Walk 20 in ’20 – A Fitness Goal

I know I’m not alone in wanting to get more fit this year. In fact, the most common New Year’s resolutions have to do with getting in shape. There are any number of ways to do that but I’ve chosen walking as my fitness goal for 2020.

Walk 20 in ’20

I was recently listening to Gretchen Rubin’s podcast and one of the topics was her 2020 challenge to “walk 20 in ’20”. What exactly does that mean? It’s simple – walk 20 minutes every day.

Now, keep in mind that is 20 minutes more than what you are already doing. But you can break it up into two 10-minute sessions if you’d like. That seems so doable!

 

Here are some reasons walking is great exercise:

• Minimal equipment necessary – All you need is a good pair of shoes.
• It’s low impact which is important for people with arthritis or joint issues.
• You can do it most anywhere.
• Walking in nature is especially beneficial and can be good for mental health.

 

Why walking is the most underrated form of exercise

Even a Little Exercise Might Make Us Happier

Walking: Trim your waistline, improve your health (Mayo Clinic)

 

My goal for participating in this challenge is to make walking a regular part of my daily fitness routine. There are a number of ways to create a habit.

How to Form a New Habit (in 8 easy steps)

 

Habit trackers have become a very popular way to create a new habit. There are lots of online apps for this:

Need Some Help Reaching Your Goals? Try These 5 Habit-Tracking Apps

 

Or if you are more of a pen and paper type (that’s me!) try a printable version:

Gretchen Rubin’s “walk 20 in ’20” PDF tracker

 

Do you use a bullet journal?:

50+ ideas for your bullet journal habit tracker

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links which help pay for website costs and my Earl Grey obsession.
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Read more here.

 

This challenge only requires some means of timing yourself for 20 minutes. Your phone, a watch or a kitchen timer work just fine. If you have a treadmill it no doubt has a timer on it. If you have a FitBit or other pedometer, it might have a timer as well.

Most of my walking will take place on my treadmill. I am making the time do double-duty by listening to an audiobook while I walk. Or sometimes I might listen to one of my Spotify playlists.

Whenever the weather is nice I am going to walk outdoors. It was unseasonably warm yesterday so I walked around our property. I added to my workout by also picking up (or dragging!) limbs and branches to a pile for David to burn one of these days. We live on 40 acres in the middle of the woods so there are LOTS of branches to pick up before David begins mowing again in the spring.

You could also use hand weights while you walk to increase the workout. But if you are currently fairly sedentary don’t complicate things. Just walk for 20 minutes. We can do this!

I hope you’ll join me. If you accept this fitness challenge leave me a comment or email me so I’ll know I’ve got some virtual walking buddies.

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