10-Minute Morning Walk | Not a Morning Person? Me Either | 78

Not a morning person? Me either. But this 10-minute guided morning walk is a brisk (ish), music-led way to get some steps in before life gets in the way. Walk outside, or at home on a treadmill, walking pad, or even marching in place.

You'll wake up, boost your energy, and fit in a little movement before work, errands, emails, and everything else demands your attention.

Even if you're grumpy in the mornings (like me), you'll get:

• A beginner-friendly, low-impact morning walk
• About 1300 steps
• A little more morning energy
• Some peace before the day begins

And because I tend to drift (thanks ADHD), I...

• Confess I used to eat ice cream out of a gallon container
• Threaten people who talk to me pre-coffee
• Blame Billy Idol for a 6 a.m. class

This walking podcast includes upbeat background walking music, walking cues, an optional cool-down, and a bell at the halfway point so you know when to turn around.

If you're trying to get some steps in before something happens to throw you off, or want to build a morning walking habit, lace up your shoes and come with me for a morning walk.

Don't forget to Follow the podcast.

I'd love to hear from you. Leave a comment on Spotify or tag your walk with #WalkTalkWithHelen on social media.

Transcript

0:01

This is a 10-minute brisk-ish walk. You can walk outside or at home on a treadmill or walking pad or even just marching in place. Start out at an easy warm-up pace. You're going to follow the music. And there will be a bell at the halfway point in case you want to turn around. My alarm went off at 4.30 a.m. every Friday morning. And it felt like I was in hell. Because I was teaching a 5:30 a.m. spin class. And I'm an insomniac. Night person. But everybody in class assumed I was a morning person because they were. I just thought I was disciplined and motivated. Do you know why I did it? Because I didn't have a choice. You don't have to become a morning person to walk in the morning. And there may be reasons that morning walks work out better for you, even though you're not a morning person. But if you are, yay. The main reason, at least for me, is to get the walk done before the day gets away from you. Take a deep breath in through your nose. Let's get some energy in. And exhale through your mouth. Roll from toe to heel when you walk. Shake out those hands. Keep the shoulders down away from your ears. Okay, now we're going to walk a little faster. It's brisker. Follow the new beat. I taught at the nightmare time of 5:30 in the morning because I wanted classes at this new gym. And, of course, the only class they had was 5:30 a.m. on a Friday morning. But I was trying to get my foot in the door. So Friday after Friday, I would get up at 4:30. Very sad. But I would slap a smile on my face. Class after class. And then one Friday, there was an Aerosmith concert I was going to, and I didn't want to get a sub, you know, because I wanted the opportunity. So I sat through the concert, and I was so tired. And I was wishing Aerosmith came on at 7 instead of 10. But I made it through. You know, because sometimes the best time isn't your favorite time. It's the time you're most likely to actually do it. And for me, if I can get up just a little bit earlier, I can maybe squeeze 10 or 15 minutes in. The work hasn't blown up yet. Errands haven't happened. Fewer demands. You know, in the summer, it's also cooler in the morning. And you don't reach the end of the day really tired and realize, I never walked. Thanks, Helen. Go a little bit faster. Follow the beat. Shake off those grumpies, if you're grumpy like me. I'm a nice person about 90% of the time, maybe even 95. But that last 5% in the morning, before I've had my coffee, yeah, you don't want to talk to me. Of course, nowadays, I would not get up at 4:30 to teach a class. I can tell you that. But maybe I would walk in the morning, even though I'm not a morning person, because I don't have to get up at the crack of dawn. And maybe we do the uncomfortable thing just a little bit for a while. Because it's not really about the exercise. It's about finding some time for us and a time that won't be sidelined before other things come along, before the world starts nagging, wanting, needing more from us, before feeding cats or dogs, getting texts and emails. It's a great way to set the tone for your day. Stay with that pace. Nice and strong. Create some energy here. Your walk doesn't have to be 10,000 steps. It certainly does not have to be at 5 a. m. Just maybe 10 minutes earlier. I mean, we're literally doing 10 minutes right now. And I won't tell you, turn that frown upside down. Because if you tell me that in the morning, I will push you off a cliff. Stay with that pace. Just find that time for you. Whatever works best. And "gasp." You can even do a 10-minute morning walk. And a 10-minute after-dinner walk. I know. Now you're really pushing it. Being a little daring there, aren't we? We're going just a tiny bit slower, but we're still working. It's not a cool down. So for me, I like a little peace and quiet in the morning. I kind of feel like when I get texts first thing in the morning, it's like my whole day is ruined. Okay... And that's my dramatic part that comes out. You can do a little dance here if you want. Whatever you need to get your day started right. You can walk to the coffee shop even and get yourself a coffee. I do already carve out some quiet times, but it's usually at the end of the day. And it's not a great habit. When the kids were little, I'd sit there with a gallon of ice cream and a spoon. And then now I just doom scroll half the night and neither is really helpful, is it, Helen? So maybe I just get up a little bit earlier, like 10 minutes earlier, get out of bed, drag that tired butt and go for a walk. You don't have to overhaul your whole schedule and do not set the alarm for 5am if you don't have to. I want to be your friend, not your enemy. Hold that pace. Maybe just try getting up 10 minutes earlier a few times, walking. We're going to see, did you feel more awake? Less grumpy? More focused? Or maybe this just wasn't for you. And that's totally cool. Keep your breathing going deep and slow. Stay with the beat. Okay, now our ten minutes are up. You can either jump off here or you can stay for a short cool down. We're going to slow our pace. Look, we have choices to make. Sometimes it's too early for choices, isn't it? You're going to take another deep breath in through your nose and exhale through your mouth. Roll those shoulders. Great big rolls. Crackety crack goes my right shoulder. And then roll it forward. Big rolls. Slow your pace a little more. Maybe mornings work for you. Maybe they don't. You can try it. I'm going to try it too, even though I'm a little lazy in the mornings now. Sometimes I wonder how I lived my life in a morning person's life. I guess I lived it very tiredly. That's also not a word. Slow it down a little bit more. And I'm going to leave you with this story about Billy Idol tickets. So one morning, a friend of mine who ran this other small gym called me and said, "Oh, can you teach tomorrow morning at 6? Because we don't have anybody." And I was like, "Really? You have all these morning people." She's like, "No, no, I really need you." So of course, I got up and I got to class. And it was a couple of weeks before my birthday. And she handed me a box and in the box were tickets to Billy Idol Meet and Greet. And she wanted to make sure I got the tickets. To lure me into the gym at six o'clock in the morning. Another deep breath in now through your nose. Exhale through your mouth. And I'll see you next time.