Walk the good walk

There's a lot of buzz these days about the benefits of walking as exercise. It's the newest fitness craze and you can tell because all the capitalists are jumping on board trying to make a profit from it. I love walking but not because it's trendy (if you know me, that's a good way to get me to stop doing something). I just don't understand why people are making such a big deal about it all of a sudden.

When you're a baby, learning to walk is monumental. It's the stage in life that officially changes your title from "baby" to "toddler". I guess babies know this because they try to walk as soon as they possibly can. Then, once they can actually move on their own two feet, they just run for the next year or two. Unfortunately, as kids get older, parents try to make them walk less. They drive them all over the place to instill a sense of dependence that their children won't lose until they get their own car. I live across from a school and at 3:30 every day there is a long line of cars waiting for the bell to ring. Even on beautiful, sunny days. How will children ever know what their boots are made for?

I started "power walking" with a friend on our lunch hour over 20 years ago as a way to escape from the stress of a job that was, essentially, a creative sweatshop. It was a way of rejuvenating my brain so that I could sit down and churn up new ways to describe vacuum cleaners, jewelry and appliances for the next 4 hours (I wrote for Consumers Distributing, we sold everything!). I was subjected to a great deal of mockery by my workout warrior friends. It was the height of the Jane Fonda era and only high impact and step workouts were fashionable.

Today, you can join a walking group (Running Room/Walking Room) and buy special equipment just for doing something you were born to do. Although I have to say, I swear by walking shoes. I bought a pair of Avia walking shoes last year and they definitely add an extra dimension to your daily stroll. When I walk, I usually take a few accessories -- my Walkman MP3 player (come on, you can't walk with an iPod), my walking shoes, a plastic bag and my dog. We take off for an hour or two and check out the park and my neighbours' gardens. 

Exercise, fresh air and my best friend. Even the occasional chat with a passerby. And, now there are studies that report that walking will prolong your mental faculties as you age. These are good reasons to walk, whether Oprah says so or not. The other good reason to walk is for a cause. I decided that, if I am going to walk for myself, I might as well walk to do some good. So, this weekend, I am doing the Walk for MS for the second year, probably in a snowstorm if the weatherman is right (but when does that ever happen). If you read this and want to sponsor me, click on the link below. I'm great at walking -- I suck at soliciting sponsors.

Walk for MS