Walking is not fitness, but it is important.

I am going to lay out this title clear and simple, then fill in the blanks. Walking is a behavior of daily life that has become obsolete in the last century. Just like drinking water and eating, walking is an essential part of human existence. Our DNA and health rely on us moving often throughout our day, but the modern world has removed it. This has contributed to an untold number of people with metabolic and orthopedic disease as we see today. (Check out Part 2 next month to learn more).

Why doesn’t walking improve fitness?

The definition of fitness in CrossFit is increased work capacity across broad times and modal domains. Capacity is the ability to do real work that is measured by physics (force, distance, and time). While walking is great (which we’ll explain in Part 2 next month), it will minimally improve your fitness compared to running, squats, presses, throwing, and pulling. Why bully walking? Because the U.S. guidelines for physical activity state that 150 minutes per week of moderate-intensity aerobic activity is the goal to be a healthy American (21 minutes of walking per day).  

The European mind couldn’t fathom this statistic since they get 30 minutes before arriving to work in the morning.

I have coached countless people at this point looking to be healthier and a common theme that I’ve seen is someone using a 20 minute evening walk as a “workout”. I have also seen CrossFitters do 6 workouts a week but never clear 4,000 steps per day because they feel like they already got their workout in.

The solution? We need both fitness and walking. We need to become a person that enjoyably walks 10,000+ steps per day, every day, and trains a few times per week to improve our work capacity across broad times and model domains.

Walking is a wonderful low-intensity activity that benefits the body orthopedically and metabolically. Casual walking all throughout our day is an essential human behavior.

Next month, I will further define the differences in walking and training as well as highlight the profound benefits of daily walking. Here is a challenge for you – Look at your smart watch or phone to find your daily step count and aim to increase it by 25% each day (if you are at 6,000 currently, aim for 7,500). Explore different hobbies and daily habits that reduce your sedentary time and increase your walking. Stay tuned!