Motivating Yourself to Walk

Walking is a healthy activity that can bring many benefits. Walking can help you lose weight, prevents diabetes, strengthens your heart, and improves your brain function. Almost anybody can walk, but many people don't. Motivating yourself to start a walking program and stick with it can vastly improve your health. Use the following suggestions to get yourself walking.

Get the Help of Friends

Your friends can be powerful allies in keeping you motivated. If you have a friend that lives nearby with the same walking goals as you, set up regular walking appointments with them. If you're friends aren't as interested in fitness as you are, you might want to find a walking partner or join a walking club. The American Volkssport Association can help you find a walking club in your area, or can help you start a new club.

Make Walking Interesting

Perhaps you don't want to deal with the hassle of joining a walking club, or you would prefer to walk by yourself. You can make walking more interesting to keep you wanting to come back. One way that you can make your walks interesting is by picking interesting places to walk. There may be hiking trails in your area with interesting plants and wildlife that you might enjoy. Another way to make walking interesting is by purchasing an mp3 player and listening to something that interests you. Many people find that listening to music while they walk is motivating, but you could also listen to something educational as well. You can listen to podcasts, audiobooks, or even college courses. By keeping your walks interesting, you can motivate yourself to continue.

Keep a Schedule

One reason that many people with good intentions to walk don't is that they don't find time in their busy schedule to walk. If you plan on making walking a regular part of your life, you will have to put it into your schedule. Find a time that works well for you. Many people like to walk first thing in the morning, but if you are not a morning person, perhaps another time might be better. Make sure that there are not other obligations that you normally have during that time. Walking right after work might work out for you, but if you frequently work late or have to go somewhere during that time, that might not be the best time for you. I usually walk late at night outside my house. That works best for me, but that might not be best for other people.

Get Help on the Internet

Even if you don't have friends that share your enthusiasm for walking, you can find likeminded people on the internet. There are many exercise and diet communities that you can join, with message boards and sometimes even chat rooms. I like SparkPeople.com. There are other tools that you can use to enhance your walking experience. Google has a new pedometer feature, to help you find out how far you have walked. You can track your progress with a virtual walk. I particularly like the government's virtual walk program at Exercise.lbl.gov. You can track your virtual walk all the way across the United States, from Virginia to Oregon. You can see a picture of where you would be if you had actually walked on that path across the country.

Sources:

Bumgardner, Wendy. "Find a Walking Partner or Club". http://walking.about.com/cs/3daypages/ht/htclubfind.htm

Brookelorren. "Benefits of Walking". http://www.squidoo.com/walking_benefits