The never-ending hamster wheel of stress hits us from all angles in portions of our lives where we spend most of our time. An example might include spending eight to ten hours per day devoting our time and energy to our jobs, whether on our computers, phones, commuting in the car, or parked in chairs at the office. Or, we might spend a superfluous amount of time absorbing electronic forms of entertainment, such as checking our phones every five minutes to see what text messages we may have received or what the hottest new thread of social media networks might be. For parents of school-age children, the demands of ensuring children get to school or sports practice on time adds another set of tactics that can’t be left undone. It’s easy for us to put other activities first before taking care of ourselves. For those of us who have spouses, significant others, or friends that we enjoy hanging out with outside of employment and family life logistics, spending time with those people might be exactly what we need to separate ourselves from the perpetual fire hose of the stresses life imposes on us. Scheduling a date to set aside your normal work life and taking a walk with a special person not only helps enhance physical well-being but also introduces much-needed time to decompress and enjoy social interaction with another human who doesn’t want your money, depend on you to make money for their business, and grants you freedom from worrying about other humans who depend on you.
Walking is an underappreciated form of fitness that optimizes human performance in a multitude of ways. If we were to track the daily steps a server at one of Napa’s local restaurants takes, twenty thousand steps would be a minimum amount throughout an eight-hour shift of waiting tables. The physical demands of food servers, bartenders, and bussers require a sufficient cardiovascular system, a strong core to stand upright, and joints that can endure the stresses of being mobile for an eight-hour shift. For workers who sit at a desk answering phone calls, working on reports, or answering emails, achieving ten thousand steps is a reach. The desk worker, commuter, or stay-at-home parent might not have the same physical demands as a high-speed food server. Furthermore, the type of stress an individual produces when completing the administrative logistics of managing schedules, answering phone calls and texts, and tabulating financial logistics produces a substantial amount of mental, psychological, and emotional stress. By the time we come home to our families or loved ones, we’re pretty much a ticking time bomb full of enough stressful energy to unleash upon the first person in sight after stepping through the front door.
Research has repeatedly produced evidence that exercise is a panacea of solutions to not only enhance our physical well-being, but regular exercise also acts as a potent medicine to counteract psychological stress. While going to the gym and adhering to gym sessions containing resistance training, entering a cycling class to get a sweat on, or following a Yoga instructional video produces significant adaptations toward enhancing fitness levels, it might be just another box to check off for an individual getting off an eight to ten hour work day. If attending the local gym or participating in a spin or Pilates class doesn’t seem like the right fit, perhaps the simple act of walking with your spouse, friend, or child might be a useful alternative. The combination of a leisurely walk with someone you get along with and look forward to sharing time with has the potential to decrease psychological and emotional stress while exercising muscles that might have laid dormant all day while working.
Scheduling walking dates throughout the week doesn’t hold the same expectations as completing a rigorous workout at a local gym or small group fitness class. The demands of walking are more achievable than ensuring one must show up at a certain time for spin, Yoga, or Pilates class. We can walk outside our dwelling and start moving forward at a slow pace with minimal expectations on when we’re going to start a walk. The only requirement is showing up for a walk. The chirping birds, trees waving in the wind, the bright sun, and the dimly lit moon don’t care when you join them for a leisurely walk. So, take a walk when ever you want. More importantly, if you find a friend who wants to join you on a walk with little to no expectation of physical exertion level and a flexible schedule, the benefits toward our lifetime fitness efforts are profoundly empowering.
Sean McCawley, the founder and owner of Napa Tenacious Fitness in Napa, CA, welcomes questions and comments. Reach him at 707-287-2727, napatenacious@gmail.com, or visit the website napatenaciousfitness.com.
