The Value of Low-Impact Exercise

I hate exercise. I mean, I love getting out and getting active, but I dread getting out and going to the gym. Staring at a wall while lifting weights is just not something that appeals to me. My goal with working out has always been to maintain a healthy lifestyle, while staying in shape so that I can maintain a certain physical appearance. I am going to be honest: those have always been my goals. While other people may enjoy going to the gym for hours on end and bulking, I simply want to go and get the results I want that lead me to live a healthy and longer life. 

I have tried to adapt to the “gym girly” lifestyle, but over multiple years of trial and error, I have realized that walking is so much better than high-impact exercise. I get so bored sitting inside of a dark gym with music blaring and people sweating on top of one another. I prefer to go outside, get some sun and enjoy nature. I believe it is important for one’s mental health to get out of the spaces one is constantly in and to be with the elements. As cringey and walnut-mom as it sounds, going outside has truly helped me. Especially in adjusting to the college lifestyle, I am not used to this level of constant high-pressure work, so I often find myself just wanting to walk in circles outside to let loose and clear my head. 

Waking up sore and having to trek over to West Campus for my 8:30 a.m. class is not a feeling I ever desire having in college, and I feel that walking gives me way more room for improvement on my health. I also feel like the hours are way more flexible. Most high-impact exercise requires gym equipment, so it has been hard fitting my schedule around the gym hours. Walking has no schedule, and you can decide to take a walk whenever you feel that you need it. I feel that walking is a better fit for the stressed college student that is looking for a way to release some energy during the day but also to maintain a healthy lifestyle. 

According to a study conducted at Harvard University, walking “helps to boost energy levels by releasing certain hormones like endorphins and delivering oxygen throughout the body.” Thus, walking leads to a happier lifestyle because it allows us to release the endorphins we need while also bettering our bodies. Our bodies need to be outside in order to function, fresh air and oxygen are what we thrive on. As students at Villanova, we spend a lot of time in the Reading Room and the Connelly Center, but when we are walking just for fun with no purpose, we are spending well-needed time outside. 

Additionally, as someone with chronic back and joint pain due to plantar fasciitis, it is hard to find high-impact exercises that aren’t painful after a few reps. Walking, with the correct sneakers, allows for me to get in exercise without it feeling painful. I think this is why I have always hated high impact exercise, because for my body, the pain outweighs the reward. I do not see the purpose in torturing myself when there is a better alternative that helps me to get to the goals I have set for myself. 

“I prefer weightlifting because I enjoy building my physical strength and improving my lifts,” senior and Girl Gains Club member Kena Ruggia said. “I still walk, but I feel I wouldn’t personally be as satisfied walking for an hour as I feel when I lift for an hour.”  

Some students on campus, including Ruggia, prefer the high-impact workouts because for them they feel as if they are getting more out of their workout and are gaining energy from the exercise. I see where these ideas come from because growing up playing sports that involved this kind of exercise, I understand the energy boost that can come from performing at this physical level. However, I still believe that walking around the campus is more enjoyable than sitting in the Davis Center or the Stanford Gym for an hour working out. I get way more out of walking miles than performing exercises that I dread and leave me not wanting to get up in the morning. So, I will continue to put on my walking shoes and leave my gym sneakers in the corner.