Some inspiration to start exercising - Walking?

If you feel ready to start an exercise routine then the next question is how and where do you start.

If you've read 'Getting Started on your bike" and rushed out to retrieve your bike from your back shed, brushed off the cobwebs, given it a bit of a lube….. and got on it and gone for a ride…. then good for you. That's officially a start!

If you thought it sounded like a nice idea, but haven't taken it any further, or, if you thought walking sounded more like your thing, and you've given it a bit of thought, but haven't got off that couch yet….
Well maybe you might find the inspiration you need below.

I will be talking more specifically about walking in this article, but if you like the idea of cycling or jogging you can apply similar principles to either of those.

Where do you live? 

East Perth 'Henry Lawson Walk'

Having some thing accessible locally makes regular exercise much easier. So think about where you live and what's near by.

I have a friend that walks on a path from her home which has a particular rock just next to it a bit of a distance from home. She likes to 'kick the rock' and then return home.

I love walking with nature. Along the beach or the river, through the bush or parkland…. that sort of thing. I'm not so big on suburban streets, and even less keen on the main road with all that traffic noise. So I often ride, drive or train to somewhere that I feel inspired to walk or have a ride.

But I do also like the simple approach of just pulling on the sneakers and setting off. So I have found myself a lovely route that takes me out of my home on foot, winds through the 'burbs' and finishes at a spot that has an 'inspirational' outlook (for me anyway).

You can find your own 'inspiration', whether accessible on foot or otherwise, to make into your own personal start up exercise route.

There are lots of lovely paths along the Swan River and the Canning River, and a fantastic path along our coast stretching from Burns Beach to South Fremantle. There are many lovely open spaces and parklands like Kings Park, Herdsman Lake, Lake Claremont, Lake Goollelal and Lake Joondalup, Canning River Regional Park, Bibra Lake, Carine Open Space…. not to mention the myriad other local parks and public open spaces in between.

Somewhere near you I'm sure there is a place that you might enjoy having a walk to, or a walk around. It may be accessible directly from your home or within a short ride, drive or train trip but it needs to be a place you can feel good about exercising in.

Where do you work?

South Perth foreshore - Ferry Jetty

Alternatively, you might find using your work as your base for exercise a more suitable option. This might be beneficial if you have somewhere inspiring for your start up routine that is handy to your work. It might also be helpful if your afterwork daylight hours are limited during the week…. particularly in winter.

If you have shower facilities at work, you might commute early to work and fit in a walk or jog before work. A toilet bag of necessities and a hairdryer kept at work could help simplify the amount of stuff you need to carry to and from work to make this a viable option.

If you have the time at lunchtime, this also might work.

However, if work doesn't have shower facilities… and many of them don't, you could try exercising after work and then head home for a shower.

Is there somewhere you can think of that sparks a little flutter of enthusiasm?

I hope that somewhere in there you have had an idea of something that might work for you. If so, work out a time that will suit for your first adventure. If now is good…. just do it. Slip into something walk comfortable, pull on your sneakers and go…. preferably with a small bottle of water.

If your ideal time to start is another time, i.e. Saturday morning (preferably this Saturday morning!), plan it. Prepare your comfy walking clothes, your sneakers and your small bottle of water. Put it in your calendar to make sure you don't forget, and 'intentionally' do it.

Lake Joondalup

How much, how far, how long?….. How often?

You will have some idea of your fitness level based on what level of activity you have been engaging in of recent times. 30 minutes is not a bad place to start, not a bad goal to aim for. But if you are very unfit, 15 minutes might be more suitable. Or you could go straight for the 45minutes.

Either way, it doesn't really matter. What matters is actually getting out and doing it.

Setting your goal as a time rather than a distance will help you plan your exercise routine within a certain time frame. I used my phone alarm to guide me. I would set my phone alarm for half the time I intended to walk. So for example for a 30 minute I would set the alarm for 15 minutes. I would then walk till the alarm went off, then turn and retrace my steps to the starting point to complete my 30 minute walk.

I found this worked well for me. Alternately if you have a circuit you wish to do, rather than setting an alarm, set the timer when you start to see how long it took you. If you don't have a phone, just use your watch and keep a check on the time. If you find it too far, at least you will now have a general idea of what time frame you are looking at so you can adjust your plan.

Bear in mind that if you set your self 8 minutes (for 15 minutes walk) and you're feeling good you can always push yourself another five minutes or more until you are ready to retrace your steps. If you set your self 23 minutes (for a 45minute walk) and after 10 minutes you're absolutely stuffed…. have a rest, then walk home. At least you will know that 10 minutes (20 minute walk) might be a more appropriate start for you.

Mullaloo Beach

Don't be discouraged if you have to trim back your initial goal. what ever you end up settling on… lets say its 10 minutes…. after a while you'll do that 10 minutes and find yourself thinking 'I could go further'… so add some more. Further, faster, and even harder if you can incorporate some inclines (or extra inclines).

A brisk walk for half an hour takes me about 3km. If I then turn around and walk back that's a good hours exercise, or a good 6km walk. If your walking is more sedentary you won't get that far, but to start with that doesn't matter. Again, what matters is starting.

As for how often. What will fit sustainably into your week. Starting modest is not a bad idea. You can always build on it. But it's a good idea to preplan your time … if you wait to see how you feel in the morning, I can pretty much guarantee bed will be more attractive, especially in winter. But if you have a plan you are more likely to stick to it.

Company? 

There are a lot of people out there just as keen as you, but just as unmotivated, or afraid, or just plain finding it too hard to get started. If you think company would be nice, ask around. You may find yourself inspiring others to make a positive change in their lives and suddenly have the comfort of walking buddies to help you along your journey.

But don't limit yourself. This is your life, your health journey, and if you use the lack of company to put off something so important for you…… it's you that will ultimately miss out.

So introduce a little exercise to your life!

All that remains is for you to slip into something 'walk' comfortable, pull on your sneakers and GO. It doesn't matter if it doesn't immediately gel, or if you decide your idea of location wasn't as good in real life as it felt in exercise fantasy land, what matters is that you give something a try. And if it at first it doesn't rock your world, try the next idea.

Just get out there. Grab life by the sneakers and go for it.