Do you walk enough?

Back when the twins were born, I was a familiar sight around the streets of my town, huffing and puffing and pushing a huge triple stroller that housed three kids under the age of two, two heart monitors, and the occasional snack. Now, thankfully, everyone walks under his or her own steam. Back then, I walked to get out of the house for a while. Now we're trying to walk more as a means of transportation.

We are blessed to live in a great town with a lively downtown area, and when we can walk, we try to. But the point is, I think we just don't walk enough. Our three kids by law have to be in booster seats in the car, and that means using the minivan so they all fit. I hate using it for small trips, especially if we could walk instead. I'm also hopeful that in time we will be biking everywhere, but we're not there yet. So whenever possible, we lace up the sneakers and walk.

I remember an article in Shape Magazine (which I have been searching for in vain, sadly) that pointed out how Americans are more likely to hop in a car than walk, and how in almost every other country in the world, people think nothing of walking - walking to the store, walking to work, walking miles to visit a friend. In one case in Africa, one interviewee talked about walking miles to the friend's house, and then the two of them went for another walk checking the fences on the perimeter of his property, and then he walked back home. (By contrast, I have been known to hop in the car to run to the store to get half-and-half.)

Walking not only can save precious resources, fight pollution, and save you money, but it has enormous health benefits. Guidelines suggest that aiming for at least 10,000 steps a day to help maintain a healthy weight. Buy yourself a pedometer and clip it to your belt for a week - you may be surprised at how little you actually walk! I love my pedometer; it's a little reminder to take the stairs whenever possible. Not to mention walking is aerobic, and low-stress - there's little bouncing or impact on your joints like running or jogging. And it's a great way to get out of the house and enjoy nature, especially if you leave the iPod at home!

As for my family, we're going to try a little experiment today - instead of driving to pick up my oldest at school, I'm going to park part of the way there and walk the rest of the way (with the twins in tow). My hope is that over time, I'll be parking farther away and we'll get used to walking more and more. On a daily basis, that adds up.

♥ How does your town measure up? Check out your town's walk score here (and discover some stores and facilities you might not even know were just around the corner from you!) Ours is a 98, which means we have absolutely no excuse not to break out the sneakers more.

♥  Check out The Walking Site for tips on how to increase your steps per day.

Comments

[Snowflake]

one issue i have with the town walkability site is that it has 1. outdated info 2. stores that don't really exist (residences that are used for either webstores or getting professional discounts wink wink). My town scored an 80. And is actually walked quite a bit... but only by kids (and day laborers). The town's schools were actually mapped out to be within 1 mile from the furthest part of town so that residents wouldn't have to pay for busing.

Luckily, both of us live in towns with a defined center. And do walk for groceries, movies, and dining. Many towns nowadays are just housefarm developments separated by highways.

[Snowflake]

one issue i have with the town walkability site is that it has 1. outdated info 2. stores that don't really exist (residences that are used for either webstores or getting professional discounts wink wink). My town scored an 80. And is actually walked quite a bit... but only by kids (and day laborers). The town's schools were actually mapped out to be within 1 mile from the furthest part of town so that residents wouldn't have to pay for busing.

Luckily, both of us live in towns with a defined center. And do walk for groceries, movies, and dining. Many towns nowadays are just housefarm developments separated by highways.

[FSBO]

I believe that walk score is cool, but nowadays more and more people prefer to drive cars. Homes are often located in an area where some establishments are easier to get to by car than on foot. I've recently found a type of service http://drivescore.fizber.com/ which is called Drive Score. It shows a map of what establishments are in your neighborhood and calculates a Drive Score based on the number of places within a convenient driving distance. It doesn’t mean that drive score is better than walk score – they are equal and both necessary in the modern life!

[FSBO]

I believe that walk score is cool, but nowadays more and more people prefer to drive cars. Homes are often located in an area where some establishments are easier to get to by car than on foot. I've recently found a type of service http://drivescore.fizber.com/ which is called Drive Score. It shows a map of what establishments are in your neighborhood and calculates a Drive Score based on the number of places within a convenient driving distance. It doesn’t mean that drive score is better than walk score – they are equal and both necessary in the modern life!

[Elena]

FSBO, did you read the article? It was about the benefits of WALKING, and trying to drive less. I don't really understand what the point of Drive Score is, although my address scored a 96 (because obviously, if you could walk somewhere .5 mile away, you could also drive there.) Anyone can get in a car and drive somewhere. The point of the article above was about saving gas, not making more emissions, and gaining better health as a benefit.