Exercise - 08/13/14

Wednesday – August 13, 2014
Exercise
Chicago, Illinois

We are fortunate to live in an area that has several forest preserves and nature areas nearby that have walking paths. We enjoy walking for exercise and walk four miles per day, five days per week.

Walking is reported to be the most complete form of exercise you can do to improve your health and well being. It is available wherever you are, at home, at work, on vacation. A good walking program is easy on your joints and provides a total cardio workout. It helps to control your weight, and it's good for the mind. What we enjoy about walking is that it really doesn't feel like exercise, rather it is just an enjoyable thing for us to do together.

It is important to us to keep up our schedule if we want to get the most from our walking program. Otherwise, we can lose momentum, the health benefits and overall well being. That's why we keep to a walking program regardless of the weather. On days with good weather we walk outside. On those days with nasty weather we will walk inside, such as an enclosed mall.

A good pair of walking shoes is very important if you are serious about beginning a walking program for your health. Your feet and joints will notice the difference. Wear a comfortable pair of tennis shoes that have plenty of cushioning in the heel to give your feet the necessary support. A good pair of walking shoes is a good investment. They protect your feet and provide support to protect your joints. We generally replace our walking shoes after six months or 500 miles, whichever occurs first.

We use a pedometer to measure our distances traveled. It is important to us to make sure we are meeting the number of steps and miles we want to accomplish on a daily basis.

A surprising benefit to walking is how it changes your eating habits. After a couple of weeks of walking you may find yourself selecting healthier foods and drinking more water during the day. We find that exercise helps us to want to eat healthier.

We hope this information is helpful to other campers.

Tomorrow another adventure begins.

McKee Marsh is one of our favorite places to walk in DuPage County, Illinois.