If you walk every day, you have already taken the first step toward a healthier life through one of the simplest forms of physical activity.

Walking can be done almost anywhere, anytime. You don't need an expensive equipment, complex workout regime or spending hours in a gym. A brisk walk around your neighborhood can increase your physical activity and contribute to the aerobic activity recommended for adults.

But if want to stay physically capable as you age, there is another question worth asking:

What does walking train, and what does it leave out?

Daily walk can help you build aerobic fitness and maintain an active lifestyle. It does not, by itself, train every physical quality you may want to maintain with age.

That distinction matters if you want your fitness to support the things you plan to keep doing for years to come.

Why walking is a healthy habit as you age

Walking is often easier to continue as compared to other forms of exercise. That matters because a physical activity routine only helps if you can continue doing it.

The U.S. Physical Activity Guidelines recommend that adults accumulate at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity each week, with additional activity providing further health benefits. Brisk walking can count toward that weekly aerobic target.

Walking also gives you a practical way to increase your daily movement. You can walk before work, after dinner, during a lunch break, or as part of your normal routine. Setting aside a significant amount of time is not always necessary.

If you are not very active. Increasing walking gradually can be a useful way to become more active, and if you already walk regularly, you have a solid habit to build on.

How much walking should you do?

There isn't one step count that everyone needs to hit.

You may have heard that 10,000 steps a day is the magic number for health and longevity. In reality, research has found health associations across a range of daily step counts, and the amount of activity associated with benefit can vary between individuals and studies.

You may have heard that walking 10,000 steps a day is the key to long life and good health. In reality, a variety of daily step counts have been linked to health benefits, and the degree of activity linked to these benefits might differ between people and studies. Your starting point matters.

People walking 3,000 steps a day don’t necessarily need to suddenly start walking 10,000 steps. Increasing activity gradually may be a more realistic approach.

Likewise, someone already walking 8,000 or 10,000 steps every day may get more from improving other aspects of fitness than from simply trying to add another few thousand steps.

The useful question is not only:

"How many steps should I take?"

It is also:

"What physical abilities do I want my training to maintain?"

Walking and cardiovascular fitness

Walking becomes more challenging when you spend more time on your feet, increase your pace or walk uphill.

A brisk walk can raise your heart rate and contribute to your weekly aerobic activity. This can be really helpful for people who want a manageable way to work on cardiovascular fitness.

But cardiovascular fitness is only one part of physical fitness.

Think about what happens when you get out of a chair, carry groceries, climb stairs, pick something up from the floor, or step over an obstacle. Those movements require more than the ability to walk for 30 or 60 minutes. They require strength, coordination, balance, mobility, and control.

Walking can support your aerobic fitness while other forms of training address those additional demands.

What walking doesn't train well

This is where many walking routines reach their natural limit.

Walking involves a lot of repetitive motion with little resistance. Because of this, it can be used to increase physical activity without placing as much strain on your muscles as resistance training.

If you want to develop greater core strength, you need to give your muscles a reason to produce more force. Similarly, If you are looking to improve balance, you need activities that challenge balance.

If you have limited mobility in a specific joint, simply increasing your walking may not treat the underlying cause.

This does not make walking any less useful.

It simply means that walking has a certain purpose in your entire fitness regimen.

Let walking be your walking workout. Don't expect it to do the job of every other type of fitness training.

Walking and strength training serve different purposes

As you become older, this distinction becomes particularly relevant.

A person can be capable of walking several miles while still having difficulty getting up from a low chair, carrying a heavy object, climbing stairs, or performing other movements that require greater force.

That is because strength and endurance are distinct physical characteristics.

Walking can help you stay active and improve your cardio fitness.

Resistance exercise allows you to push your muscles while developing or maintaining strength.

These activities might complement one another rather than compete against one another.

There is no reason why someone who enjoys walking should substitute it with strength training.

A better approach could be to maintain the walking habit while adding the training that walking does not cover.

Your walking routine can become more useful

You don't necessarily need to turn every walk into a workout. Some walks can simply be walks, others can be more purposeful.

You can split your days between regular walk and a quicker stroll. Walk at a regular pace on one day and take a brisk walk on another. You might choose a route with hills, break a longer walk into shorter sessions during the day.

Your walking routine can also change as your fitness level improves. The important thing is to avoid treating your step count as the only measurement of physical fitness.

If you are not much confident with stairs although you are walking regularly, struggling to carry things, or noticing that getting up and down is harder than it used to be, those are signs to look beyond walking alone.

What should you add to walking?

The answer to this question depends on what you currently do and what you want to achieve.

For some people, the missing component is resistance training.

For others, it may be mobility or balance work.

Some people need a more organized weekly routine because some days they are active but spend most of the rest of the week sitting.

There is no requirement to do everything at once.

A more useful approach is to look at your current activity and identify the physical abilities that aren't being trained.

That gives you a much better starting point than copying someone else's workout.

Walking after 40: think beyond the step count

As you move through your 40s and 50s, your priorities can change.

You may still enjoy walking for exercise, but maintaining your ability to perform everyday movements becomes increasingly relevant.

• You want to be able to walk through an airport without getting exhausted.

• You want to take a vacation without worrying about whether your body can handle the activity.

• You want to carry your bags, climb stairs, get up from the floor, and keep participating in the activities you enjoy.

Those goals aren't measured by steps alone. Your walking routine can help keep yourself active. A broader fitness program can address the other physical abilities that support an active life.

Walking in Phoenix AZ: Don't ignore the hot weather

Until you live somewhere where summer temperatures might make outdoor exercise difficult, walking is especially easy to recommend.

The time of day is important to people who live in Phoenix.

A treadmill, an indoor walking route, or an early morning stroll might be more sensible during hotter times than going outside in the hottest portion of the afternoon.

When bad weather strikes, stopping walking is not always the answer.

The goal is to maintain the habit without ignoring heat and hydration.

Your walking regimen should be appropriate for your real life and surroundings. An ideal routine that is only effective for a few weeks is not as helpful as a routine you can stick to.

When walking is no longer enough

Imagine two people who both walk 8,000 steps every day. One can easily climb stairs, carry groceries, get up from the floor, and maintain good balance. The other becomes winded on stairs and struggles with lifting, carrying, or getting up from a low position.

Their step counts may look similar but their physical capabilities are not. This is why fitness for healthy aging cannot be reduced to a single number on a fitness tracker.

Walking is one part of activity. It isn't a complete measure of physical ability. As you get older, maintaining several different physical capabilities can become more useful than simply trying to walk more.

Keep walking. Then look at the rest of your fitness

If you enjoy walking, keep it.

You don't need to give up your morning walk because it isn't a complete workout. You don't need to replace a habit you enjoy with something more complicated.

Instead, use walking as one part of your overall fitness.

Keep building your aerobic activity. There are some areas that walking doesn’t fully address like strength, mobility, balance, and other areas, you need to look at them. This tactic also makes it easier to build a routine around your real life.

• You can walk outside.

• Train with a coach.

• Do mobility work at home.

• Combine different activities throughout the week.

The goal is to have a body that can continue doing the things you care about.

How personal training can complement your walking routine

You don't need a personal trainer to walk.

But you may get help from one if you are confident that you have reached a point where you need more than walking but aren't sure what to add.

At Thurston Personal Training in Phoenix, we offer customised fitness training program that can be built around your current fitness level, experience, goals, and lifestyle.

That doesn’t mean your walking routine should end. Instead, your trainer can help you determine what else your body needs and build those components into a structured program.

For one person, that may mean learning how to progressively and safely perform strength training. For another, it may mean working on mobility, balance, movement control, and general conditioning.

The starting point is your current fitness level and ability, not a generic workout.

Ready to build on your walking routine?

Walking is a good place to start.

If you already have the habit, the next step may be figuring out what your walking routine isn't training.

Thurston Personal Training offers personalized training in North Phoenix for adults who want a structured approach to improving their overall fitness and staying physically capable as they age.

Want to see what your current routine is missing?
Contact Thurston Personal Training to discuss your fitness goals and training options.