A really common problem people come to me with is, “Mark, I know I should be walking a lot more than I do, but my problem is I just find walking boring. I can’t shake the idea that it’s a waste of time, that it’s not efficient, that I could be exercising in a more intense way or being productive in some other manner. Is there any way I can feel good about walking and make it fun and interesting?”
Sure. I’d say the easiest way to make walking more interesting is to walk in interesting places. I never hear about anyone being bored when they’re traveling or walking through Prague or Mexico City or any of the great walkable cities of this earth. No, I’m not saying you have to travel to Istanbul every time you want to go for a nice walk, but maybe drive 10 or 15 minutes to get to a place that’s a little more interesting. Explore a different part of your city. Find the downtown area with lots of shops and cafés you can stop in along the way. I would say whatever is interesting to you aesthetically and visually, go find that and then walk around there.
Walking is a lot more interesting when you have someone with you and you’re having a good conversation. So I would say maybe schedule once or twice a week a standing walking date with your significant other, your friend, your mom, or your kid. Basically just go on frequent walks with other people that you find interesting, get along well with, and have a good rapport with. It’s a great way to spend quality time and also tap into new conversational avenues.
I love using walking while working. I find it an incredible creative enhancer. I just bring my phone, open the Notes app, turn on dictation, and talk while I walk. In fact, I do a decent amount of my writing this way. This works even if you’re not a writer. If you’re a creative or a problem solver of some kind, which I think most people in the professional world are, you might as well do it on a walk. And you might as well do it out loud. It’s amazing what verbalization unlocks, and it’s amazing how walking increases your ability to unlock things through talking and dictation.
You can turn your walking into more of an exercise. The classic way is to put on a weight vest or rucksack to increase the resistance and difficulty. Or try walking faster. Do what they call a power walk, where you are walking as fast as you can without it becoming a jog. It can be a fantastic workout. Walking faster is accessible anywhere. There’s no equipment required at all. You just need to dig deep and decide to walk really fast.
Maybe my favorite way to make walking more interesting is to do so barefoot or in minimalist shoes. The whole reason why I started Peluva was to create a shoe that I loved and that would allow me to have the richest possible walking experience. People don’t realize—well, maybe you guys do, but many don’t—that the feet are some of the most sensitive, nerve-rich parts of the body. Those nerve endings are there to detect, gather, and distribute information about the ground to the rest of the body in order to optimize the kinetic chain. The texture you feel, the subtle changes in topographical structure, the elevation, the rocks underfoot, everything serves to inform your ability to walk and move and locomote. That’s all well and good, but walking in minimalist shoes or barefoot is also just a really interesting way to experience the world.
Another way you can make walking more interesting is to take the inefficient route on purpose. Instead of taking the straight shot to your destination, instead of making your walk as easy as possible, make it hard. Choose a path with elevation gain, fallen trees to climb over, or foliage to navigate through. Take the route that's a lot longer than the one the maps app is telling you to take.
Ultimately walking is something you can do while doing all sorts of other interesting things. Think of walking as the canvas and you as the artist. What are you going to create?
