The forest rustles as warm wind blows across your face. You’ve walked an hour from your car to get here, but it was worth it. As you stand on the rock ledge, you look out over the rushing water running across the banks of the Mississippi River. You think back to how grateful you are that your friend recommended the Lewis and Clark hiking trails to you.
Walking, hiking, and running; all simple ways to get exercise. They are often fairly easy to access, whether it be in a neighborhood, in a park, or on a trail through the forest. The, St. Peters and Cottleville area is full of community paths with traits that allow people to pick and choose what works best for them. These activities also bring many benefits to people’s physical health. According to Coach Andrew Carter, walking, even just for 20-30 minutes a couple of days each week, can show physical benefits.
“[Walking is] going to give you cardiovascular help. So it’s going to help just get more oxygen in the body… [Helping] you with your heart rate,” Carter said, “ [Walking is] very low impact as well. So it’s not going to put a lot of extra stress on your joints, especially as people get older or are struggling with injuries.”
In addition to physical benefits, there are many mental benefits to going out for walks and runs. Coach Carter says that taking walks with his wife is a large part of his routine and also helps him mentally.
“physical exercise will help you mentally, or the social aspect of just being able to talk stuff out with somebody that you trust and are good friends with, or a loved one,” Carter says, “can also get you in a good place mentally.”
School can be stressful, whether it’s due to social issues or a heavy homework load; taking a walk can be a good time for people to clear their minds and release stress gathered throughout the day. Junior Noel Rice, a member of the cross country team, likes taking walks and runs since they help her de-stress
“I guess it just frees up my mind. It gives me something physically active to do,” Rice said, “When I’m like doing homework at home, and I get really, like, mentally overstimulated, so I’m like, I just need to do something else.”
Meanwhile, junior Rory Johnson, another member of the cross country team, says there are many ways he prevents himself from feeling bored on a walk or run.
“If I’m with someone, obviously talk to them, start a conversation, if not — by myself —, I’ll listen to music or an audiobook,” Johnson said.
Coach Carter likes to choose new paths when he’s feeling like he needs something new. If people don’t feel like walking around the block, he recommends “If [you] have more time, [you could] go into other neighborhoods, go to parks, do hikes,” Carter said.
Another idea many people may not realize is that exercises like walking can come in many different forms. People don’t have to use walking paths and neighborhoods if they want to. Coach Carter says that some of these methods could serve several purposes.
“When the weather’s hot, like this weekend, go to the mall, go and find enjoyable places or things that you want to do,” Carter said, “Even just going down to St. Charles Main Street [it would] be a good place to go for walks as well. It’s not too far off the river.”
