Are you going out for walks during lock down?

[Whitegrapeandblackberry]

I haven't been out for a walk in almost 4 weeks, I'm so worried about it so I have stayed in with DD 2 years old but im wondering if I'm being silly and if I should go out for a walk a day?

@Middersweekly
It has been playing on my mind how difficult it must have been to be in Spain/Italy and not be allowed to exercise. With children this must be particularly tough. Pleased you can get out a bit every day.

As for me yes every day either walk/cycle or run. I have taken the kids out almost every day and have sometimes found that stressful in the local park as a few other people there and the younger one isn’t really getting the 2m rule but we’re mostly keeping to public footpaths now which is much better. From what I gather quite a lot of families round here are not going out at all.
My dad is in the shielded category and theoretically shouldn’t but has made the call that it’s worth it as the physical and mental health benefits outweigh the risks he reckons (where he is anyway, rural). I totally support him in that.

People are saying that there is not a rule in England that we can only go out to exercise once a day, but that isn't true. There is a rule. Cut and pasted from Gov.uk:

When am I allowed to leave the house?
You should only leave the house for very limited purposes:

shopping for basic necessities, for example food and medicine, which must be as infrequent as possible
one form of exercise a day, for example a run, walk, or cycle - alone or with members of your household
any medical need, including to donate blood, avoid or escape risk of injury or harm, or to provide care or to help a vulnerable person
travelling for work purposes, but only where you cannot work from home

@Xiddling those are the guidelines, not the law. The actual law states you are allowed out for exercise, without mentioning the frequency or time allowed.

@longearedbat yes, but aren't we supposed to be following the guidelines? You could say the same for all of it then, with regards to social distancing, meeting with friends? It's all guidelines.

I do think some of it is a case of common sense, eg if you live in the middle of nowhere, then yes, I agree you probably would be fine to go out more than once a day. But what I don't get is people saying that you are allowed to go out more than once to exercise, when really, you're not supposed to.

Waking with children isn't exercise for most adults though. Hence a painful walk with my youngest and a run with my eldest. Several weeks without keeping my cardio fitness up would put me at more risk if I do catch it.

I work from home and haven't been in a shop for 5 weeks so as long as we take the boring empty routes it's easy to avoid people.

Absolutely! It’s keeping me sane. Admittedly, we live in a rural area and rarely meet other walkers. When we do, it’s easy to keep social distancing guidelines. I work in a care home & don’t always get outside when on shift and I find that hard, despite getting lots of indoor exercise running up & downstairs etc.

I go out first thing for a run by myself (and dog) then later again with the kids .we live very rurally tho

We probably all need to consider that risk of Covid will go on for a long time after lockdown ends.

Physical fitness and good vitamin D levels should help fight off virus so it's really important that people do go out if they are able to.

Yes every day, doing 3-4km.

Would be very concerned about my physical and mental well being if I didn't! I can already feel that lifting things / going up hills, is more difficult than a month ago . Don't want to lose any more ability.

I go out once a day to walk my dog after dinner and in theory you should be fine if you social distance.

It doesn't help that everyone is going out for a walk ALL AT THE SAME TIME so gauge it, it's a learning curve. Try lunchtime and go for a walk around the block to see how you feel.

Why would you not go for walks. The government gave clear guidance that you can go for a walk and stated it was a healthy thing to do.

Don’t you follow the guidance then ? You sound very paranoid. I hope your massive anxiety doesn’t transmit to your kids!! It won’t be helpful.

Perhaps you should turn your phone off and stop reading the news. Engage a bit of common sense

Yes every day! We’re in the Chilterns and the bluebell woods are stunning at the moment. Usually do about 3 miles, rarely see anyone but if we do we keep a safe distance and have a chat (we know most people in our valley) 😊

Where I live, people have their rainbows in windows, join in with clapping for the NHS and yet every single day they act like it's a bloody holiday and can be seen congregating with their tunes blasting, kids running around and an all together great party vibe happening! Bloody hypocrites.

No because I have been too unwell, but we shall start this week.

No, but we have a large garden.
I have only been out when necessary, don’t want to create unnecessary traffic for those who need to get out/don’t have the luxury of a garden.

Yes, because I need fresh air and being cooped up in front of the laptop all day is not healthy. However, I've now got a really sore foot (Dr Google reckons it's extensor tendonitis) so I'm back on the sofa for now

I havent been out either OP, not sure why but just dont want to. I normally work 3 to 4 days a week in London with packed tube and train journey. I do normally walk a lot as i dont drive, but just cant bring myself to go out the door atm.I am WFH so i am not doing nothing. DC are adults and one is working and so is DH, the other is a student and still studying.

I am really wondering how difficult it will be to go out when this is over.

We've been for a few, just to see the horizon / change of view
We are outside everyday though as we are extremely lucky to have a huge garden.

Yes, I’m locked down in Bavaria and going out to get exercise is considered a good reason to be out. If I don’t get out every day I feel extremely antsy.

Yes every day we try to do around 10000 steps and because we are In a small city with annoyingly narrow pavements we drive a few miles to quieter spots.
People are pretty good about sticking with the 2m rule mostly, but I think there is a little bit of relaxation starting to creep in.