{"id":246,"date":"2015-06-12T11:45:48","date_gmt":"2015-06-12T10:45:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cccumovemore.wordpress.com\/?p=246"},"modified":"2019-02-07T10:40:46","modified_gmt":"2019-02-07T10:40:46","slug":"the-joy-of-walking-to-work","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.canterbury.ac.uk\/christchurchsport\/the-joy-of-walking-to-work\/","title":{"rendered":"The Joy of Walking to Work"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tip: Walk or cycle to university<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

We\u2019re told we need to be more active and one of the simplest and most effective forms of exercise is walking. There are so many benefits to be gained from walking<\/a>: reduced risk of heart disease and other major illnesses, improved mental health, not forgetting your daily dose of Vitamin D from exposure to sunlight.<\/p>\n

So walking as part or all of your commute is the obvious solution to a whole range of issues.<\/p>\n

I choose to walk to work three times a week. It\u2019s about 4 miles each way\u2013 a bit more than I\u2019ve been used to in previous jobs \u2013 and it takes me just over an hour. Some people gawp at that distance and see it as a waste of time, but I see it differently.<\/p>\n

Being outside and connecting with nature<\/h3>\n

I\u2019ve found a route to work that is nearly all off-road.\u00a0 It takes me along a river and through orchards. Being outside you come across things all the time, and because you\u2019re walking you\u2019re able to stop and take it in. At the moment I\u2019m noticing the birds, especially the sound of cuckoos in the morning. And I\u2019ve come across foxes, frogs, snakes and interesting insects. I pass the apple blossoms in spring and I see the fruit harvest in the autumn.<\/p>\n

Even in mid- winter, walking home in pitch darkness, on clear nights I get to enjoy looking up at the night sky.\"\"<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Switching off and on<\/h3>\n

Apart from crossing the odd road, I don\u2019t need to concentrate at all.\u00a0 I can switch off and daydream, think through any problems, or listen to podcasts and entertain myself or learn something new.\u00a0 The exercise means I arrive at work more awake and alert and ready to start the day.\u00a0 And going home, however weary I start out, I always find the walk both refreshes and unwinds me and I arrive home relaxed for the evening.<\/p>\n

I hardly ever get stressed \u2013 I attribute that in large part to the walking.<\/p>\n

All truly great thoughts are conceived by walking.<\/em>\u00a0 Friedrich Nietzsche<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Saving Time<\/h3>\n

Although walking takes longer than commuting by car, I arrive home having had plenty of exercise so I don\u2019t feel the need to rush out and try and fit in a workout in the evening. For me, commuting on foot is the most efficient and pleasant use of my time.<\/p>\n

And of course, I never get bothered by traffic jams, construction work, delays on the railways, rail strikes etc. I can basically guarantee I will get to work on time.<\/p>\n

All weathers<\/h3>\n

Right now it\u2019s perfect for walking \u2013 bright and sunny, but not too hot.\u00a0 But I walk in all weathers. If it\u2019s wet, I just use an umbrella and some decent waterproofs and carry a change of clothes with me.\u00a0 There\u2019s actually something quite satisfying about coming indoors after being out walking in bad weather.<\/p>\n

There is no such thing as bad weather, only inappropriate clothing.<\/em> — Sir Rannulph Fiennes<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

And it must do my circulation good too.\u00a0 When I get to work in winter, while everyone else is feeling the cold, I\u2019m the one going round turning off all the radiators and opening the windows.<\/p>\n

No Cost<\/h3>\n

Saving money was not part of my decision to walk to work. But of course, walking means I don\u2019t spend any money at all<\/em> on my commute. No petrol or parking costs, no train or bus fares. And there\u2019s no cost to the environment either \u2013 zero car emissions and zero carbon footprint. The only cost is the extra food required to cover the 500 or so calories I use up. But then again, many people spend<\/em> money to go to the gym to burn up those calories, so I still think I\u2019m the winner there.<\/p>\n

Overall?<\/h3>\n

I\u2019ve always liked walking in my spare time, so walking to work means I\u2019m combining my leisure activity with my commute.<\/p>\n

I can thoroughly recommend walking to work.\u00a0 I\u2019m fitter and\u00a0 healthier both in mind and body.<\/p>\n

If I could not walk far and fast, I think I should just explode and perish<\/em>. — Charles Dickens<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Even if you live far away from your workplace, if you opt for public transport you\u2019ll still enjoy some of the benefits by walking to the bus stop or train station.<\/p>\n

And right now is the perfect time to try.\u00a0 Until 10th<\/sup> July, if you sign up to the Kent Smarter Travel Challenge<\/a> and log your active commute, you\u2019ll not only feel healthier, but you could win a prize!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Tip: Walk or cycle to university<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":116870,"featured_media":2138,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[626],"tags":[618,754,622,393,666,630],"class_list":["post-246","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-move-more","tag-be-still-less","tag-commute","tag-health","tag-move-more","tag-walking","tag-wellbeing"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"authorName":"James Cook","featuredImage":"https:\/\/blogs.canterbury.ac.uk\/christchurchsport\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/526\/2019\/02\/walk-to-work.jpg","postExcerpt":"Tip: Walk or cycle to university","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.canterbury.ac.uk\/christchurchsport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/246","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.canterbury.ac.uk\/christchurchsport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.canterbury.ac.uk\/christchurchsport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.canterbury.ac.uk\/christchurchsport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/116870"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.canterbury.ac.uk\/christchurchsport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=246"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.canterbury.ac.uk\/christchurchsport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/246\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2653,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.canterbury.ac.uk\/christchurchsport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/246\/revisions\/2653"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.canterbury.ac.uk\/christchurchsport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2138"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.canterbury.ac.uk\/christchurchsport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=246"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.canterbury.ac.uk\/christchurchsport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=246"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.canterbury.ac.uk\/christchurchsport\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=246"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}