How Daily Walks Help Me Stay Mentally and Physically Healthy

Summer in San Francisco is usually cold and foggy. BUT, it’s also bougainvillea season, and our daily walks get 100% more beautiful. Robin and I love taking walks together as exercise. Neither of us like going to the gym – it’s never been my scene or something I enjoyed doing. Going to the gym has always felt like a chore. So have classes, so we don’t do exercise classes either.

But walking? We love walking. When traveling, we’ll walk most of the time and easily log 10 miles a day. At home, we try our best to go on daily walks around the neighborhood, or we’ll drive to a different part of the city and walk around that area.  We live near the Golden Gate Park, so we frequently jaunt around the lakes and gardens inside.

I think one thing I had to get over was the fact that walking is exercise. There’s a general concept in our society that unless you log an hour on a treadmill 4 times a week or pump out 45 minutes at SoulCycle, you aren’t working out. I’ve had to deal with the guilt I’ve put on myself. Because I don’t like going to the gym, does that mean I’m not taking care of my body?

Nope nope nope.

If you’re reading this and you aren’t thrilled about the workout options you’ve been doing, then stop it. And look for something else. I used to bike to class in college and that was my daily workout. I loved feeling the wind in my hair, the challenge of going up hills, the thrill of sailing down them.

These days, I love walking around San Francisco, spotting cute houses, petting the occasional dog along the way. I usually take walks with Robin and we use this time to not be on screens and actually talk to each other. We use walks to keep our marriage strong. They help each of us stay mentally and physically healthy.

I got into daily walks back when I worked a fulltime job. I’d make an effort to take a walk each day, even if it was just around the block and then back into the office on busy days. I always could feel an instant boost in my mood and how my body felt.

If you like gyms or classes, then keep at those! But you don’t have to go to the gym to still take care of your body. Do you like daily walks?