Local author and founder of 'Walx', Gill Stewart tells Love It Local about her new book
Gill Stewart is a walking expert, fitness professional and founder of the local business WALX. We asked her to tell us about her new book, ‘Walk This Way.’
‘Walking to work, around the shops or perhaps along the beach are all things we might do without a second thought. Many of us also enjoy walking or hiking for pleasure or to exercise our pets BUT it is easy to underestimate the true value of walking.
It is often not until we find it difficult perhaps due to achy joints or poor balance that we begin to realise just how wonderful it is to be able to step out with confidence.
'Walk this way' explains how to add value to your walks
Although we do associate walking with being active, it is often dismissed as a valuable way to exercise. Surely, it’s better to run and get a sweat on? The answer to that is a resounding NO! Running is great for CV and leg exercise but less effective for good posture, gait or upper body mobility. For many of us it is also better to walk before you can run because walking can be surprisingly effective – if you know how to add some oomph!
It is easy to add strength, balance and functional movement to walking and mix the pace into ‘intervals’ to make it a powerful CV workout too. Studies show that walking briskly is proven to ward off dementia and other life shortening conditions and as the NHS advises adults to perform strength exercises at least twice a week it makes sense to add these elements to a daily walk especially as they will boost weight loss too. At WALX we call this ‘total body walking’
Of course, we also advocate using poles as these provide the same workout as a cross trainer in gym whilst also reducing the strain on knees and hips. Whether you want to ‘exercise’ or not, poles will help you walk further and faster with better posture (if you use them correctly). They are also a great way to get back into or to continue walking after joint replacement, illness or if balance becomes an issue.
Finally, the power of walking is not all about fitness or activity levels – it’s great for the mind too, so we often like to slow the pace and connect with nature, perform mindful drills or yoga poses on our wellness walks and being in a social group is equally rewarding.
Discover fun ways to add more to a walk!
In my new book WALK THIS WAY, there are chapters on walking for health, fitness, connecting with nature and mindfulness plus tips on how to walk ‘well’ and use poles. There are also hundreds of fun ways to add more to a walk from foraging to star gazing! Our groups around the UK deliver all of these plus more so why not discover total body walking yourself this spring?’
Gills book which is published by BLOOMSBURY press is due out this May in time for National walking month.
Available to pre order now on Amazon – link to Amazon page
