Body of Work: Walk it off

http://shine.yahoo.com/channel/health/body-of-work-walk-it-off-276973/


by Anne Fitzgerald, Elastic Waist, on Thu Oct 2, 2008 7:35am PDT

It took a few days before I figured out what it was--why I felt so tired, why my legs were kind of sore, my ankles felt a little throbby, my butt was looking a little more taut, maybe, or that could have been wishful thinking, and I was so very, very tired all the time. The walking. All the walking I did. I haven't walked like that, and sometimes in four-inch heels, since, well, since I lived in a city where you can walk everywhere and to everything.

Bike riding is marvelous and it gets you everywhere quickly, but there is really nothing in the world like your own two feet, heaving your butt all the way through the world. There's a reason doctors recommend weight-bearing exercise as the most healthful and calorie burning, and that is because your carcass is a big damn chore to haul across the surface of the earth. Your legs have to not only pump and move and propel you forward, but they've also got to support you and keep you upright and balanced and provide finely tuned direction and steering. Your arms are there for stability and extra momentum, your ankles are taking on a lot of the weight and much of the steadying chores, and your shoulders are moving and your entire body is engaged in the process of throwing you forward and out into the world and up the hills and down the street and it is hard damn work.


Turn your typical walking workout into supercharged steps by adding a few smart strength moves.

I walked from the car when E dropped me off at the airport, through to the check-in terminals over to baggage and through the security line, down the concourse and from store to store, stocking up on supplies and trying to decide between magazines and a book, candy or chips or maybe both or maybe just pretzels or perhaps a bowl of soup and let's go back and check this store and oh, they're boarding and all the way back at a gallop to the gate, down the ramp and through the mysterious halls of the SLC airport and across the tarmac and up the stairs. Then a break, and all over again, out of the plane and up the ramp and through the airport to baggage claim, over and through the parking lot to the AirTrain to the BART, and then from BART to the MUNI, from the MUNI stop down a block and up a hill and over a block and up the stairs and through hugs and bouncing a baby and out the door for coffee and hanging out and shopping.

You walk a baby when the baby is fussy, through the living room and into the kitchen and back around through the bedroom and then you strap her into a baby sling and take her out around the block and out for more coffee and up to meet her daddy when he gets off the bus from work. You walk your bags out of the house, down the stairs, back down the hill to the train and off the train and up the escalator and then the stairs and into the hotel. You stand in line at check in, you walk over to the baggage check and then you walk back out the door and down the street to meet people you miss, then walk back to the hotel and then back out the door to the next destination, and the next and the next. (Just how many calories are you burning with all this walking? Find out here.)

You walk to all the coffee dates and all the parties and you walk around the parties. You walk to the corner to catch a cab, but then you spend the rest of your night on your feet, walking up and down the stairs, dodging other guests and thinking that your feet are like cumulus clouds swollen with pain and your knees ache and your hips haven't seen this much swiveling since college and maybe the human body wasn't designed to be this mobile and all you really want in the world is maybe a Segway or a piggyback ride and what the heck is going on, and oh, yeah, right, you haven't sat down for more than ten minutes at a time for a week and no wonder you are hungry every ten minutes.

It's good for me and healthy to be happy and mobile and up and about and full of energy, but all I can think about is how sitting on a plane for two solid hours, doing nothing at all, sounds like a beautiful dream, and then oh, how I will spend the rest of my week perfectly still and silent and at rest.

Related: 9 ways to avoid beating your feet