Maybe it’s because of its simplicity and unsexiness that it doesn’t sell a ton of books. Or make splashing headlines in the newspapers. Or lead to sexy Instagram posts. And maybe that’s why I am so drawn to recommending a daily walk for fat loss.
Let’s explore why even a seemingly insignificant 20 minute daily walk can lead to serious result over the course a year. Since I am known to making obvious more obvious than necessary, I’ll dig deeper than obviously necessary.
Breaking this 20 minute average into a weekly habit could be any of the following scenarios:
- Two 70 minute walks
- Three 46 minute walks
- Four 35 minute walks
- Five 28 minute walks
- Six 24 minute walks
- Seven 20 minute walks (duh)
What does this daily 20 minutes add up to in a year?
20 minutes x 365 days = 121 hours 40 minutes.
Just over five full days walking from sunrise to sunrise. That’s 1.37% of the entire year for those of you who love knowing percentages. I know I do.
How much distance could we cover over the course of a year?
According to Google Maps, the average walking speed is 4.82km per hour. That’s over 586km of distance we could cover in a year if we walk by Google’s conservative walk speed estimates.
Now, let’s say you’re like me and prefer a slightly faster walk. Still staying on the more conservative side (we’re not running anywhere here) so let’s settle on a speed of 6km per hour.
Over the course of a year, that’s 730km. Now, because this is interesting, let’s get a bit better idea of the distance by putting it in context.
Where could we go with 730km?
- The 7 Bridges Walk (28km) in Sydney 26 times
- A conservative estimate of 100 Bondi to Coogee Walks (6km)
- A 186km short of getting from the Sydney Opera House to Melbourne Square. But with only 20 minutes of walking a day, I’m sure we could pick up the pace to make the difference.
- A return trip from the Sydney Opera House to the Parliament House in Canberra (620km). And another four 7 Bridges Walks once back in Sydney. Although, why you’d decide to go to Canberra is another thing altogether.
- Three and a half return trips to The Three Sisters lookout in the Blue Mountains (214km), again leaving from the Opera House
- Crossing the Airbus A350 wingspan (64.75m) 11 274 times
Ok, I’ll stop there. I think we all got the idea.
What would happen with your fat loss goals if you could do this for a year?
When combined with reasonable eating habits, a small daily walk routine could be all one needs when trying to shed some unwanted kilograms. Add few strength training sessions a week for lean muscle and you’re set.
Or, maybe we should all walk daily to boost up cardiovascular fitness and not get fat. Whatever. But apparently it’s good for us. I probably wouldn’t use that mileage to go to Canberra though. As lovely as it is in there.