I used to have a hard time motivating myself to exercise. When I started high school, I no longer could participate in after school sports like I had before. This left me to workout on my own. Some days coming home from school, I would have to talk myself into going for a run or going to the gym. I remember desiring to just go on a walk instead of running. If I did go run on the trails near my house, I would walk after and just enjoy the nature surrounding me.

Very often did I search online, “Walking vs. Running,” in order to find justification for not running. I used to think that exercise had to include tough cardio or else it doesn’t count as a workout. But I really enjoyed walking and being outside and exploring nearby neighborhoods or trails relaxed me. I never thought walking could count as a workout until I realized that throughout history, walking was the only form of exercise for most people.

Looking at the lifestyles of people in the past, most did manual labor and getting from point A to point B by walking. Living an active lifestyle prevented most from needing an extra workout in their day to stay fit. Nowadays, most people live sedentary lives. People wake up, sit down to eat breakfast, sit in their car as they drive to work, sit at their desk at work, sit while they eat lunch, and sit in their desk chair until they drive home at the end of the day. A day of inactivity then motivates people to include a daily workout to stay in shape. For some in today’s world, exercising has become a dreadful time of day. People find it hard to motivate themselves. They don’t realize that just including walking in your day can be enough.

You lose weight by creating a calorie deficit. Burn more than you consume and the pounds will shed. It’s true that walking doesn’t burn as many calories as running will. However, walking is still an activity that will burn calories and help you stay in shape. Walking creates less pressure on your joints, so it’s an ideal workout for people with pain in their knees. Also, walking comes with many health benefits. Personally, after walking for an hour or two, I always find myself able to think clearer and I tend to be in a better mood. Getting away from the hectic world just by leisurely walking gives you time to think.

Now that I’m in college and I walk over 10,000 steps a day, I have no problem finding the motivation to workout. When I want to go do sprints or go to the gym, I will. But if I don’t, that’s fine, too, because my day is already full of activity. In my junior year of high school, I read Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice and quickly it became my favorite book. I adored reading about Elizabeth Bennett and her walks to Netherfield. Even she walked for exercise! When my mom and I took a trip to New York City, we walked up and down Manhattan. By the end of the day, we walked over nine miles. That definitely counted as a workout and we enjoyed every second of it.