A Mothers Ramblings: Is Walking Exercise?

Wednesday, 14 June 2017

Is Walking Exercise?

Flyfour and I were talking about the long walk I took a few days ago and were talking about how fast I walk compared to how fast the average walking pace is. I walk at around 2.9mph, and the average for people my age (but considerably fitter and a normal weight) is 4mph, according to the internet.

PippaD and Flyfour on a walk

Personally, I think that considering I am double the amount of weight that a person my height should be, that my walking pace isn't too bad!

Our research led us to some Government white papers about how much people walk, and how they can encourage more people to walk in the future.

I wasn't really interested in this because I don't know how to encourage people to walk more as costs for owning a car are already astronomical and despite living in an area with GREAT public transport it is still in general cheaper and easier for me and many others to use a car. The white paper also had some research about how often people walk and a surprising amount of people who said they didn't think that walking was exercise.

This led Flyfour and I to discuss how we viewed walking.

Walking to School with the children in the morning and home again in the afternoon, we don't view this walking as exercise.

Walking around the local supermarket or shopping centre once or twice a week, we don't view this walking as exercise.

When we go for a walk with our family at the weekend, we don't view this walking as exercise.

In the past when we would walk to work, or School or our friends houses, we don't view this walking as exercise.

How stupid are we?! This is all exercise isn't it?

Thinking on it now this is the best kind of exercise. If you are busy having fun and exerting yourself at the same time then you don't realise that you are exercising and getting all the associated benefits.

So what about you? Did you think of walking as being exercise or were you like me and Flyfour thinking of it as a way to get from A to B and occasional fun family walks?