A Day on The FFF Plan – Part 3 : Walking Outside
If you haven’t read it then please Read Part 1 Here First
and then Part 2 Here
So you’ve got some natural light, filled your body with oxygen and got your heart pumping.
You’ve also rehydrated and replaced essential minerals and electrolytes lost overnight.
STOP! Put that cup down, turn that machine off! No coffee yet I’m afraid. First we’re going to get outdoors and get those legs moving, arms swinging and lungs filled with fresh air. If you’ve got a dog you know the drill. If you haven’t then read on…
Walking is man’s best medicine
– Hippocrates
Come rain or shine, winter or summer, dog or no dog. Put on the appropriate attire for the weather and you just gotta get out there!
Walking is a huge part of the FFF Plan. Humans are meant to walk. We’re designed for walking…and walking for long distances too. So doing a few city blocks, some laps of the local park, the three or four miles to work or just a brisk one to the train station isn’t going to kill you is it? In fact walking for 40 minutes each morning will help you with all of the following:
- Maintain a healthy weight
- Prevent or manage various conditions, including heart disease, high blood pressure and type 2 diabetes
- Strengthen your bones and muscles
- Improve your mood
- Improve your balance and coordination
- Decrease risk of death by 44%
- A 40-minute walk three times a week has been shown to increase the size of the brain’s memory centre!
- The list is literally endless but we can safely say that Hippocrates was bang on the money. Walking is indeed (wo)man’s best medicine
If it’s going to be a brisk one, you want to be out there for an absolute minimum of 20-30mins daily. But ideally you should be looking at least an hour each morning. This will give you time to really clear your mind of clutter, sort out your to-do list, listen to a podcast, learn from an audio book or just plan your attack for day ahead. It will make you grateful for the small things and put perspective on any current problems or stresses your are facing. And if you’re a writer, artist or other creative type it’s the best way to get some inspiration and literally put a new light on things when you’re struggling a bit for ideas.
ProTip: If you’ve got sandy beaches or grassy fields nearby then go barefoot!
So that’s it. Part 3 Done. Get outside and walk. It’s simple really.