I am not and have never been an athlete. Throughout my childhood, I dreaded gym class. I consider team sports cruel and inhumane treatment. Sweat is evil, and no matter how you spell it, I believe “exercise” is a four letter word.
So why am I committed to walking 4 – 5 miles a day, either down our gravel road or in the house during the dead of winter? A recent NPR summed up the reasons quite nicely:
“A new study of 13,535 women finds that women who regularly walked for exercise in their 50s were much healthier in their 70s and beyond….The researchers looked to see whether women had developed chronic conditions, including diabetes, kidney disease, Parkinson’s disease and pulmonary disease. They also looked at cognitive function.
What they found might be surprising, given the level of exercise involved. The brisk walkers — who moved at a clip of about 3 mph — were 90 percent more likely to be free of all these conditions when compared with women who weren’t in the habit of walking beyond a leisurely pace.”
Amazing isn’t it? Worth a sweat now and then, don’t you think
But the NPR story had good news for kids, too, according to a daily program recently implemented at Woodland Elementary School in Kansas City, MO. Gains in academic performance and a reduction in aggressive behavior has already been documented. You can read the whole story by clicking on this link.
By the time you finish reading or listening to it, you’ll want to lace up your sneakers and go for a walk. Give me a call if you do. I’m always ready for a mile or two.
