10-Min Energy Boost "Power Break" Walking Workout | 39

Hey Walkers!

It's that time of day, isn't it? Your brain is threatening to go on strike, and the siren song of the sofa (and maybe a bag of chips) is getting louder by the minute. 

I get it. The afternoon slump is real, and my first instinct is usually a nap (but no can do).

But what if, instead of crashing, you could recharge in just 10 minutes?

This isn’t a punishing workout; it’s a quick reset for your body and your brain.

In this 10-minute power break walk, we’re ditching the extra caffeine and going for something that actually works.

Here’s what I’ve got for you on this walk:

• A simple trick to break up the workday and beat the 2 PM brain fog
• Background music with a steady beat to keep you moving
• My ADHD-fueled observations to keep you entertained
• A tip I picked up from Billy Idol, my pretend husband since 1984

If you're tired of feeling like a zombie in the afternoon, this walk’s for you.

P.S. You'll hear a bell halfway through the walk. If you're outside, that's your cue to turn around and head for back. 

Instagram/Facebook: @yourwalkingpodcast

Transcript

We're going to do a 10 minute walking workout today. Nothing too crazy. Just something you can fit into your day to keep on moving. We're going to start, as always, with our warmup, no matter what you're doing, walking indoors, outdoors, elliptical, bike, or cleaning, gardening, driving, whatever you're doing today, but not so long of a warmup because we're not going to go full out.

We're going to have 10 minutes to refresh ourselves, get our energy back, increase our focus while we kind of hang out and chat today. Deep breath in through your nose. We want to keep that oxygen flowing and we want to keep the good stuff coming in and the not so good stuff - old stale stuff - going out. Exhale. And by stuff I mean oxygen.

Deep breath in and exhale. We're going to shake out those hands, going to roll those shoulders backwards. You're going to go all the way forward, all the way up, all the way back, all the way down. So you're going to draw a big, big circle and you're going to go forward big circles.

You're going to get that energy up. So we're going to focus on today. So really get the oxygen in so we can get that energy going. Pretend like you're dancing. Feel happy. Come on, get happy. You may not be old enough for that song. What was that Partridge Family? Yes. Was it? I believe so. David Cassidy. Was that Partridge Family?

I don't know. Another deep breath in. We're going to just go a little bit faster now. This is a refreshing walk so you want to make it brisker, not brisket. You want to make it a brisket or brisker? Keep that breathing going. Pay attention to tight spots in your body. Try to loosen them up as you're walking.

And as we're doing this walk as we're we're heading out there to give ourselves the energy break, we're going to talk about how we can kind of s tay with whatever our goals are, but without being too unrealistic and being too militaristic. I wrote in my book, way back in 2012, never tell yourself no when you want a certain food, tell yourself later instead. If you really want the food later, then have it. Right now, give yourself some time to get things back under control. And what's interesting with that is that I was watching an interview with Billy Idol - yes, my pretend husband. I've been in love with him since 1984. Dancing with Myself, saw that video on MTV. Then he was my love from then on. I pretend that we're married even though we're not.

Never stalked him though. But I've seen him in concert. I was watching an interview, I can't remember what it was on, they were asking him about his sobriety. Let's go a little bit faster while we're talking about Billy Idol, because it gets my heart right up. And he was saying that he's mostly sober, but he says he doesn't tell himself, no. He tells himself later. I was like, what? That's exactly what I said. So he said like, if he wants this drink, just random, like I want to drink today. And he tells himself, you know what? Not right now, but I can have it later. And so, because he is not telling himself no, he's not setting himself up for like, oh, but I'm going to do it. No, nobody tells me no. And that was really cool to see. I love his whole attitude about it because it's a lot more relaxed and that's what I am trying to get back to doing because as you know, I haven't been that great with it lately. Go a little bit faster just to get that energy going.

Get that energy production up. Keep the breathing nice and deep. Roll those shoulders backwards. Roll those shoulders forwards. I thought that was really cool to see that that's how he is handling sobriety. There's so many ways that this can apply to your life.

What about the spending? Let's just say that you tend to spend too much money, and you know what? I can have this dress if I want this dress, or I want these shoes. But just not right now. I'm just going to wait maybe later until, you know, I put a little bit of pause on it. If I still want it tomorrow then I can get it.

A lot of us are somewhat impulsive, and so we're like, oh, I'm going to get it now. And then you get it and you're like, well, why did, I didn't even like this. Why did I even buy this? Or why did I eat this? Why did I do that? And so when you give yourself a pause like that, it helps you to say no in a way. But you're saying later, without making it something that you're going to really want now, because now you can't have it. Nice deep breath in again. Fill up those lungs all the way.

Exhale. Deep, deep. Get all that air out. Roll those shoulders backwards as we're walking. Roll those shoulders forwards. Or one at a time. Can you do that? I don't know if I can, let me try it. I don't think I can do that. I don't think I can roll them while one at a time while I'm walking. I don't think that's going to work for me. I'm not that coordinated. Feel for any tense spots in your body.

Your hands, your feet, your knees, you want your butt to be kind of tense because you want to get those glutes nice and strong. And it's amazing too when you walk, just start walking after even like a week. You just feel more grounded, more centered in your body. I kind of feel like my legs feel stronger, even though technically they're probably not.

I think it's reconnecting with your body and becoming more aware of what your body feels like when it's doing different things. I think that's what makes the difference and mentally, I'm like, Ooh, look, I feel stronger because I'm more connected to see what's going on in my body.

I'm not all, Hey, whose body is that? I don't know. I'm all over here in space thinking about something else. Which if you have a ADHD, you can totally relate to. Another deep breath in through your nose and hold onto a pace that just gives you energy. We're going to feel refreshed and feel how good it feels to move your body.

I know I say that a lot, but it's true. Once you get moving, it just feels so great. This is what it was designed to do. I wasn't designed to sit all day in front of my computer. Even standing in front of my computer is just not the same because the blood isn't really flowing.

Now it's stagnating in my feet and my feet are becoming a size 400 shoe.

You can go a little bit faster, but it's a short walk today. Settle in, feel that body move. Everything's moving together. Everything just feels good. Everything feels strong. Everything else feels relaxed, except for your glutes.

Pay attention to how your feet are hitting the ground. Or if you're on the bike, just kind of feel how that whole thing feels to move while you're cycling. I love that cycling feeling. I love that cycling feeling. And I don't know if you're old enough for that song. I am, but you know, some of you are not.

Some of you're are spring chickies. Deep, deep breath in. Really fill up those lungs, relax your stomach, and then exhale, empty those lungs out all the way. And go back to a normal breathing pattern. So whatever you can do to get these quick walks in to give yourself more energy just to keep moving, you're going to feel so much better.

It's something magical about moving our bodies and doesn't have to even be that hard. Just head out for a walk. My great aunt, she's in her high nineties and she's still walking. She actually had a stroke a couple years ago, but she's still walking. It's amazing.

And I know so many people older like that, who are just still moving and still active and still going, because that's longevity keeping our body moving so we're not just stuck and stagnant. You can slow it down a little bit now. if you're outside, heading back close to home or office. If you're inside, just slow it down on your walking pad.

Just fit in these short workouts whenever you can just to get up and move. 10 minutes is great and it's so much better than nothing. Roll those shoulders now, both forward and back. Shake out your hands. You can string the shorter workouts together. Did I just say that? I don't know. But anyway, you can string them together if you want. I have some longer ones and the older, older episodes, which are actually pretty helpful and pretty useful, I think there's some that are like 40 minutes.

You want a longer walk? Just go jump on one of those. I'm going to try to be more consistent. I told you how I'm trying to get started again with everything in life, you know, back to health and podcasting, so it's getting started again and getting started starts with small things like a 10 minute walk, a five minute walk, getting up from your chair periodically. Slow it down a little more now. We're almost done. Deep breath in.

Exhale and feel that energy just flowing through your body. Make sure you do a little bit of a stretch, like 30 seconds, your calves, your ankles, and I see you next time.