Walking for your fitness and health

Walking for your fitness. We have all done Christmas; some may still be planning our New Year resolutions. But if fitness is one of them, then why not just get walking?  The greatest thing about walking is that it is free.

They say we need to do 10,000 steps a day, but if you have an office job, that is a tall target and all the more reason for making good use of the weekend.

Heading out of Winter and then into Spring is one of my favourite times at the coast, As long as it is dry, you can wrap up warm and if you are like me and have a dog then most beaches allow dogs.

Brancaster dog friendly beach, Norfolk

Walking for fitness

Reading magazines at this time of year is all about diets, weight loss programmes, expensive gym memberships or the latest workout trends. But to me, although I am no fitness or nutrition expert, it is all about good life balance.

You need to eat a balanced diet and take reasonable actions to exercise, where exercise can be just a brisk 30-minute walk. Depending on how fast you walk, you can burn up to 150 calories in these 30 minutes.

Some other advantages of walking are that it less impacts your body than running and the most essential point is that you have time to think and take in the surroundings.

Coast walking

The time walking gives you to look at and take in your surroundings is where our coast comes in. Most of us can quickly get to the coast for the day. A short train or car journey will get you exploring if you are in London, Birmingham or Manchester.

Family Beach Walks

As well as the fitness aspects, walking is a great activity for the whole family. What you undertake is dependent on the age makeup of your family:

  • You will not walk miles with young children, but a better option is beachcombing or searching the rockpools. Although you don’t cover the distance, you will burn a lot of energy. Why not check out our beachcombing tips?
  • If you have teenagers, then although beachcombing is a great activity, you can explore a larger area from the coast path. Why not track down some remote small bays and coves?
  • If you have no kids, then a brisk coast path walk to a pub or beach cafe is a good idea. However, you would need the healthy option not to waste the effort just undertaken.

Where to go

The UK coastline is so diverse you will be surprised by what you can discover. All too often, we like to visit places we have been to before or where we have memories, but think every UK Beach needs to be seen for the first time for it to become a favourite!

UK Beaches Map

I would suggest checking out our coast map and looking for the closest stretch of the coast. Once a rough area has been found, then scan the areas just along from the main seaside towns. I am sure you will be surprised at just what you can discover.

Overall, walking is a simple and effective way to improve your fitness and health, and it can be easily incorporated into a visit to the coast or when exploring UK beaches.

Why not create a New Years’ resolution to visit a new coastal location every month? Walking for fitness does not have to be tiresome.

Why not drop your visits and photos on our Facebook page?