LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Janet Rapp walked briskly down a paved path through the city zoo, waving to her friends and stopping briefly to greet the emus she knows by name.

The 71-year-old retiree starts each morning with a walking club.

“I’m obsessed,” she says. Not only does it relieve his joint pain, “it just gives me energy… And then it calms me down too.”

Medical experts agree that walking is a simple way to improve physical and mental health, build fitness and prevent disease. While it’s not the only type of exercise people should do, it’s an important first step toward healthy living.

“You don’t need equipment or a gym membership,” said Dr. Sarah Eby, a sports medicine physician at Mass General Brigham. “And the benefits are so vast.”

What can walking do for you?

Walking can help meet the U.S. Surgeon General’s recommendation that adults get at least 2 1/2 hours of moderate-intensity physical activity each week. This helps reduce the risk of heart disease, high blood pressure, dementia, depression and many types of cancer.

Walking also improves blood sugar, is good for bone health and can help you lose weight and sleep better, added Julie Schmied, a nurse practitioner at Norton Healthcare, which runs the free Get Healthy walking club.

Another advantage? It’s a low-impact exercise that puts less strain on the joints because it strengthens your heart and lungs.

James Blankenship, 68, said joining the Louisville Zoo walking club last year helped him bounce back from a heart attack and triple bypass surgery in 2022.

“My cardiologist says I’m doing great,” he said.

However, for all its benefits, walking “is not sufficient for overall health and well-being” because it does not provide resistance training that builds muscle strength and endurance, said Anita Gust, who teaches exercise science at the University of Minnesota Crookston.

This is especially important for women’s bone health as they age.

Experts recommend adding such activities at least twice a week – using weights, gym equipment or your own body as resistance – and doing exercises that improve flexibility like yoga or stretching.

Do you really need 10,000 steps a day?

Almost everyone has heard of this walking goal, which dates back to a 1960s marketing campaign in Japan. But experts stress that this is just a guideline.

The average American takes about 3,000 to 4,000 steps a day, and it’s OK to gradually build up to 10,000, Shmied said.

Setting a time goal can also be helpful. Shmied suggests dividing the recommended 150 minutes per week into 30 minutes per day, or 10 minutes three times per day, for five days. In bad weather, people may walk in shopping centers or on treadmills.

As they become experienced walkers, they can pick up the pace or challenge themselves on climbs while maintaining a moderate activity level.

“If you can talk but not sing,” Eby said, “that’s what we consider moderate-intensity exercise.”

How to stay motivated?

Going for walks with friends, including dogs, is one solution.

Walking clubs have sprung up across the country. In 2022, New York personal trainer Brianna Joye Kohn, 31, launched City Girls Who Walk with a TikTok post inviting others to walk with her.

“We had 250 girls,” she said.

Since then, the group has walked every Sunday for about 40 minutes, with a few meetings afterwards for brunch or coffee.

The Louisville Zoo started its walking club in 1987, partnered with Norton in 2004 to expand it and now has more than 15,000 registered members. Every day from March 1 to October 31, people walk around the 1.4-mile loop before the zoo’s official opening.

Tony Weiter meets two of his siblings every Friday. Recently, they caught up on life, passing zebras in a fenced field and a seal sunning themselves.

“I appreciate the serenity of the place. It’s cold but the sun is shining. You can see the animals,” said Weiter, 63. “It’s a great way to start the morning.” »