Benefits of Daily Walking

I hope you like to walk! If you're like me, I love to get a good fast paced walk in at least 5 days a week. Sometimes I even trade my gym workout ( I know) for a walk because I just love being outdoors so much.  

Whether it's a walk in the neighborhood or out in a woodsy trail it's all good!  Sometimes I will track my walks on my phone app, Strava just to let me know how far I've walked in a week. It's just kind of neat to know the statistics and keep myself motivated at the same time. 

A couple of times a week I will walk with a friend. So it's a not only good cardio but a good time for chatting and catching up. This morning because the sun was shining and the temperature was good I walked 4 km myself. This evening I will be walking with my friend and we usually walk around 5 - 6 km. So that's a pretty good exercise in cardio, I'd say! 

Many studies have listed numerous benefits of walking daily or often.  Here are some of them:

- improves cognitive brain function
- is said to be cancer fighting (American Society for Clinical Oncology)
- keeps your cardiovascular system working well, helping your heart pump blood
- known to improve your mood and state of mind
- helps keep your muscles and bones strong

Those are enough great reasons to keep my walking up, hope you can get out for your daily stroll too! 

You Can Always Do More Than You Think You Can

Have you heard this slogan before? You can always do more than you think. This can apply to many areas of life such as our business or work, learning new skills, reaching diet and fitness goals or perhaps training for something.  

Recently on a little cycling holiday with my husband this became a motto that played on my thoughts as I climbed high hills and rode long, long stretches on my bike. Words from my husband 'you can always do more than you think you can', he was right! ( I know, right!) 

The first two days of riding we spent in Marysville, U.S. biking the Centennial Trail, perhaps you've heard of it?  This was pretty easy riding, mostly flat paved trails that weaved  through lots of trees and greenery, an Art Walk and places to stop for a coffee or lunch break. We rode the trail in two parts, day one we rode 59 km and day two we cycled 69 km. Had lunch at a unique old garage style eatery with the best old fashioned milkshakes ever. We came across a festival at Lake Stevens and stopped for coffee's and a short walk out on the dock. 

On our relax day, we drove about an hour and caught the Whidbey Island ferry to Langley, Whidbey! We arrived at our AirBnB around 2pm and once we got settled we took a stroll into the little town of Langley and bought a few groceries at an organic market for our place. A quaint little studio room. The perfect size with a lovely deck to relax on in comfy Adrirondack chairs. 

Day four was a long bike ride around a section of the Island called the Langley Loop. One in particular hill called French Hill, was pretty long. Many rolling hills and scenic glimpses of the ocean as we rode along. A total of 53 km this day. Harder than the first two days. 

Day five we loaded up our gear and bikes and drove to the other end of Whidbey Island. Oak Harbor, where there is a Naval Base situated. We began cycling around this area going up and down hills and windy roads. We stopped at a beautiful beach area and sat looking out at the ocean as we ate our lunch and refueled for more cycling. The longest hill of our journey came up at Strawberry Point Rd. Repeat 'slogan'! I just kept pedaling and made it to the top without stopping or whining! lol! All together we finished off our ride doing 35 km for a grand total of 220 km for our cycling vacation!  Feeling fit and happy we made it back home! 

So whenever you think you can't do something just keep pedaling so to speak, you can always do more than you think you can! 

Change Your Routines and Get Unstuck

Everybody has days or sometimes weeks when they feel completely stuck. By stuck I mean unable to move forward or gain ground in something. It might be a relationship for you, it may be in your fitness workouts, in your job, or perhaps you're simply in a creative rut. One can be stuck in big or small ways. Whatever it is you feel stuck in, it can make you feel very unsettled and anxious. 

One of the best ways to pull oneself out of a rut is to completely change up what you're doing. I mean if your sleeping in, get up earlier, if you're going to the gym in the afternoons switch your workout to mornings or evenings. If you're super strict with your eating give yourself a break and have a treat or if it's the other way around stopping eating so much junk food and substitute that for healthy snacks.  The idea is that you break the routines that might be making you stuck and gain some momentum by changing things up. 

Like today for instance, my plan was to head to the gym at 10 am but the weather (snowing again) changed those plans. Thanks to gym equipment at home and some motivational youtube clips I had a great workout this morning. No, it wasn't my usual gym workout but it was good to do a different workout using different muscle groups while do exercises that are a change from my normal gym routine. 

We can often become so focused on the situation or circumstance that we feel stuck in or are trying to get out of that we forget that we have choices and some control. It might be a negative attitude, a fear we hold, something that someone has said about us that might be playing a role in where we find ourselves. It may also be because our life pace is just to busy, making you feel tired and over worked. If we are always all about routines we will eventually find ourselves stuck. 

We are meant to continually learn and grow and try new things in this life. Limiting ourselves is something that comes from within and we can retrain our brains to change things up. So whether it is something small and simple like changing your gym routine, working different hours, spending more time with your kids or adding some traveling to your life. Go for it, break your routines once in awhile and you'll get unstuck. 

Possibilities

Conquer

How Being Fit Can Benefit Your Work Life

If you love to stay fit and healthy then you probably already know that exercise comes with many more benefits than just the physical ones. Exercise can improve many different aspects of your life. Think of how great you feel after accomplishing a good workout. I know when I get home from a great bike ride or fitness walk I feel energized and so refreshed just from being outdoors and having that great adrenaline or seratonin boost. It gives me a clear focus and I feel much more alert and ready to work on my business. 

Whether you go to the gym to workout or prefer getting your exercise outdoors you will reap the benefits of staying active and in shape. Having more energy will keep you more alert and productive at your job and throughout your day. Even a 15 minute walk on your lunch break can be enough to recharge your battery and help you tackle tasks that feel like a burden. 

We all know that exercising regularly, especially as we age can increase longevity and improve overall health. Here's a list of some things exercise can help improve:

- weight
- mood
- stress
- anxiety
- depression
- illnesses  

I don't know about you but those are enough to make me want to exercise regularly. 

There are so many options of activities that you can choose from. Don't say you can't exercise, just find the type of activity that works for you.  

Here are a few examples of what you could do: 

walking, biking, hiking, gym classes, weight lifting, spinning, kayaking, canoeing, swimming, running, tennis... the list goes on.

Whatever you choose to do, do it well and you will improve your immune system as well as boost your productivity at home and work.