Fitness

Denise Austin Reveals Why Walking is Her “Best Medicine”— Plus How to Make Effective Workouts More Fun

Published

2 years ago

August 6, 2024

Denise Austin Reveals Why Walking is Her “Best Medicine”— Plus How to Make Effective Workouts More Fun

Improved heart health, lowered stress, stronger joints, happier moods…the benefits of walking are plentiful! Just ask fitness icon Denise Austin, who is a huge fan of daily walking for physical and mental health. “I am a true believer in walking,” Denise recently told FIRST in an interview for her July cover story. (You can watch a fun behind-the-scenes snippet from this photoshoot in the video above!) “Even if you just fit in a morning walk, you’ll get sunshine and movement — and it’s so good for your overall well-being.”

What’s more, recent research reveals you can multiply the benefits of walking by simply walking with loved ones. The fitness trend of “wellness walks” is popular right now — and they’re something Denise swears by. Keep reading for more easy walking tips! For additional expert workout tips, grab the latest summer issue of Denise’s Fit Over 50 magazine here or order a copy of her latest cover story in FIRST. And keep an eye out for the September 23 issue of FIRST, which features even more walking advice from Denise, and the surprising way you can power up your daily stroll to make it healthier!

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Denise Austin’s walking exercise tips

Denise’s go-to combination when it comes to walking: Walk and talk! “Walking is always the best medicine…period,” Denise tells FIRST. “It makes you feel good, keeps you fit and improves your mood. If you can get out for just 15 minutes in the morning, it sets your day up in a nice way.”

But to expand on these benefits even more, she says all you need to do is schedule a walk with a friend or loved one. “I’ll walk with my sisters, my friends. I also love walking with my daughters. We just walk and talk about everything. There’s a sense of freedom and camaraderie that comes from these group walks — and I love that!”

To find a walking or activity meet-up with people your own age, search for walking groups near you on local Facebook groups or on sites and apps like MeetUp. Or you can start your very own neighborhood group with friends and family! No friends nearby to walk with? Call a friend and chat while you stroll!

Denise Austin Q&A feat image for digital — Denise Austin and daughter Katie walk the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Runway in 2022Getty

The benefits of walking and talking

Walking and talking with your loved ones is more than just a good time — it’s actually study-proven to promote longevity. Research has shown that making friends and being social can be beneficial at any age, but it’s especially so in your golden years. In fact, in a study published in Frontiers in Psychology, researchers reviewed studies looking at the relationship between adult friendships and well-being and found that both are vital to our physical and mental health and overall longevity. Not only does socializing lower depression, anxiety and stress, it also boosts overall life satisfaction. And it can help you lose weight!

Denise uses these group walks as something social to look forward to each week. Her routine? “On Sundays, I call my sisters or my girlfriends to see who’s around for the upcoming week and then I schedule it. We all catch up on our long walks and it feels great,” she says. “I’m a big believer in friendship walks! It’s such a great bonding experience. When you’re out on a walk you just talk and I love it. The physical benefits of walking are so beneficial, but the mental benefits are just as impressive. I always say walking is gymnastics for the mind!”

Denise’s favorite walking shoes

Denise loves helping women look and feel their best. And her most recent venture taps right into her love of walking! “Collaborating with Easy Spirit on a line of fitness sneakers has been a great experience! The reason I chose Easy Spirit is because they care about women’s feet, they really think about comfort and they are affordable,” says Denise. “We had the best meetings with all the women designers prior to collaborating. Like me, they’ve done it for 40 years, and I just thought that was really cool. I even get to be a part of the design process where we sit and think about why a woman needs a good walking shoe! They make walking even more fun.” To check out Denise’s collection, visit EasySpirit.com.

For more information and wellness tips, pick up the summer issue of Fit Over 50 at grocery stores and on newsstands now!

Fitness

Put the fun back in your fitness routine with this 10-minute follow-along workout from The Curvy Girl Trainer Lacee Green

Published

9 hours ago

April 22, 2026

Press Room

Put the fun back in your fitness routine with this 10-minute follow-along workout from The Curvy Girl Trainer Lacee Green

Ever feel like beginner-friendly workouts are anything but?

That’s how BODi Super Trainer Lacee Green felt, so she devised a three-week, entry-level program designed for genuine newcomers to exercise—or those just getting back into it.

“My beginner-only plan is for every body and everybody,” Green tells Fit&Well.

Green’s program combines low-impact cardio, strength, core and mobility workouts for a total of five sessions a week and 30 minutes a day.

One of the routines she loves—that she says will provide a flavor of the plan—is a total-body cardio workout inspired by seven different sports.

“There is no repetition, it’s all bodyweight and super fun,” she says. “We do basketball, we do pickleball, we do soccer, and it’s really going to get your heart rate up.”

It will all count toward the CDC’s recommended 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity aerobic activity per week, while incorporating resistance training elements to strengthen your bones and muscles, she explains.

And Green has provided the full 10-minute routine below for you to try.

10-minute cardio workout for beginners

Press play on the video above and Green will guide you through the workout, or keep reading to see what’s in store.

Green’s 10-minute beginner-only cardio workout is inspired by seven different sports that she says will help channel your inner athlete.

Each sport links to an exercise during the routine. Follow the short warm-up, then perform each move for 40 seconds and rest for 20 seconds, for one round per sport.

In the video, another trainer demonstrates variations of each exercise so you can make it slightly more challenging as desired. The workout concludes with a short cool-down.

Here’s a brief breakdown of each exercise.

1. Basketball catch and shoot

Step to your side, then reach up into full extension as if shooting a three-pointer. Repeat by shuffling from side to side.

2. Quick football feet

Lower into a quarter squat with your feet wide apart and alternate quick stepping onto either foot. On Green’s cues, switch the direction you face from center to left and right.

3. Skater side-step

Step side to side as if skating, hitting an imaginary hockey stick across your body.

4. Soccer kick-up

Keeping light on your feet, hop from side to side as if juggling a football with your feet.

5. Pickleball shuffle

Lower into a half squat with your hands together in front of you. Keeping low, step or jump forward, then shuffle back to the start position.

6. Boxing jab cross

Stand side on with slightly bent knees and your guard up. Alternate throwing jabs with your left and right, switching your stance after 20 seconds.

7. Baseball squat to high plank

With your feet wide apart, lower into a deep squat with your hands up like a catcher. Place your hands on the floor and step back into a high plank, then back to the low squat.

About our expert

Lacee Green

Lacee Green is a BODi Super Trainer, certified personal trainer (CPT) and coach with more than 10 years of experience. She hosts a number of BODi on-demand fitness programs that are designed to challenge and motivate you while also providing a supportive and inclusive environment.

Fitness

Higher fitness levels linked to lower risk of depression, dementia – Harvard Health

Published

21 hours ago

April 21, 2026

Press Room

Higher fitness levels linked to lower risk of depression, dementia – Harvard Health

research review

People with high cardiorespiratory fitness were 36% less likely to experience depression and 39% less likely to develop dementia than those with low cardiorespiratory fitness. Even small improvements in fitness were linked to a lower risk. Experts believe that exercise’s ability to boost blood flow to the brain, reduce bodywide inflammation, and improve stress regulation may explain the connection.

Fitness

These 20-Minute Burpee Workouts Replaced His Entire Gym Routine – and Transformed His Physique

Published

1 day ago

April 21, 2026

Press Room

These 20-Minute Burpee Workouts Replaced His Entire Gym Routine – and Transformed His Physique

While many swear by them, most people see burpees as a form of punishment – usually dished out drill sergeant-style by overzealous bootcamp PTs. Often the final blow in an already brutal workout, burpees are designed to test cardiovascular fitness, muscular endurance and mental grit. Love them or loathe them, they deliver every time.

For Max Edwards – aka Busy Dad Training on YouTube – they became a simple but highly effective way to stay fit and lean during lockdown. Once a committed powerlifter, spending upwards of 80 minutes a day in the gym, he was forced to overhaul his approach due to fatherhood, lockdown and a schedule that no longer allowed for long, structured lifting sessions.

‘Even though I was putting in hours and hours into the gym and even though my physique was pretty good, I wasn’t becoming truly excellent at any physical discipline,’ he explained in a YouTube video.

‘I loved the intentionality of training,’ says Edwards. ‘The fact that every session has a point, every rep in every set is helping you get towards a training goal, and I loved that there was a clear way of gauging progression – feeling like I was developing competence and moving towards mastery.’

Why He Walked Away From Powerlifting

Despite that structure, Edwards began to question whether powerlifting was sustainable long-term.

‘My sessions were very taxing on my central nervous system. I was exhausted between sessions. It felt as if I needed at least nine hours of sleep each night just to function.’

He also noted that his appetite was consistently high.

But the biggest drawback was time.

‘I could not justify taking 80 minutes a day away from my family for what felt like a self-centred pursuit,’ he says.

A Simpler Approach That Stuck

‘Over the course of that year I fixed my relationship with alcohol and I developed, for the first time in my adult life, a relationship with physical training,’ says Edwards.

With limited time and no access to equipment, he turned to burpees. Just two variations, four times a week, with each session lasting 20 minutes.

‘My approach in each workout was very simple. On a six-count training day I would do as many six-counts as I possibly could within 20 minutes. On a Navy Seal training day I would do as many Navy Seal burpees as I could within 20 minutes – then in the next workout I would simply try to beat the number I had managed previously.’

This style of training is known as AMRAP – as many reps (or rounds) as possible.

The Results

Edwards initially saw the routine as nothing more than a six-month stopgap to stay in shape. But that quickly changed.

‘I remember catching sight of myself in the mirror one morning and I was utterly baffled by the man I saw looking back at me.’

He found himself in the best shape of his life. His energy levels improved, his resting heart rate dropped and his physique changed in ways that powerlifting hadn’t quite delivered.

‘It has been five years since I have set foot in a gym,’ he says. ‘That six-month training practice has become the defining training practice of my life – and for five years I have trained for no more than 80 minutes per week.’

The Burpee Workouts

1/ 6-Count Burpees

20-minute AMRAP, twice a week

How to do them:

Start standing, feet shoulder-width apart
Crouch down and place your hands on the floor (count 1)
Jump your feet back into a high plank (count 2)
Lower into the bottom of a push-up (count 3)
Push back up to plank (count 4)
Jump your feet forward to your hands (count 5)
Stand up straight (count 6)

20-minute AMRAP, twice a week

How to do them:

Start standing, feet shoulder-width apart
Crouch down and place your hands on the floor
Jump your feet back into a high plank
Perform a push-up (chest to floor)
At the top, bring your right knee to your right elbow, then return
Perform another push-up
Bring your left knee to your left elbow, then return
Perform a third push-up
Jump your feet forward
Stand or jump to finish

Kate is a fitness writer for Men’s Health UK where she contributes regular workouts, training tips and nutrition guides. She has a post graduate diploma in Sports Performance Nutrition and before joining Men’s Health she was a nutritionist, fitness writer and personal trainer with over 5k hours coaching on the gym floor. Kate has a keen interest in volunteering for animal shelters and when she isn’t lifting weights in her garden, she can be found walking her rescue dog.