly, the most ordinary tasks become significant projects. Going to the bathroom, retrieving the mail, or moving from the couch to the dinner table transforms from normal daily activities into events that require planning, effort, and assistance. The loss of walking puts into perspective how much we take this ability for granted. It would be similar to the disruption that would occur if our cell phones, our cars, or our televisions were suddenly taken away. Our world would look quite different without these tools we depend on every day. For those of us who don’t have afflictions that hinder our ability to walk, we shouldn’t take the simple act of walking for granted.
Walking holds an impressive list of health and fitness benefits that often go unnoticed. Taking a walk outside of normal daily activity burns calories, builds endurance in the lower-extremity muscles, and refines coordination needed for everyday functionality. The act of taking one step in front of the other is more sophisticated than we tend to realize. The hip flexes, the foot moves forward, the leg steps over any objects in the way, and then the leg drives backward to propel the body into the next step. This coordinated sequence engages the ankles, knees, hips, and portions of the spine in a way that few other activities can replicate.
We coach our personal training clients to think about walking as a stimulus that the body responds to. Similar to strength training, walking needs to be consistently trained so we can perform optimally in everyday activities for years to come. When the body is consistently engaged in walking, it responds by producing synovial fluid that lubricates the joints of the foot, ankle, knee, hip, and spine. This consistent practice of walking provides healthy compressive stress to the bones, reinforcing their structure and mitigating the progression of osteoporosis. Additionally, consistent intentional walking keeps the muscles and nervous system primed to continue walking for years to come.
When walking is removed from the daily routine, and a sedentary environment takes its place, the body adapts to that stimulus and becomes deconditioned. Muscle mass decreases, the rate of synovial fluid production slows, and bone mineral density regeneration declines. The body adapts to whatever we put it through. The question is what kind of adaptation we want to give it.
A commonly overlooked benefit is the therapeutic value of walking with intention by putting the phone down, setting the earpiece on the counter, and stepping outside for twenty to thirty minutes through an environment that isn’t controlled by a two-by-four-inch screen. Most of us spend a substantial portion of our day staring at a glowing rectangle, whether it’s a phone, a computer monitor, or a television projecting light into our living room for hours. A twenty-minute walk through a neighborhood or a park puts us in an environment where the actual physical world is right in front of us. We can hear the birds chirping, see the green trees and the blue sky, smell the air, and feel the day’s temperature on our skin. These sensations are easy to miss when our attention is dedicated to the digital world.
Walking is a gift. We were granted this ability before we could even form complete sentences as toddlers. When we walk with intention, we get to combine the physiological benefits of stimulating the joints, muscles, and nervous system with the mental and emotional benefits of stepping away from the constant pull of the digital world. Make some time this week to walk with intention. Take twenty to thirty minutes to step outside, look up at the sky, and feel the world around you. Walking with intention is a powerful tactic to help us live happy, healthy, and strong lives.
Sean McCawley, the founder and owner of Napa Tenacious Fitness in Napa, CA, welcomes questions and comments. Reach him at 707-287-2727, napatenacious@gmail.com, or visit the website napatenaciousfitness.com.