Walking Journal: Walking Journal for Walkers or Ramblers

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Journaling after walking is especially effective due to walking and exercise's effect on the brain. There are many types of journaling styles. Choose one or experiment with various kinds. Saint-Maurice PF, Troiano RP, Bassett DR, Graubard BI, Carlson SA, Shiroma EJ, Fulton JE, Matthews CE. Association of daily step count and step intensity with mortality among US adults. JAMA. 2020 Mar 24;323(12):1151-60. Stay hydrated. Drink water before you start walking and carry extra water with you especially in warm weather. Writing longhand aids in memory: The sequential movements of forming of letters when writing longhand activates the region of the brain responsible for working memory. Song C, Ikei H, Park BJ, Lee J, Kagawa T, Miyazaki Y. Psychological benefits of walking through forest areas. International journal of environmental research and public health. 2018 Dec;15(12):2804.

Gainey A, Himathongkam T, Tanaka H, Suksom D. Effects of Buddhist walking meditation on glycemic control and vascular function in patients with type 2 diabetes. Complementary therapies in medicine. 2016 Jun 1;26:92-7. Mabire L, Mani R, Liu L, Mulligan H, Baxter D. The influence of age, sex and body mass index on the effectiveness of brisk walking for obesity management in adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Physical Activity and Health. 2017 May 1;14(5):389-407. Hori H, Ikenouchi-Sugita A, Yoshimura R, Nakamura J. Does subjective sleep quality improve by a walking intervention? A real-world study in a Japanese workplace. BMJ open. 2016 Oct 1;6(10). Mendes R, Sousa N, Themudo-Barata JL, Reis VM. High-Intensity Interval Training Versus Moderate-Intensity Continuous Training in Middle-Aged and Older Patients with Type 2 Diabetes: A Randomized Controlled Crossover Trial of the Acute Effects of Treadmill Walking on Glycemic Control. International journal of environmental research and public health. 2019 Jan;16(21):4163. Wear reflective gear if you walk towards dusk (try inexpensive reflective bracelets if you don’t have reflective clothing).Hu FB, Sigal RJ, Rich-Edwards JW, Colditz GA, Solomon CG, Willett WC, Speizer FE, Manson JE. Walking compared with vigorous physical activity and risk of type 2 diabetes in women: a prospective study. JAMA. 1999 Oct 20;282(15):1433-9. Comparability: Were baseline characteristics of the intervention comparable with the control or were potential confounders at baseline appropriately adjusted for in analysis? Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. How much physical activity do adults need? https://www.cdc.gov/physicalactivity/basics/adults/index.htm Accessed 11/13/2020. Grøntved A, Hu FB. Walking pace and handgrip strength: simple measures of fitness and mortality risk? Eur Heart J. 2017 Nov 14;38(43):3241-3243. One randomized controlled trial lasting 12 weeks observed adults with type 2 diabetes performing a Buddhist walking meditation (walking on a treadmill while concentrating on footsteps by stating “Budd” and “Dha” with each step) or a traditional walking regimen. [27] Both groups walked at the same moderate intensity with a duration and frequency of 30 minutes 3 times a week. The walking meditation group resulted in lower fasting blood glucose levels, blood pressure, and cortisol levels than in participants doing a traditional walking regimen.

Journaling is motivating to remind yourself why you are doing what you are doing: Looking at our logbook over a few months will show you how much you've walked and allow you to reflect on the notes to relive how you felt then. Day to day, you may feel like you are not making much progress in your fitness level. But when you add up the miles you've walked in 3 months, that total will impress you enough to make you strive to walk even more miles. The longest journey begins with a single step.

Tanasescu M, Leitzmann MF, Rimm EB, Willett WC, Stampfer MJ, Hu FB. Exercise type and intensity in relation to coronary heart disease in men. JAMA. 2002 Oct 23;288(16):1994-2000. Your handwriting may be sloppy when you write longhand, but your journal is for your eyes only. Writing longhand allows you to cross out, draw lines connecting thoughts, sketch in an idea, or circle main points and sentences. Personally, I’m going to use the design with 8 water droplets to color in, but I’m going to let each drop represent one 16 oz bottle of water… so if I can color in all 8 drops for the day, then I would have drunk 128 oz (or 1 gallon).