I don't drive. I walk everywhere (combined with public transport for longer distances). I don't think it's a super power as such, but it does keep me relatively fit with little intentional effort. Going from A to B just includes an incidental light workout. Gives me time to think, to unwind, sometimes to read. Can recommend it to pretty much everyone. Some things might take a little longer, but if you have to dick around on HN or watch Netflix, you have time to walk to places.
<i>1.</i> Some actual research:<p>“More steps taken per day are associated with lower mortality rates until approximately 7500 steps/d”<p><a href="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamainternalmedicine/fullarticle/2734709?guestAccessKey=c46927fc-b021-43a6-a43d-26eb90ee54b7&utm_source=For_The_Media&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=ftm_links&utm_content=tfl&utm_term=052919" rel="nofollow">https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamainternalmedicine/fullar...</a><p><i>2.</i> As the gyms are closed down here, again, and indoor dining is shut down, again, I have been walking at least 6 miles a day with the dog, and it has been a sanity-preserving way to get away from working at home.<p><i>(Not looking forward to the first slushy/icy storm, though. Both the dog and I hate walking in boots.)</i>
When some types of athletes need to drop weight, one of the strategies they do is to walk at a normal-brisk pace for hours until they hit a certain number of estimated calories burned. The reason they walk is that it has a much lower risk of injury and puts less stress on the body than most other forms of cardio exercise (perhaps excepting a stationary bike) and our bodies are good at naturally finding a pace we can sustain ~indefinitely.<p>It feels like a bit of a hack when you go for a 2hr walk and end up burning almost 800kcal listening to music, talking to people on the phone, maybe taking care of chores like paying bills.
A possibly related phenomenon I read recently about: profound isolation, especially in Antarctica, seems to interfere with the hippocampus, which relates to spatial navigation and memory. So regions in the brain associated with walking are also related to important cognitive functions.<p>The article discusses whether long-term isolation due to Covid will have similar effects: [1]<p>[1] <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/video/what-research-in-antarctica-tells-us-about-the-science-of-isolation/" rel="nofollow">https://www.scientificamerican.com/video/what-research-in-an...</a>
I've been walking 2-5 miles every day for the last 7 or so years. This is walking outside with no set destination and no electronics.<p>I wouldn't describe it as being a superpower, but I do find it to be relaxing.<p>My sense of direction is pretty bad tho, especially in unfamiliar places. I recently discovered a new trail system and while I didn't get "lost lost", there were times where I thought for sure I was going back to where I wanted to but I ended up going in the opposite direction.<p>But at the same time, when I walk around areas I've been to I can pick out very specific details, almost like recreating a map in my head but I think this has more to do with repetition and practice that would apply to everyone. If you've walked around a place literally 1,000 times you're bound to pick this stuff up. I'm sure it will happen for me in those trails with enough practice too.<p>With that said I know someone who doesn't walk at all and is one of those people who can drive to somewhere in an unfamiliar place once and then know exactly how to get there months or even years later. I'm not convinced walking by itself improves your internal GPS.
Six years ago I weighed in at 265 pounds with a 44-inch waist. To make a change I decided to start walking nightly. Began taking my dogs with me for encouragement (perhaps the thing dogs are best at), and eventually settled on a route that covered almost exactly two miles with some good hills to get the heart rate up. Today the dogs no longer come with me because they have grown too old to keep up. My weight is down to 215 and my waist to 36" and the nightly walk is such an ingrained habit that I feel like a complete slug if I can't take it for some reason.
Walking makes me anxious. It's just too slow and makes me feel stuck in a place. Cycling, however, has the opposite effect. It allows me to move around quickly and effortlessly, it gives a a sense of freedom and just melts any anxiety away.
What’s with the walking vs owning a car? They are in no way mutually exclusive. I walked about three hours yesterday and it was easy (and I own a car too). I download things from YouTube I don’t need to watch and just start walking/hiking.<p>You will burn anywhere from 75-200 calories/mile walking/hiking. I did like 14 miles yesterday. I will take weight off of you or allow you to eat whatever you want the easiest vs perceived exertion.<p>Side benefit, the world is strange and people are weird and you get a good dose of that. Saw a ground squirrel running down a trail carrying a severed rabbits head the other day, fun!
Would be nice if there was any concrete evidence backing up this "superpower" since this article is more or less just an interview.
I would love to compare the benefits of walking to HIT exercises, or perhaps even a rowing machine..
I agree with a caveat: walking posture. If walking feels tiring or
unpleasant it’s likely that one doesn’t have a good walking posture. I’ve been walking wrong a big chunk of my life until I re-learned the right way, in my 40s! It’s wonderful to walk now and don’t get tired and achy like i used to. Bad habits get so ingrained in us that it becomes extremely tricky to correct them but it is very possible to fix these and the reward very high, I have a better posture, more energy and am better in a shape than when i was younger and any back issues i had nearly vanished.
Well walking gives you time to think, reflect and it's excercise all in one. The problem I have is that it takes a lot of time if you want to walk to somewhere useful to combine things..
> <i>plenty of regular walking unlocks the cognitive powers of the brain like nothing else</i><p>This view implies not walking is normal and walking is something you can go out of your way to do to improve on normal.<p>I prefer viewing walking as normal and not walking as aberrant, so I would say "not walking destroys cognitive powers of the brain like nothing else."<p>People are free to define normal how they want. I find my way motivates more walking and less sedentariness.
This has been the worst thing for me about suddenly working from home, the sudden loss of my daily commute and lunchtime walks that had a purpose and couldn't be skipped. It took me far too long to realise the damage this sudden reduction had on my body, not just my fitness, but also things like circulation. I've been trying to factor in more intentional walking into my day, but somehow it's not the same as walking with a purpose.<p>I'm getting there, but forming new habits can be surprisingly hard, especially when family commitments get in the way.
I am not sure there are any super powers from walking. But it makes me feel better I am certain of that. And it gets me away from the keyboard for a bit. That cannot be bad.
I have a total of 45 mins walk for my commute. When I started, I had my wife pick me up by car in the evening because I was exausted after a long day. After a few months, I was enjoying my walks and being able to unwind with no effort. It definitely improves your fitness.
in NYC i would try to walk everywhere. just a great time in the morning and back home to contemplate diff things or work through solutions. now w/ covid i'm out of the city and in the burbs temporarily, but thankfully there's a park nearby that i can stroll too.<p>one thing that was interesting was that i had traveled to another country a few months after NYC went to lockdown (so i was basically inside all day). after 2 weeks in quarantine i walked around the new city for the whole day and was suuper sore the next day, which surprised me. i think we take for granted the benefits of it.