[HN Gopher] How to Walk (12 miles a day) ___________________________________________________________________ How to Walk (12 miles a day) Author : detcader Score : 217 points Date : 2022-05-03 16:07 UTC (6 hours ago) (HTM) web link (walkingtheworld.substack.com) (TXT) w3m dump (walkingtheworld.substack.com) | subroutine wrote: | I know it's not really the point of this missive, but I average | right around 12 miles per day at my treadmill desk. So for anyone | who'd like to multitask their walking and work, I'd highly | recommend trying it. After about a month the walking bit really | becomes second nature. | lacrosse_tannin wrote: | Can the treadmill go backwards? | subroutine wrote: | It can if your standing desk is shaped like a donut; then it | can go forwards, backwards, and sideways ;) | rootusrootus wrote: | I recommend trying a decently long slow walk first. The | mechanics of walking slowly are not the same as walking at a | normal pace. Some people get sore, some do not, better to find | out before spending real money on the walking desk. Or be like | me, know already from experience walking with slow people that | I can't walk that slow and not hurt, buy the treadmill desk | anyway, sell it six months later after giving up. | subroutine wrote: | To counter, try standing for a few hours vs. walking slowly | and you will be surprised that walking is actually easier. | Humans anatomy seems to prefer walking over standing. It's | particularly obvious after those long moments where you are | deep into woking through some code, where you totally forget | to move for about 20 min. The treadmill takes care of that. | So if you already bought that standing desk... | | https://www.lifespanfitness.com/products/tr1200-dt3-under- | de... | rootusrootus wrote: | I don't disagree at all. I can walk many miles at 3mph. At | 1.5mph I'll be in pain pretty quickly. But if I _really_ | want to suffer, I 'll stand for a couple hours. | | So I don't have a standing desk, either. I primarily sit | when working at the computer. But every 30-45 minutes I get | up and go for a stroll, even if just around the yard. | subroutine wrote: | Yeah I gotcha. Don't get me wrong, nothing beats sitting | down to work. It's the best. But with kids I don't have | time for the gym, and a stroll in the yard wasn't helping | my growing waistline. | | fwiw my walking desk is set to 2.4mph, which seems to be | the sweet spot between my natural walking speed and a | pace that I can still comfortably read and type. Pretty | much a linear ramp up from 1.0mph to 2.4mph over 1 year | period. | mrtweetyhack wrote: | chasd00 wrote: | i walk a lot, not 12 miles a day, but an above average amount. | Good shoes and good socks go a long way in keeping your feet | happy. Also, i have pretty bad posture so i have to make it a | point to not slouch while walking or else my back or shoulders | eventually start to ache so be mindful of your posture when | walking more than 2 or so hrs at a time. | runjake wrote: | Based on the author's advice, I downloaded that Overdrive app and | signed in with my library card. | | So far, _every single audiobook_ I want to check out is reserved | at least 6 months out and more commonly a year out. | | Is there some other scheme for borrowing audiobooks? I used to | subscribe to Audible but it wasn't a very good deal. | dionidium wrote: | > _I will end by saying, as a guy, I have never had any problems | from other people. In all my years walking all over. But that it | is sadly very very different for women._ | | He's either only walking in exceptionally safe areas, he's very | large, or I have a particularly punchable face. I biked every | road in St. Louis a few years ago, which required biking every | street in some high-crime neighborhoods. I was frequently made to | feel uncomfortable. I was never attacked or anything like that, | but multiple times it was made clear to me that I was where I | didn't belong. And I was on a bike and could quickly ride away. I | think I would have had a lot more trouble on foot. | | I remember being in a bar once and some guy started trouble with | me for _no reason_ and my buddy, who is 6 '3'' and 250 pounds did | not believe that detail, because "nobody would start trouble with | you for _no_ reason. " To paraphrase Don Draper, "no, nobody | would start trouble with _you_ for no reason. " | perardi wrote: | I am a huge advocate for walking, and I walk a lot, but there | is a certain biased assumption of safety. | | I live in Chicago. I live in a...oh...let's say a gentrifying | area of Chicago. | | I can imagine it would be intimidating to walk around some of | the areas near me if I was a woman, or presenting as | female/non-binary, or even a smaller man. _(The non-binary bit | is not some empty bit of woke, it is also a very LGBT-heavy | area of town.)_ It's easy to advocate walking, and perhaps easy | to shrug off alarmism about crime, when you're not likely to be | the target of harassment or criminality. | | Fortunately for me, I am easily the most terrifying creature on | the street at 4am, and can blithely walk 2 miles to get home | when Uber prices spike to $40. https://imgur.com/a/QoTzQr6 | devoutsalsa wrote: | I'm a large man and rarely get harassed. But even I can get | mugged by the cops in Mexico. When in doubt, stick to well lit | paths. | lupire wrote: | Bike gets a stronger reaction than walking, especially on roads | without bike lanes. | | Bars have aggressive drunks. | aerostable_slug wrote: | I would invert your statement and posit you were riding in very | dangerous areas. Most of the US is very safe compared to St. | Louis, Chicago, Oakland, Richmond (CA), Detroit, Atlanta, etc. | | Don't go to stupid places filled with stupid people doing | stupid things and you'll likely be okay -- and this includes | bars after midnight just about anywhere. Nothing good happens | after midnight, but I digress. | | I agree with you that it was a good thing you were on a bike | and I'm glad you're here to post about it! | gautamcgoel wrote: | I'm from Atlanta, and it's interesting to see ATL on this | list. Does ATL have a reputation as a "rough" city? Not | offended, just curious. | exhilaration wrote: | _Don 't go to stupid places filled with stupid people doing | stupid things and you'll likely be okay -- and this includes | bars after midnight just about anywhere. Nothing good happens | after midnight, but I digress._ | | I see we both watch the same YouTube channel! | gautamcgoel wrote: | Which channel is that? | ensignavenger wrote: | I've done a lot of urban walking in a variety of towns. One | time in a town much smaller and lower crime than St. Louis, I | had a guy approach me and say "thanks for finding my phone-- | give me my phone!" I was holding my own phone, and I ignored | the comment and kept walking- at a brisker pace, and watching | their actions very carefully. I am 90% sure I could have | defended myself if he had attacked me. I'm a very average sized | person, if I had been smaller who know what he would have done? | | Any way, I agree, its best to always be alert and aware no | matter where you are and be smart about where you walk, no | matter what your gender presentation is. There are some crazy | people in this world. | kendallpark wrote: | I had a conversation with a cyclist who grew up in one of those | "high crime neighborhoods" in St. Louis. He said that he | received strange looks and comments when he visited his old | neighborhood with a road bike attached to his car. He belonged; | the bike did not. I suspect that more-than-casual cycling is a | cultural oddity in some areas. I'm not sure that walking would | garner the same reaction. | cortesoft wrote: | > I biked every road in St. Louis a few years ago, which | required biking every street in some high-crime neighborhoods. | | He is likely avoiding high-crime neighborhoods. There is a big | gap between 'exceptionally safe' and 'high-crime' | neighborhoods. Your average and even below average | neighborhoods are likely safe for most walkers. | lnwlebjel wrote: | > My rule of thumb is to try and aim for consistency, and never | try to change my total miles walked in a week more than roughly | 30% a week | | I've read suggestions to keep it at about 10% per week to prevent | injury. And more generally to increase in one dimension only | (intensity, frequency or duration). Important to know as you get | older ... | kendallpark wrote: | I've gained an appreciation for walking through very roundabout | means. | | For the longest time I found walking even short distances | insufferably slow and boring. I ride my bike--a lot. The | distances and durations I cover have grown each year to the point | that centuries (metric or imperial) are a regular weekend event. | Boredom is always an issue when you're out for 5+ hours, but | you'd be surprised at how much your sense of time can change if | you normalize riding long distances. Interestingly, my mind's | time-condensation for cycling never translated to walking. | | This year I branched out into winter ultra fat biking, which, as | it turns out, can involve a significant amount of walking. In bad | snow conditions one can end up pushing a heavy bike for hours at | a time. The two races I did this winter had their respective all | time worst course conditions. So, I did a lot of walking. | | This spring I've found myself opting walk to the gym and office, | leaving the bike at home. My mind doesn't count the minutes the | way it used to. I actually have no sense of how long it takes me | to get to these places. I suspect the exaggerated stimulus of | pushing a bike for hours through snow drifts has adapted my | perception of everyday walking. I would hypothesize that the | author's 20-mile weekend walks makes their long daily walks more | doable. If you want to enjoy short regular walks, perhaps it | would help to go out for a very long and hard walk from time to | time. | werber wrote: | This has been my norm for most of adult life, and I recently | discovered Chaclas which kinda feel like a cross between | Birkenstocks and Teva and are a breeze to walk 15 to 20 miles in. | Highly recommend checking out their sandals | hombre_fatal wrote: | Can you link to the sandals you're talking about? Only thing | that comes up for me are the misspelling of chanclas, the | generic word for sandals in spanish. | kingaillas wrote: | Not the OP, but maybe they meant chacos? | (https://www.chacos.com/) | | I have a pair and as an avid hiker and trail runner... I'm | not sure I'd walk 15-20 miles in them. I have other better- | suited footwear for that! | Qub3d wrote: | My family is a bit of a Chaco cult. We've climbed 14'ers in | Colorado in them, my sister wore Chacos under her wedding | dress, and I unintentionally ended up living and working | close to the HQ. | | I personally have walked 10 miles in a pair, but it was | pretty casual walking. | | Get them on sale, and send them in to get refurbished from | time-to-time. They are fantastic. | js2 wrote: | 12 miles = 19.3 km. | | I've been following Tom Turich on Facebook for years now. He's | just about to finish up his 7 year walk around the world with his | dog Savannah. I think he was walking around 15-20 miles (24-32 | km) a day, somedays upwards of 30 miles (48 km). | | http://theworldwalk.com/ | | Most updates are on FB, not his web site: | | https://www.facebook.com/TheWorldWalk/ | | Some AMAs he's done over the years: | | https://old.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/3m7erz/i_am_tom_turci... | | https://old.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/4sheeq/i_am_tom_turci... | | https://old.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/al1elx/i_am_tom_turci... | | https://old.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/szksev/i_will_soon_be... | | The most miles I've done (walking and running) in a day is 105 | (169 km). It was a lot. The world record is 192.252 miles (309.4 | km). Okay, that involved some running. | pbhjpbhj wrote: | How many hours walking did you do to go 105mi? I'm finding that | hard to believe. | | 200mi in a day, wow, but what's the record for walking, yours | has to be close? | js2 wrote: | I was a little ambiguous there. It was a 24 hour race around | a 1.5 mi loop. I completed 105 miles in a combination of | walking/running, probably about a 50/50 split between the | two. Stopped only to use the restroom and for shoe/sock | changes. The race supplied food and drink. | | I've also completed 12 hour races (I get to around 62 | miles/100 km), and I've done distance races of 50 miles and | 100 miles. My best time for 100 miles is 23 hours, but folks | complete this distance much faster, say 14:23:13: | | http://umstead100.org/index.html | | http://www.devonyanko.com/news/2022/4/8/umstead-100-race- | rep... | | I don't know if there are 24-hour racewalking competitions, | but 100 mile racewalks are a thing: | | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centurion_(racewalking) | AlbertCory wrote: | Look up the word _flaneur_ (or _flaneur_ if the accent is a | problem). | | Nessim Nicholas Taleb describes himself as one. | bmj wrote: | I highly recommend Rebecca Solnit's book _Wanderlust_. She | dives into the history of walking, and she spends a chapter on | notable flaneurs. | nsxwolf wrote: | We have a guy in Chicago named Joseph Kromelis. He's been | walking the city day in and day out since the early 1970s at | least. All day, every day. Not homeless or mentally ill or | anything, just likes to walk. | oneepic wrote: | I think this article could use a bit more info about protecting | against injury. For example, I'm sure a podiatrist or physical | therapist would have a number of things to add about finding a | good shoe, or insoles/orthotics, or muscles/fascia/IT band/etc | parts to stretch. | ArtWomb wrote: | I'd love to have this freedom. As well as a nice cabin up in the | Green Mountains of Vermont to explore. But 12mi a day, and you're | basically a professional hiker for a living when you include prep | time and post prandial hot tub soaks for recovery ;) | ajuc wrote: | There's no prep time for walking. | ketanmaheshwari wrote: | Hey I understand the spirit of your message but you don't | really have to be a professional hiker. The OP says it takes | three and a half hours to walk 12 miles but could be easily | squeezed to 3 hours. Then, it could be split. Half of this | could be done in the morning and the other half in the evening. | | I would kindly urge you to consider this and give walking a | fair try. It made a lot of positive change in my life. Best | wishes. | rootusrootus wrote: | > could be easily squeezed to 3 hours | | The fraction of the population that can sustain a 4 mph pace | comfortably for three hours is probably small. That's a | pretty good clip. 2.5 to 3 mph is much more realistic. | mordechai9000 wrote: | I'm a pretty fast hiker most of the time, and I find that | my pace almost always works out to 2 mph once I figure in | breaks and miscellaneous stops or delays. Like fishing out | sunglasses, taking bio breaks, removing or adding layers, | or enjoying the view for a few minutes. (Granted we're not | necessarily talking about hiking.) | rootusrootus wrote: | On an unrelated note, this is the one detail that always | bothered me about the Long Walk. It doesn't seem plausible. | 2 mph I could believe. | phendrenad2 wrote: | Yes. I've been walking for a LONG time and 12 miles takes | me about 4 hours. That's a lot of time out of your day, | plus you likely won't have a lot of energy left for errands | or whatever else needs to be done afterwards. | windowsrookie wrote: | You're already talking yourself out of walking and you haven't | even started. ;) | | 12 miles is totally doable, but start with less because you'll | injure yourself if you don't walk at all now. Even just 15 | minutes of walking is great. | | I am more of a bicyclist and luckily there are many trails | around me. (I don't like riding on the streets) On a nice | summer day I can easily spend 3 hours riding. If you work a | full time 9-5, there is still plenty of time in the morning or | evening to get a few hours of exercise in . (I should take my | own advice here!) | comprev wrote: | I'm a cyclist too and in the recent good weather I've | averaged about 50km per day (split into morning/evening | rides) during the week and usually a 70-80km ride one weekend | day. Making the most of the weather while it lasts! | daenz wrote: | I got a portable treadmill in June 2021. I put it under my | standing desk and walk at a slow/medium most of the day while I | work. I'm at 723 miles so far. | SamBam wrote: | For creative inspirations, or even just thinking through a | project in your head, a walk outside can be amazing. | | What's best is if you can take a full hour-long or more walk, and | let your mind wander for the majority of it. You don't need to be | actively thinking the whole time, that can actually defeat the | purpose of it. | | But don't let the great be the enemy of the good, if all you can | take is 15 minutes, and you need to be thinking the whole time, | do that instead. | balaji1 wrote: | Great article hashing out the details of implementing regular | long walks as a habit. | | However, it would be cool if there was a way to get paid for | walking. That would motivate a lot more people, even if it is | minimal pay. Walk-to-earn crypto game anyone? | onemoresoop wrote: | Walking is great for your general health, so in a way you're | getting paid in health credits. | darrenf wrote: | Sweatcoin are launching a token later this year. | https://sweatco.in/ | mr_november wrote: | Check out https://www.stepn.com/ | dinkleberg wrote: | What service does you walking generate for others that they | should pay you to do it? | | As a daily walker, I have to say it is its own reward. | balaji1 wrote: | agree that walking is a reward in itself. I should have | phrased it as - "more people would walk more if they were | rewarded more tangibly". Friendly competition might | incentivize more people to walk. Just some thoughts since the | article is trying to encourage more people to walk. | nradov wrote: | Some fitness tracker apps and websites such as Garmin | Connect have monthly challenges for walking steps or | distance. They allow you to challenge your friends and | track progress. | dinkleberg wrote: | I wasn't very charitable with my interpretation there, | you're right incentivizing more people to walk is | definitely a good a thing. | | I think a lot of the smartwatches have done a decent job at | that, though there of course is the overhead to buy and | wear one of them. | | But even as someone who has been getting daily exercise for | at least a decade now and doesn't need encouragement, the | little awards my Apple Watch gives me for hitting my | targets feels good. | tailsdog wrote: | > However, it would be cool if there was a way to get paid for | walking. | | Dog walker | rootusrootus wrote: | Figure out how to convince coworkers to schedule all meetings | during a specific 3 hour window each day, perhaps. | | On my walks I regularly see a guy who seems to either be doing | exactly that, or he just has meetings all day. I've never gone | past him when he wasn't chatting away on a phone meeting. | balaji1 wrote: | that's smart. We always had 1:1s where we would just step out | and walk. In a way, it forced 1:1s to be 30 mins long. Now | 1:1s have become "you can have 15 mins back in your day" lol. | 1:1s can definitely be done walking, even if some of the | other meetings can't be. | wmeredith wrote: | Not outright payment, but there have been many efforts over the | years to capture walking energy. One example I found after a | quick search: https://www.bbc.com/news/science- | environment-30816255 | stevesearer wrote: | After walking to and from work for 5 years along the same route, | I found that I prefer walking without listening to anything on | headphones. | | Just thinking increases awareness of my surroundings, allows me | time to process existing thoughts as opposed to consuming more | inputs, and connects me to the people I would inevitably see on a | semi-regular basis. | | Personally, I have found that 1 hour + is a good threshold to aim | for for some really quality thinking. After about an hour I've | already processed normal stuff about family or work and have | moved on to deeper topics. | danielvaughn wrote: | When I lived in NYC, my commute was about 45 minutes. As much | as everyone hates long commutes, I found that to be a very | ideal amount of time to decompress from work. It's different | when you don't have to drive; standing or sitting on a train is | much more relaxing. | agumonkey wrote: | Driving is very stressful, and inherently risky (most people | a cramped up in their car). Also, 45 minutes of walk is near | ideal to get endorphins (AFAIK). | | I try to double fork my commute, either explore some new path | or do some groceries so the 45minutes are not just | walk/train. | | Right now I do bike - train - bike (but, surprisingly, trains | are unreliable this month .. they're the one making me late | :) | mrtweetyhack wrote: | SnowHill9902 wrote: | It's a mental interregno. | FpUser wrote: | I do 2 hours of activity per day (cycling, walking, swimming, | etc). More in a summer. Since in winter it is more or less | routine I just work when I do it. Usually solve some design / | programming / planning task which I will implement later when | at my desk. Over many years it has become a habit. Sometimes | when I come back home for a walk I can't remember a thing about | outside because my legs were doing on work and the brain was | busy with the other. | munificent wrote: | _> allows me time to process existing thoughts as opposed to | consuming more inputs_ | | This can't be stressed enough. | | With phones and the Internet today, most of us consume way more | information than we have time to really process, organize, and | reflect on. It's like we do a shopping spree every single day | and never spend any time in our house unpacking any of the | grocery bags. Our minds are a chaotic mess of piled up worries, | news, unmade decisions, etc. | | Walking (without audiobooks or other media) is the single best | solution I've found to give my brain the idle time it needs to | run a defrag and work through that backlog. | flybrand wrote: | I've gotten to this same point recently too. Cut down on the | bonus time - get more music, more silence. | balaji1 wrote: | There is a benefit of re-listening to certain audiobooks, | lectures or podcasts. If there was a sophisticated way to | just have content on-repeat, that would be cool. New content | all the time is over-consumption, while repeating could be | used for learning. | | Also if walking alone, people should try calling friends and | family. It's a great way to reconnect and stay connected with | friends. Handsfree, heads up, it's good fun. I also feel much | more chatty when on a walk. | | Anyway, walking commutes are the best. | [deleted] | serial_dev wrote: | What I like to do sometimes is spend the first 10-ish minutes | listening to a book or podcast to plant some ideas, then let | these ideas percolate, let my mind wander, and if I get to | somewhere interesting and actionable, I take a note. | mmmpop wrote: | Same. I start with a book/podcast and if my mind likes it, | I keep it on. But often my mind wanders (may it be a | distraction or inspiration from whatever it is in my | headphones) and I'll go ahead and operate sans audio. | mgfist wrote: | I just do whatever I feel like on that particular walk. I'd | say 40/20/40 on whether I want to listen to a | podcast/audiobook, listen to music or walk in silence. | farleykr wrote: | This is an excellent articulation. I've read dozens of books | and articles about the cons of using technology too much and | it's never quite clicked like it did when I read your | shopping analogy. Maybe it has something to do with the fact | that you're a stranger on the internet and I don't have any | underlying worries about your stance being motivated by | selling books or building an audience on social media. | dkersten wrote: | I agree completely. | | I used to listen to music and stuff a lot while walking or even | commuting but a few years ago I decided to give up on most idle | listening, preferring to listen to music or podcasts with | intent now: eg to enjoy some music, not just passively. | | I used to walk a lot (I still walk a good bit but because I | work from home I don't walk to work each day anymore) and I | found the quiet time to be the best time to come up with | solutions to problems, to reflect on my life or day, to just | wind down and switch off, to enjoy nature (when I walk to walk, | as opposed to walking to reaching a destination, I typically | walk along a river near my home). I think we are overstimulated | far far too much and some quiet time and boredom is good for | the brain and certainly it's good for creativity. | lupire wrote: | > > process existing thoughts as opposed to consuming more | inputs | | > I agree completely. | | > preferring to listen to music or podcasts with intent now: | eg to enjoy some music, not just passively. | | That's the opposite of what parent suggested. | stevesearer wrote: | How I read what they wrote is that instead of mindlessly | listening to anything just to listen to something as the | default, they prefer to instead be selective if they decide | to listen to something. | stevesearer wrote: | When you set out do you have a mental agenda or do you find | that your mind gravitates toward worthwhile topics once | you're walking? | | I'm more a mind wanderer, though for a season I tried to | mentally prepare myself for the transition from being at a | controlled work environment to walking into a house with two | young kids at the end of the day. | bradlys wrote: | > Personally, I have found that 1 hour + is a good threshold to | aim for for some really quality thinking. After about an hour | I've already processed normal stuff about family or work and | have moved on to deeper topics. | | I find this kinda pointless for myself. Most of the time I just | revisit the same subjects over and over and come to the same | conclusions no matter how I try to solve it. Once I'm done with | the menial tasks - the "deeper" topics just make me upset to | think about because they make me realize how hopelessly fucked | I am. I'd rather not focus on that and instead do a bit of | hedonism while I can. | stonewashed wrote: | This, very much. I need to keep myself distracted, otherwise | I get very upset. | TedDoesntTalk wrote: | Look up "walking mediation" and try it. | stevesearer wrote: | Interesting, the way I think I think while walking/hiking is | much less wrestling one specific topic to come to a | conclusion and more bouncing around between many things. | Maybe I don't even really conclude things but instead just | move an idea along. | uuyi wrote: | Been hiking for a long time and do really long hikes. | Eventually an epiphany or moment of self realisation will | appear out of the blue. I had one at the weekend which was | somewhat life changing. | squidbot wrote: | I used to be an avid walker, at least an hour a day back and | forth to work, and long walks with the dogs around my home (lucky | to live in a beautiful area in the PNW with close beaches and | lots of trees, so plenty to enjoy.) I've been walking since I was | a kid, as it was the only way to get back and forth to school and | town growing up in the Berkeley hills. Though I resented it as a | kid, I grew in to loving walks. | | I've been developing severe osteoarthritis in my knees over the | last decade since I hit my 40's, and now it's so bad, I'm unable | to walk more than about 10 minutes. It's had a tremendous | negative impact on my physical and mental health, especially as | it was coincident with the pandemic. I've "replaced it" with | biking, but for some reason, it just doesn't do as much for me as | walking did. I've gained about 30 pounds, I'm tired all the time, | and for the first time ever, feeling a little blue now and then | and not doing other things I used to enjoy (very mild though, my | wife has major depression and mine is a blip comparatively.) I | guess I'm a living testament to how important walking is. | | I like the timing of this article for myself. On the bright side, | I'm getting one of my knees replaced next week, and the other | hopefully in 6 months if recovery goes well. I am really looking | forward to daily walks again and getting back to that healthy | place I was in for so long! | golemiprague wrote: | bubblecheck wrote: | I've walked about 12-15 miles a day for >2 months now, while | homeless. I found myself unable to perform manual labor on top of | the walking for any sustained amount of time. Extended fatigue | takes over. | | For a sedentary/desk job, I suspect that maintaining this | quantity of walking daily would be feasible, and beneficial, long | term. | volforix wrote: | I have roughly the same routine. However, I have been lucky to | have two additional components on many occasions: * Super | interesting conversations with my walking comrades. * LSD / | mushrooms / MDMA. Apart from doing garbage collection on my | subconscious psychedelics make thinking and talking much more | fulfilling and satisfactory. | [deleted] | kevingadd wrote: | During my time as a producer at a game studio, the office was | located in a little business park surrounded by grass and rivers | and small lakes, with lots of wildlife and some hiking trails. We | had a tradition of going out on walks every day before/after | lunch, usually a couple loops around the park. I made a point of | going every time because I found that lots of conversations would | happen naturally during the walk and some of them helped me | identify process issues that weren't being addressed or discussed | yet - the sorts of things that people were afraid to complain | about in meetings because it would make them seem like a whiner. | woliveirajr wrote: | Sometimes getting out of the loop and going to a coffee, to a | walk, or anything that just makes you leave the building but | keep talking with coleagues can make wonders for productivity. | KineticLensman wrote: | > I found that lots of conversations would happen naturally | during the walk and some of them helped me identify process | issues that weren't being addressed or discussed yet | | I stepped up to a line manager role (to cover someone for | maternity leave) so that I was suddenly line-managing my peers. | We had always gone for walks at lunchtime and we very quickly | evolved the convention that conservations during the walk were | with 'old me' vs those in the office that were with 'manager- | me'. This allowed me to vent as well, given that we all a | fairly cynical non-corporate bunch. | ajuc wrote: | I started walking regularly (averages to about 9km a day) over a | year ago. It transformed my life. | | I was walking a little bit before, but not regularly. Since I | started doing it every day I lost 35 kg and got much happier. I | just can't continue to be angry about anything after walking for | 1 hour with a good book on the headphones. | | Now I'm usually doing about 5-10 km on work days and 20-35 km on | free days. I skip if the weather is bad but it's rare. | | I agree that sometimes it's better not to listen to anything - | you can recognize these days by the fact you don't actually | listen to the stuff on the headphones. Then I just turn it off or | put some instrumental music instead. | TrevorJ wrote: | Taking walks with friends or colleagues is a vastly underrated | activity and leads to some great conversations. | layer8 wrote: | I always have the problem that I can either focus on the | conversation or on the environment, but not both. When I | concentrate on the conversation, I completely blind out my | surroundings. Trying to repeatedly switch between both is | exhausting. | stevesearer wrote: | It is interesting how much more natural a side-by-side walking | conversation feels than a sit-across-the-table coffee shop | conversation. | zdragnar wrote: | I had a manager who (back when we were office workers) liked | to do outdoor walking 1-on-1 meetings. TBH, I really disliked | it, but not enough to ask to stay indoors. I found the noise | and sights rather distracting. | vladvasiliu wrote: | It's true, but in a busy city environment, you're pretty much | forced to form pairs. Because of the noise, it's very hard to | hear what the person on the other side is saying. | TrevorJ wrote: | It definitely makes the situation feel a lot lower pressure | to me. After all, the chief activity is taking a hike/walk, | so if the conversation lulls it never feels awkward and | there's always something new to see and remark on. | ChrisMarshallNY wrote: | I walk 3 miles, each morning (takes about 50 min). | | Here's a useful tool, for planning routes. A friend wrote it: | https://apps.apple.com/us/app/easyroute/id605127860 | theuri wrote: | It's also easy to hit this goal with a treadmill desk ;) | at_a_remove wrote: | I was thinking of taking up walking again, despite getting | stopped by police more than I would really like. | | But I considered getting some kind of MP3 player and have gone | down the bizarre rabbit hole of trying to find out if those even | exist now, do they use .m3u playlists, and so forth. I haven't | had as much time to listen to my music and I am not a user of | streaming services (I want to listen to what I want to listen to, | rather than some kind of firehose of what someone else decides | via algorithm), so this would be a nice time to do it. | twodave wrote: | If you don't mind going with Bluetooth headphones, there are | many watches out there that'll store mp3s and playlists on | them. Kill several birds with one stone and get a nice Garmin | that'll also track vitals, map your hike, and measure your pace | along with being able to play music and listen to audiobooks ;) | otikik wrote: | They make it more difficult than they should, but you can | totally copy mp3 files in your Android or iphone and use a | regular mp3 player app to listen to your own music. Most phones | these days have space to spare. | winrid wrote: | Advice: Get out and walk at least once a day, and try to look at | things far away once in a while. Otherwise, if you're just | staying inside as a resulting habbit of Covid, you can give | yourself pseudomyopia (temporary near-sightedness) which can be | scary (source: happened to me recently). | markus_zhang wrote: | I used to ride bicycle with my friend a few times every week 10 | years ago. Now it's a distant dream. Both of us have families and | full time job so barely getting enough sleep. Weekends are | usually spent on chores or personal projects that never get | finished. | | Those were the good days. | kjs3 wrote: | Amen brother. I walk about an hour a day, most every day, and | do some light weights. It's the perfect amount of clear-your- | head-and-think time for me, and makes me feel tons better. But | it's a tradeoff about what doesn't get done (or that I push off | on my wife & family) because I do it. The theme some folks in | this thread are pushing that "oh, just take 3-4 hours a | day...no big deal anyone can do that...you have nothing more | important to do" is seriously defective. | markus_zhang wrote: | Exactly. It's always trade off. I actually don't spend a lot | of time on my kid because my parents are helping a lot. That | will change in a year or so and I'd have even less time. Just | hope he can sleep throughout the night without waking up so | that we can grab more sleep. | Mikeb85 wrote: | I'm a big fan of walking (or hiking). So much that I moved to a | mountain town. | | For one, creative inspiration often comes to me while walking. | Second, it beats sitting on a couch. If you need added | stimulation, go with a walking partner or listen to a podcast. | Plus health benefits (not going to say it's an amazing workout | depending on intensity but it's better than being sedentary) and | it's fun. | | Yes, it takes time. Sometimes you don't have time. That's ok. It | doesn't have to be _every_ day. But it 's something you can do | with kids, parents, colleagues, by yourself, etc... | tibbar wrote: | I also love taking long walks on the weekends! I've ramped up | over time to around 35 mile walks. I always take the same route, | over the Golden Gate bridge and back. With this distance there is | a heightened risk of repetitive stress injury, but you can help | by increasing distance slowly and doing simple foot/ankle | exercises during the week. Besides the potential for listening to | music/podcasts, it's also a great time to call friends who may | live in other places. | | Unlike the author, I do wear a backpack. I really like having all | the stuff I might want with me, from snacks to Gatorade to | jackets, etc. | | It can be very meditative as well. If you walk quietly for | several hours, just focusing on breathing and walking, you can be | in (almost) another state of consciousness by the time you get | back. | mseidl wrote: | Get a dog! I have a high energy dog, we're out for 3x a day for | 45-60 minutes. | icpmacdo wrote: | I walked 100km in one day(22 hours) around Vancouver last month | for fun, its feels strange have walking develop into a deep | hobby. | throwpp034578 wrote: | I would like to read instructions on how to walk -- on the act | itself. | | Sure I have been walking for most of my life, but how do I make | sure that I walk with a good posture, without slouching, without | _looking_ weird /with confidence/grace/poise/or whatever | adjective is appropriate. | | I'm sure there are people who walk better than me and I'd like to | learn how to do so. | entropie wrote: | Easy to accomplish (at least for me). One word: Dog. I walk daily | 90 minutes at least. There was a time (and another dog, but thats | not the reason) where it was more like 120-200 minutes a day | outside. I live in a fairly populated town in east Germany. We | have a solid forest and lots of lakes around. Its great and like | 20 years+ later I know most of them, but not all. | | My coworker and I worked like a year together at my place. He | came around, we drank a coffee together and started working. Like | 3-4 hours later, depending on schedule, we took a good 60 | minutes+ walk with my dog. We talked project related things | sometimes, but it felt never like "we have to talk about work", | We were kind of friends so we had lots of other topics. Then back | at my place we continued for 2,3 or even 5 hours. We had no | issues stopping after 2 hours, but did often way more. We were | _very_ productive. | | We were a good match, but those breaks outside enjoying life | (forced by my habits to go at least 60minutes outside with the | dog) helped a lot not burning out and making room in the brain. | rhodysurf wrote: | I am similar and walk my dog for about an hour before and | another hour after work every day. It's amazing how much you | can think through with dedicated time and space to do so, not | to mention physical health benefits | perardi wrote: | A dog is also great for motivating you to get outside during | bad weather. | | Well. I suppose not _all_ dogs. But get yourself some retriever | mutt monster, and strap on those snow boots. | | https://imgur.com/a/E8bPE5h | abyssin wrote: | Such a lovely story. Thanks for sharing! | mleonhard wrote: | I walk about 3 miles a day. I'm interested in trying sandals + | socks. I'm concerned about exposure to MOAH substances in | Vaseline. Is there a good alternative to vaseline? Shea butter? | | Do the Teva XLT2 sandals provide enough shock absorption for | walking on concrete? | metadat wrote: | Thanks, I'd never heard of MOAH (mineral-oil saturated / | aromatic hydrocarbons). Scary stuff.. | lkrubner wrote: | Most days I walk home from work. I'm up on 98th st, Upper West | Side, work is down in Soho. It's about 8 kilometers direct, or I | can go up the east side, then wander across Central Park, and | make it 9 kilometers, or even 10 kilometers. | shimonabi wrote: | I walk 2 km a day with my dog through a golf course, usually at | dusk. I sell the golf balls for coffee money. | ijustwanttovote wrote: | Instead of walking, I bike. | layer8 wrote: | > Now that I am close to sixty, this is a really big deal, and | partly why I walk. It is the least injury-prone exercise. | | I'd say biking is (in the right environment). It's certainly | easier on the knees than walking. | Johnny555 wrote: | Though biking for older people is probably more risky in the | event of a fall. | | Also, walking is weight bearing exercise, which is supposed to | be better for bone strength. | pluc wrote: | Get a dog that requires exercise to not be an asshole. I have two | Weimaraners, for example. | timerol wrote: | I find the anti-backpack mindset interesting, because I started | urban walking after getting wilderness backpacking experience. I | can't imagine walking around without a daypack, and I often bring | it with me even when it's empty. On my morning commute today it | held a Kindle, a spare set of headphones, and a plastic bag for | when I buy more groceries than can fit in the pack. I'm probably | not going to use any of those before I get home, though. | | Backpacks are magic for longer trips. Food, water, coffee, all go | in. Unsure about the weather? Layers layers layers, all in the | pack. I also use LL Bean's PrimaLoft Packaway (I own two, one | black and one orange), and have a shell for rainy/snowy weather. | Unless it's both cold and rainy, one of the two goes in the | backpack. | | I've also never worried much about pocket preferences on my | shorts and pants. I instead care about pockets on my packs. My | current big pack is an Osprey Exos 58 (but the newer version | doesn't have hip belt pockets or a shoulder strap pocket), and my | daypack is an REI Flash 22 (with easily accessible side pockets, | and a top pocket that you can reach with an awkward shoulder | movement). | | Edit: The big floppy hat comment was absolutely spot-on | saiya-jin wrote: | I am coming from same path as you describe - hiker to the core. | Be it 2 hours or 3 weeks in himalaya. That's my past 14 years | of life described (with some climbing, ski touring and few | other sports on top, but this is the solid base). | | I have 2 small kids now, and they are really not in best shape | for long hikes or anything more extreme. Son on baby backpack | would be 20 kilos without any further equipment/food required. | | So I switched to long evening walks during work week after they | go sleep. 2-3h, up to 10km. Luckily there are some nice options | around me, so I try to variate things a bit every time, join | things in loops and so on. Often music in the ears, very dark, | walking in the forests where path surface is not really | visible, rather than just very weak line and I trust my feet | (and know the surface is not really tricky since I walked it | 100x already). | | Walking fast, as fast as my legs allow it for prolonged time | (one gets this sense after some time spent doing it, pushing | oneself too much is very bad idea). Also not fan of backpacks | for this, rather stuffing pockets of jacket with everything | required. | | Its magical, clears head, tons of ideas come to me, for family, | work, anything. Sometimes I struggle to write it all down and | not forget anything. Sometimes smoking a bit of weed which | makes this process more smooth. One activity that keeps such | previously-active person as me still sane, even if kids | sometimes try hard to push me the other way. | mikepurvis wrote: | My bike commute to work used to be this time for me, though | it was pretty short by the clock (25mins each way), and | obviously was lost with the pandemic/WFH. In the last few | months I've reclaimed that space somewhat with recreational | evening walks, and that's been really great-- sometimes with | a friend, often on my own, usually in silence. Currently | these are around 40-60mins, but your post is for sure | inspiring me to step that up. | | I'm a fan of the small backpack when I'm out with my kids, | particularly for a water bottle, tubs of snacks, a place to | put that pinecone they found, etc. But just me? A wallet and | phone in my pants pockets is more than enough. | bmj wrote: | I cannot deal when a backpack when the temperature is above 65 | degrees Fahrenheit, for the very reason Arnade gives -- a | sweaty back. I've been using a Nittany Mountain Works fanny | pack on bike rides recently (the larger model will carry A5 | notebooks, which is plenty big for my non-work commuting since | I'm remote full time now). I guess I will still deal with a | sweaty lower back, but that's better than my entire back. | | That said, I agree with you -- I could imagine walking (or | riding) with stuff in my pockets. | skrtskrt wrote: | Cross body bags are a nice midpoint between a backpack size | and a fanny pack size and they don't sit on your back causing | sweat - I got an adidas one for like $30 and I can easily fit | a 32oz water bottle a folded light jacket plus other small | things. | hombre_fatal wrote: | That's the cocaine dealer uniform where I live. | jasonhansel wrote: | In my experience, when you go on very long (10-20mi) walks in | hot weather, you need a backpack even more, since you have to | carry around large amounts of water (either in water bottles | or in one of those hydration pack things). | | Biking is different, of course--you're not outside for as | long (at least for a given number of miles), and you can | store your water bottles on the bike itself. | cheeze wrote: | Getting a good hiking pack designed to sit off of your back a | bit was a godsend to me. I'm with you that I won't carry one | if it's hot out, but I'll gladly carry a smaller pack all the | time otherwise. | | Fanny packs are sweet, except the part where you're wearing a | fanny pack. | lupire wrote: | Spin it around so it's not on your fanny (or is, pending | what side of the pond you are on) and it will be less | offensive to bigots. | bmj wrote: | _Fanny packs are sweet, except the part where you 're | wearing a fanny pack._ | | Yes, my teenagers were shocked and appalled when they saw | it, and made me promise I would only wear it while on the | bike. | brimble wrote: | > Fanny packs are sweet, except the part where you're | wearing a fanny pack. | | Hear me out: | | Sport coats. (edit: and blazers) | | Very light linen ones for hot days, which keep sun off your | skin without really making you hotter. Cooler days, break | out the wool. | | All those extra pockets are wonderful. Grab some thin old | mass-market genre paperbacks and discover why they made | them that size :-) | | They're like purses for men, that you can wear instead of | carry, and that make you look better. Similar storage | capacity to a fanny pack, I'd say. Maybe a little more. | codazoda wrote: | I'm so tempted to try this. I never wear a sport coat. | Well, unless I'm in a suit, which is a couple times a | year if I'm unlucky. | | I wear a short sleeve polyester t-shirt in black. I own a | dozen of them, all identical, and wear them most days. My | wife hates it. | | The black is not good on very hot days. It's surprising | how much difference a light color makes. But, I can't | seem to keep light stuff clean. | | I don't know if I could stand my arms in a sport coat, | but I guess it's no different from a regular jacket in | the winter. | billfruit wrote: | May be a drawstring shoe bag could work, but usually they | have lesser carrying capacity than a full backpack. | technofiend wrote: | >I can't imagine walking around without a daypack | | Depends on how hot and humid it is outside. Even in breathable | clothing like Nike Dryfit or any of the thousand knockoffs, in | 90+ degrees, high humidity weather, a backpack blocks | perspiration evaporating off. It literally becomes a hot spot | on your back. He did have one tip I don't entirely agree with | to use Vaseline, but instead I use Glide just because I don't | care for the consistency of petroleum jelly. Although he | mentions long sleeves shirts and a hat with neck guard, he said | nothing explicitly about skin or eye protection; people in the | sun day after day should be wearing polarizing lenses and high | SPF clothing along with sun screen. | [deleted] | mleonhard wrote: | Clear safety glasses block UV as well as tinted & polarizing | sunglasses. | technofiend wrote: | Nice! Good tip. Anything to prevent the advance of macular | degeneration and cataracts. [1] Maybe that's not settled | science - not sure - but it's a cheap preventative. And | it's settled enough at least that good sunglasses can be | purchased through some FSA/HSAs. | | [1] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21617534/ | clumsysmurf wrote: | Even during monsoon season in AZ, I still find an all-mesh | marathon vest like Ultimate Direction Marathon Vest V2 plenty | comfortable. I put my phone, flashlight, ID, hand sanitizer, | tweezers (for cactus thorns) and keys in it. If I need to I | can also put something like a Patagonia Houdini in it for | windy / light precip. | nahmean wrote: | Perhaps an odd thing to ask, but what are you packing in your | backpack for coffee? That sounds lovely, but between the need | for hot water, the subpar quality of most powdered coffees, | etc, it has seemed out of reach. | timerol wrote: | For day trips I brew coffee at home and carry it in a vacuum | insulated bottle. The bottle smells like coffee even after | cleaning, so I have one that I always use for the task. | | For multi-day trips I already have a small camping stove (MSR | PocketRocket or an alcohol stove), and I pack instant coffee. | I heavily prioritize saving weight on longer trips, so I | generally drink my coffee out of the same light plastic bowl | that I just ate oatmeal out of, which doubles as a decent way | to clean the bowl. | exhilaration wrote: | Not the OP but I take every opportunity to brag about my | Zojirushi SM-KHE insulated mug. I use mine every day -- cold | coffee and tea are a thing of the past. | | I have several friends that really like their Fellow Carter | Everywhere mugs if you want an alternative. | tobylane wrote: | Is the spare set of headphones in addition to another on you, | or secondary to the ones left at home? | timerol wrote: | In addition to the ones I had in my ears. It's not a normal | thing for me to carry. I had thought I lost a pair of | earbuds. I keep an extra set of cheap headphones at home, so | I put them in my backpack. And then it turned out my main | earbuds were in my jacket pocket, so now I'm carrying two | pairs until I get home tonight. | eternalban wrote: | I take my backpack [1] on my daily 1.5+ walk. Typically, with | just an iPad, and a water bottle, but when I get to the | destination in SoHo (Manhattan) it gets stuffed with fresh | baked Bagguete, and some other minor daily grocery etc. | | [1]: https://projektco.com/products/gravy-silverado (can't | recommend this high enough.) | astrobe_ wrote: | As for safety, always look left and right when you cross, just | like how your were probably taught as a child, _really_. Because | of today 's rise of mostly silent electric vehicles, and because | of drivers distracted by phones sometimes, you should not cross | "by hear", if it ever was a good idea (I used to do that), _even | if you have the green light_. Be extra cautious if a large truck | or bus blocks your view. Remove your headset /earphones in high | traffic environments. | | The author mentions other (hostile) people as a potential | problem, one could also mention wild animals or straight dogs in | urban environments. I had a couple of encounters with lost dogs | myself, thankfully they were not hostile. Advice on how to behave | from "pros" would be welcome. | swayvil wrote: | Gay dogs, otoh, are generally friendly. | imoverclocked wrote: | Strike another win for auto-corrupt. | _Algernon_ wrote: | What's corrupt about happy dogs? | aaaaaaaaaaab wrote: | >As for safety, always look left and right when you cross | | * or right and left, if you're in the UK | nicky0 wrote: | or Ireland, Australia, NZ, South Africa, Malta, Cyprus, | Kenya... | hanoz wrote: | Or as we were taught, by Batman, _" Look right, look left, | look right again"_. | | https://youtu.be/_awciO_uFdc | stevesearer wrote: | Another benefit of regular walking is that you grow more | attentive and courteous to pedestrians when you are driving. | imoverclocked wrote: | So much this; It's really easy to be upset at others for not | conforming to your expectations in a car. Stepping into | another mode of transportation (walking/cycling/even a | different kind of motor-vehicle) can do a lot to expand your | awareness of others constraints. | chasd00 wrote: | watch the freaking turning lane like a hawk too. I got hit by a | police car, of all things, once because he was turning and just | didn't see me. I had to do the whole ninja roll across the hood | and off the other side. I wasn't injured too bad, just a sprung | wrist. | ketanmaheshwari wrote: | I would add that absolutely do not cross if a car has stopped | at a stop sign UNLESS you have an explicit signal from the | driver. Most drivers have an almost instinctual stop & go at | such stop signs and not in response to seeing a pedestrian. | Always wait for the driver to see you and have a nod with them | so you are sure they have stopped for you. | Zircom wrote: | My girlfriend used to smirk and roll her eyes at me when I | would stop and stare at drivers and wave to them when we | would cross in front of them at crosswalks and stop signs and | wait for them to wave back, until someone almost ran us over | the one time I didn't. Now she's a waver like me. | ensignavenger wrote: | And even then, you have to be careful of the cars behind | them. Was crossing at a cross walk once- the first car | stopped to let me cross- the car behind them swerved around | them and blew through the cross walk- at about the time I | would have been there, had I not been paying close attention | and stopped! | stjohnswarts wrote: | I always do this anyway. I figure if they're stopped I can be | decent and let them go, I'm usually not in any hurry when I'm | out walking, no reason to hold up the person in the car and | like you said it's much safer. | smm11 wrote: | Put one foot in front of the other. | sophacles wrote: | Pretty sure thats a good way to trip and fall. Need some | variation on the other axes too. | gandalfff wrote: | I've thought about incorporating such long walks into my | lifestyle but I'm not certain the benefits add up. Definitely a | fun idea though! | sleepdreamy wrote: | Elaborate on 'I'm not certain the benefits add up' | rootusrootus wrote: | My interpretation is that GP is observing that the benefits | do not scale linearly. Most of the exercise benefit happens | after a relatively short walk. The extra two hours a day for | a long walk is expensive in time, but doesn't multiply the | benefits 3x. | gandalfff wrote: | Exactly this! Thank you for explaining this better than I | did. | e_y_ wrote: | Walking is nice in that it's low-impact, although it's | probably much more time-efficient to do a shorter, higher | intensity exercise like running. (Saying this as someone | who primarily walks and never runs) | paulcole wrote: | He wants to have done it but needs an excuse to keep from | doing it. | iso1631 wrote: | Do you do any exercise at all? | gandalfff wrote: | Yes, I walk/run, but not this far. | pugworthy wrote: | Last year I used the CityStrides website to track and walk | every street in my town. All told about 385 miles or so. | | Some changes I've noticed since doing this are listed below. | Not that they are earth shattering, but just a few things I've | observed. | | * My resting heart rate fell by about 5 BPM. | | * I can now run and walk in my dreams and rarely have the "legs | in molasses" thing (if you know what I mean). | | * I now wear trail running shoes all the time - a total shift | from the old Birkenstock and whatever shoes I wore for years | before. | | * My town has a number of fun, curious little sidewalk | shortcuts between neighborhoods that I did not know about. They | aren't secret, just not obvious at all. | BiteCode_dev wrote: | 5bpm is earth shattering for longevity and general health. | gandalfff wrote: | These are good reasons! Thank you for the motivation. | stevesearer wrote: | Getting to know the area you live is a great reason to start | walking. | | One of my favorite things to find in Santa Barbara are old | concrete stamps marking which company/contractor poured that | section of sidewalk. Often these are 100+ years old. I've | currently found ~25-30 different ones. | mwint wrote: | > I can now run and walk in my dreams and rarely have the | "legs in molasses" thing | | I know exactly what you mean. That's fascinating that it went | away with more walking; maybe the brain is now better able to | "simulate" walking? ___________________________________________________________________ (page generated 2022-05-03 23:00 UTC)