You don’t have to go on a dangerous quest to get your step count done, but some of us need that extra motivation. Photo: DAVIDSON L U N A, Unsplash.
They’re taking the hobbits to Isenguard!
No, I haven’t lost the plot just yet. But I have taken up a new hobby.
I’m walking to Mordor.
Technically, I’m walking to Mount Fire, according to my new favourite app – I’m assuming for copyright reasons.
Thanks to some pesky health conditions I’m barred from my usual physical regime of running, wrestling, surfing and lifting heavy things.
What’s left on the menu? Walking and light stretching.
Cue endorphin-addicted depression – until I found this app.
It’s really just a step tracker that marks your distance over time on a very cute map that just happens to cover the exact distance it took Sam and Frodo to walk to Mount Doom.
By my calculations, at the rate I’m walking I should arrive sometime in 2026.
Those short-legged bastards did it in just six months, but they didn’t have to write copy while they did it.
Not to overwhelm you with my evangelistic zeal, but walking is wonderful.
Just about anyone can do it no matter your level of fitness or niggling injuries.
You don’t need special or fancy equipment – I usually wear my crocs – although it’s worth investing in a decent pair of trainers. Luckily they’re very trendy at the moment so two birds, one stone.
It’s easy to fit into your day with a quick buzz out the door before work, a stroll around the block on your lunch break or a duck out to the IGA for milk in the evening.
It gets you fresh air, vitamin D and the chance to look at things that aren’t a screen.
It can also be a great opportunity to socialise with a friend, kid, spouse or the dog. If you’re sick of all of the above, leave them behind and get some much-deserved you-time.
You get to know the people in your neighbourhood just by saying g’day and you can have a sticky beak at the renos the house down the street is doing.
A 30-minute brisk walk five times a week is enough to meet exercise recommendations for good health (if you sneak in a couple of muscle-strengthening sessions too).
Plus if you’re keen on fundraisers, there’s usually one on that involves walking – it’s currently Walk for Mental Health month.
A good walk can’t be beat.
Unfortunately, for a lot of people, it’s not as simple as putting on their shoes and getting out the door.
Poorly planned streets and suburbs lack footpaths, are bisected by difficult-to-cross motorways, are poorly lit and filled with pollution.
They can range from environments that are unpleasant to walk in to those that are downright dangerous.
These challenges are doubly tough for people working two jobs to make ends meet, or who have to juggle work and caring responsibilities.
If you’re already exhausted and overwhelmed the last thing you want to do at the end of a long day is wander beside a busy highway, or drive 20 minutes to find somewhere nice to stretch your legs.
More of us than ever live sedentary lives and battle with the health struggles that result.
Good urban planning can help make it easier for everyone to mix a bit of activity into their lives. Safe, well-lit footpaths alongside accessible parks and local shops have a measurable impact on how active the residents of any given suburb are.
To combat the housing crisis, more and more large-scale developments are being pushed through the planning process – let’s hope they’re being built with good health, not just shelter, in mind.
In the meantime, if you can, strap on your crocs and get your steps up – those hobbits were onto something!
