Keep Walking. But Don’t Forget to Get Strong.

Walking is one of the simplest things you can do for your body, and I never want women to underestimate it.

You don’t need a gym membership. You don’t need complicated equipment. You can walk around your neighborhood, through a park, on vacation, with your dog, with a friend, or for ten minutes after dinner. It is accessible, it gets you moving, and it can become one of those habits that quietly supports your health for years.

That is what I appreciated about Jane Chertoff’s Healthline article, What Are the Benefits of Walking? Walking can support cardiovascular health, blood sugar regulation, joint comfort, energy, mood, immune function, and overall well-being. It can also be one of the easiest ways to add more movement to an ordinary day.

But there is something I want to add to that conversation, especially for women in this stage of life.

Please don’t let walking become the only thing you do.

For years, women were told that changing their bodies meant doing more cardio. Walk farther. Run longer. Burn more calories. Work up a sweat. We became so focused on burning energy that we often forgot about building something.

Muscle.

Walking and strength training do different jobs, and your body benefits from both. Current physical activity guidelines recommend aerobic movement such as brisk walking along with muscle-strengthening activity at least two days each week.

That strength work becomes increasingly important as we get older because maintaining muscle helps us remain capable. Lifting weights, using resistance, doing squats, carrying heavier things, and challenging your muscles give your body a reason to keep that strength. The CDC specifically notes that muscle-strengthening activity helps maintain or increase muscle mass and strength as we age.

And that is what I care about far more than how many calories your watch says you burned.

I want you strong enough to carry your suitcase through an airport. Strong enough to get up from the floor. Strong enough to move the planter, carry the groceries, work in your garden, pick up a grandchild, hike the trail, and continue doing the things that make your life feel like yours.

So yes, walk.

Walk because it clears your head. Walk because your heart benefits. Walk because fresh air feels good. Walk because your joints like movement. Walk after dinner. Walk with someone you love. Walk because there are places in this world worth seeing on your own two feet.

And then, a couple of times a week, pick up something heavier.

Challenge your muscles enough that they have a reason to stay with you.

This isn’t about becoming a bodybuilder or turning exercise into another job. It is about recognizing that the body you are building for the next twenty or thirty years deserves more than endurance. It deserves strength too.

And remember, you are an example to everyone around you. When your children, grandchildren, friends, or the women beside you see you walking, lifting, caring for yourself, and making strength a priority, you are showing them something important.

Aging does not have to mean slowly becoming less capable.

We can keep moving.

We can keep building.

And we can keep getting stronger.

Keep going,
Dr. Brookh Lyons
Founder, Body Bella

You don’t need to be fixed. You need to be supported.
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To read the article that inspired this Body Bella observation: What Are the Benefits of Walking? - Healthline

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