Only 50% of middle age adult manage more than 1 brisk 10 min walk a month.

Well I'm going to force myself to go for a walk this pm. I've nothing much to do so will give it a go. It'll feel like COVID times again. Not a good feeling.

Get a dog. You have to walk twice a day whatever the weather. It has really helped my lungs

Nvella

Get a dog. You have to walk twice a day whatever the weather. It has really helped my lungs

…not if you get a greyhound or a whippet…

We're a cat household. Not a good home for a dog.

Just back from my promised walk. It was awful. No sooner had I started than my hips hurt. I got all out of breath and sweaty on the two hills included in my walk round the block. It was very boring and to cap it all off, although it felt like ages it only took 20 minutes!

Drive to somewhere flat and full of flowers, with a nice cafe, Aveline. Walk gently around for fifteen minutes or so, smelling the flowers and listening to the birds, then get a reviving cup of coffee in the cafe, avoiding the display of cakes if possible, then drive home again. I'd suggest Saughton Park (the car park is near the cafe, so not far to return to the car, and the gardens are nice)

The are lots of other little parks in town, and many of them have cafes.

When I have a hospital appointment, I’m always surprised at the number of overweight nursing staff, considering they are walking about most of the day, but presumably other factors are at work…

My son calls me ‘fattist’, but we do have too many overweight younger people these days, never mind middle aged. I shouldn’t comment as I need to take more exercise but food isn’t a weakness for me, whilst a comfy chair and a good book are.
I walk in the local sand dunes, treading sand is hard work and have a list of pop songs I throw myself round too, even ballet music!
Nevertheless, I need to be more active. Driving leads to laziness whilst my mother, not driving, walked far more and left my sister behind when out walking on holidays.

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Nine years ago I broke a vertebra. Recovery was painful but I was told to keep moving regardless of the pain. I walked for at least half an hour again and eventually got a little rescue dog to ensure I got even more exercise.

Nine years later I am still walking daily. Recent heart tests following a bit of a scare show that there is only minor damage to one artery and I am generally ok heart wise at 75. No one on either side of my family has lived past 72, all dying mostly from strokes and heart attacks.

I could just be lucky, but I am inclined to think it's down to daily exercise come rain or shine.

Elegran I was at Saughton Park on Monday. It is, indeed, a lovely place to visit. Cafe packed with Grans too!

I think my parents-in-law would have fit into the category of walking less than 10 minutes a month. Both had mainly sedentary jobs and drove to wherever they were going. Now they both have severe mobility problems and one is a wheelchair user outside the home.

My husband is a regular runner, and in spite of bone-on-bone arthritis in both my knees and ankles I walk every day and on Tuesdays I join a walking group.

Use it or lose it is my motto.