The pleasure of exercise that doesn’t feel like punishment.

According to Google, to walk around the world is just over forty thousand kilometres, surprising then, that most of us will have done that journey several times in our lifetime, even if we have never left our local town or city. Certainly for those, like me, who have been using one of those popular wriststrap fitness measurement devices, and competing with friends and family to reach a regular ten thousand or more steps a day, then that walk around the world may have been completed a lot more times.

According to leading experts, just 30 minutes every day can increase cardiovascular fitness, strengthen bones, reduce excess body fat, and boost muscle power and endurance. It can also reduce your risk of developing conditions such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes, osteoporosis and some cancers.

As an avid walker, I can certainly testify to the health benefits both physical and mental.

Our ancestors had little choice but to walk, before the invention of mechanical transportation, and they were much healthier as a result. In modern times walking became less popular and as our lives became busier we lost the desire to walk for health, replacing it with a quick workout at the gym.

During the recent pandemic, when walking was a permitted activity during lockdown and gyms were closed, many new walkers were reborn. Finding the benefits of gentle exercise, an appreciation of nature and the chance to get out and away from crowded homes. That trend continues even with the re-opening of gyms, as major urban parks report increased numbers of walkers in 2021.