52 Ways to Walk
The Surprising Science of Walking for Wellness and Joy, One Week at a Time
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- $7.99
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- $7.99
Publisher Description
52 Ways to Walk is a short, user-friendly guide to attaining the full range of benefits that walking has to offer--physical, spiritual, and emotional--backed by the latest scientific research to inspire readers to develop a fulfilling walking lifestyle.
We think we know how to walk. After all, walking is one of the very first skills we learn. But many of us are stuck in our walking routines, forever walking in the same place, in the same way, for the same time, with the same people. With its thought-provoking and evidence-backed weekly walk routine, 52 Ways to Walk will encourage everyone to improve how they walk, while also encouraging them to seek out new locations (many on their own doorsteps), new walking companions (our brains age better when we mix up our fellow walkers), new times of the day and night, and new skills to acquire while walking.
Inspirational, backed by science, illuminated with human anecdote, and bolstered with how-to tips, 52 Ways to Walk will inspire, challenge, support, and encourage everyone to become more ambitious with their walking practice, revealing how walking may be the best-kept secret of the supremely healthy and happy, the creative and well-slept--those with the best posture and sharpest memories. Just about everything, it appears, can be improved and enhanced by clever and judicious walking. It turns out you actually can get more from life, one step at a time.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
"Walking is not—and has never been—boring," writes novelist Streets (The Joyce Girl) in this inviting exercise guide to a year's worth of walking. The plan's divided into a weekly program, with each week dedicated to a certain type of walking. Week one consists of a stroll in winter, as the advantages of walking in the cold are significant and include increased cognition and reduced stress, according to Streets, and she describes the "extraordinary changes that take place in our bodies and brains when we spend time in moderate cold." Later chapters advocate for slow walks (shown to lower cholesterol and help regulate insulin levels), ambles through muddy terrain (soil has "mood-enhancing effects"), early morning treks (exposure to sunlight helps start the day off right), and post-meal strolls (which help with digestion). Streets carefully breaks down the psychological and physical benefits of each type of walk, and makes a solid case that getting some movement in outside can help one "appreciate the exquisitely complicated and beautiful world we inhabit." Readers ready to hit the pavement will find plenty of inspiration and information here.
