With Missouri’s spring weather, you never know what you’re going to get. One day it’s snowing and windy, the next it’s sunny and 95, and after that it’s raining and hailing. On the occasion that it is sunny and you’re looking to get in a little light exercise, walking is the perfect answer. 

Walking is a “lifetime sport” meaning that people of all ages can participate in it, because it’s accessible. Walking is free, as you are not bound to a gym subscription and walking is as easy or as hard as you want it to be, as you determine the length, intensity, and terrain of the walk. Beyond its accessibility, walking has numerous health benefits for the body. Per the Mayo Clinic, there are 12 main benefits to walking, including: strengthening bones and muscles, increasing energy levels, and improving balance and coordination. But saying you’ll begin to walk as a form of exercise is easier said than done. To reap these benefits of walking, it takes conscious effort, as teens and adults are suggested to get 30 minutes of exercise daily. Fitness for Life teacher Jennifer Denny gets her students moving daily with varying types of exercise, including walking, to show them how achievable fitness is.

“So twice a week, we do a PLT4M or workout activity. Twice a week we try [to] walk outside if we can, and then one day is like yoga or stretching,” Denny said. 

As students in Denny’s Fitness for Life class gain more exposure to differing types of activity, the hope is they will continue their exercise journey outside of her class and in years to come to keep themselves fit. If taking Fitness for Life doesn’t quite fit into your schedule, Denny suggested an outline for beginners looking to walk.

“Start off doing so many minutes on a flatter terrain and then doing some incline and then up and down,” Denny said. “If you’re outside don’t go for the longest time [and] make sure your shoes are broken in, you don’t want to get out there and get exhausted.” 

Going outside, as Denny mentioned, offers differing benefits and setbacks as opposed to walking inside. Walking outside offers opportunities to explore your surroundings, experience natural terrain differences and elevations, and immerse yourself into your surroundings. Freshman Tony Casillas-Sanchez often hikes the Katy Trail among other routes and notices a difference being outside versus inside.

“You just go to a different place, instead of going out in [a] neighborhood or on the sidewalk you’re just out in nature. You see all kinds of animals and the views [are nice], like [you’ll] see lakes and rivers,” Casillas-Sanchez said. 

In the area, there are plenty of hiking and walking trails so walkers have the opportunity to advance their abilities. According to AllTrails.com there are 11 trails in the St. Charles’ area ranging from easy, moderate, and hard, that vary in distance, terrain, and landscape. A great beginner trail nearby is the McNair Park Loop, spanning 2.2 miles and taking an estimated 47 minutes to hike. Being outside offers benefits to one’s mental health, as the Mayo Clinic suggests hiking outside improves your mood, cognition, memory and sleep as well as reducing stress and tension. Casillas-Sanchez uses walking outside as time to self reflect.

“[Hiking allows you to] have a good mindset [to] think about life or what you [need] to think about,” Casillas-Sanchez said. “Sometimes I think about things that happen to me in my life and then it just helps me have a safe place [to reflect].”

Whether walking offers a form of exercise, a way to appreciate your surroundings, or take time for yourself, there’s something for everyone. Take the first step to make a change in your life. 

“Everybody needs to be moving daily, it’s good for the cardiovascular system, it’s good for flexibility, to stay strong, you know, you sit and become sedentary then your body starts hurting, [then] you [have the possibility to] become diabetic and get heart disease. Just get moving every day,” Denny said.