FITNESS | HEALTH | LIFESTYLE
How 2 Hours of Forced Walking a Day Improved My Health
This is what happened to my body and mind
Walking is useful for your health. We all know this thesis. But it’s freaking hard to find time for a walk every day.
Gathering your willpower to go out for a walk without any purpose to the nearest park isn’t as simple as it seems.
We all have millions of things that require our attention: work, friends, lovers, kids (if any), and daily routine that consumes any left free time.
And of course, the biggest thief of your time — your phone — steals as much time as possible: email, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and even Medium (sorry dear reader).
Couple of weeks ago, I didn’t have time for walking — and I was OK with it.
But I was forced to start…
What forced me to start walking?
I am Ukrainian. And I live in Ukraine. Yes, that same European country that is fighting a war with russia for already 9 months.
You probably know that russia is a terrorist state.
If you still have any doubts just google — Bucha, Kharkiv, or Bakhmut Ukraine. Pictures speak louder than words.
What does it have to do with the topic of this article? — Everything.
After another loss on the battlefield, russia decided to turn the life of Ukrainians into hell. This time by destroying electricity systems in the country. In addition to shelling nuclear power plants forcing them to stop.
What is the result of russia’s actions? — Blackout…
Blackouts
Blackout means that for 2 last weeks my home had electricity only 1 to 4 hours a day. I talk about lucky days. There were also not lucky ones when I didn’t have electricity at all…
Such a crazy lack of electricity in the system narrowed down the opportunities I had.
For example:
- I can’t watch a TV show or YouTube in the evening
- I can’t read a book unless I want to waste some precious electricity
- I can’t even work properly (I’m a software developer)
So what options did I have? — Not a lot — but walking was one of them. And that was my lucky ticket.
Walking Routine
One frosty evening I had plenty of free time and no easy way to kill it. So I put on my jacket and headed to the nearest park to have a nice long walk in the night. Probably not the safest way to walk, through.
First, it wasn’t comfortable to walk. I wasn’t sure about the pace or direction. I didn’t know what exactly I was doing there alone in the night.
I felt irritated by a million things and my mind wasn’t clear. But I kept walking for at least an hour. I wanted to at least tire myself to get to sleep faster that night.
About an hour later I felt better. I definitely relieved some stress.
I breathed deeply while walking. My muscles were relaxed and stimulated at the same time. I felt even a little dizzy. The brain got used to a new amount of oxygen in the blood.
One more hour later I was tired but satisfied with my state.
Results
The long and exhausting 2-hour walk helped me to relax and find peace of mind. Something I really lacked that day.
That night I was sleeping like a baby. So I decided to repeat everything the next night. And it felt good again.
Now evening walks became a habit. I love them so much that I actually wrote this article and advertise this kind of activity to all my friends.
I’m so hyped with the walking not only because of sleep improvement and stress relief. I also got some other small but inspiring results:
- my breathing became deeper
- run 500m to catch a bus stopped being a challenge
- I started to sleep better
- my average daily heart rate decreased
- I needed less time to recover after intense physical activity
- my appetite increased (I always had a bad one)
- sexual life became better and more intense
- I improved my discipline
- work performance increased (I can explain this with better blood circulation)
- my overall physical shape became better
So what do you think about walking now?
Final Thoughts
Walking every day is a small change in life, but it results in significant improvements. I like this change. Walking became a mandatory part of my daily routine. I can’t imagine my life without walking anymore.
This small change and its effect on my life inspired me. It showed that you can still be happy and enjoy whatever happens in life. If I have to pay a high price for my freedom — I’ll do it.
If you must do something, then you can do it. It became my new motto.
Debes Ergo Potes in Latin
This motto helps me to go through life smiling.
All earned money from Medium I redirect to the charity foundation.
If you can donate even a few $ to support Ukraine — please do it. You can save lives and stop the slaughter that happens here. Every $ matters!
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