to ask if anyone has a LONG walking commute every day

[Consideringparttime]

Right, I just cannot embed exercise at the gym or swimming in my normal day to day life.
It's a combination of very stressful job, not enough headspace etc etc

I absolutely love walking though- I recently read an article that said Martin Lewis walks 25k steps a day and he builds it in to his meetings etc

I'm interested in this - my walk to work would be between 50-60 minutes per day
(and then again at the end of the day)

What do you think?

I know people will say will I want to do it at the end of the day? And to me, that seems easier than then getting in the car, going to the gym, getting changed, blah blah blah. I'm also interested in getting that amount of fresh air/ outside time- am i being stupid?

My husband has done this for around a year. Works well for him - other than when the weather is fine in the morning but torrential in the evening!

Mine is 50 mins each way. I enjoy it. It doesn't feel long or onerous. The worst bit is walking back home, I live at the top of a 20% hill and that's right at the end.

I walk quite a bit as part of my commute - invest in a good lightweight foldable mac in a colour that you're happy wearing, and take it with you everyday. I always have over 12k steps by the end of the working day, without particularly trying.

I used to do about 40 mins pre DC. I didn't have to do it every day, as there were bus/bike/cycle options so I could change my mind and get the bus home. I liked the time to listen to podcasts etc. I definitely used to do it more often in summer though as it was just an option not a necessity!

When I was working (I retired 2yrs ago) my commute was 45min walk, 1hr train, 10min walk. I WFH some of the time but they were beginning to calling us back into the office more & more.
The walking was fine much of the time, even in poor weather but it was the heat that did it for me (like a PP I had quite a hill to climb as I got closer to home) and it was on one of these walks that I decided the time was right to go.

I loved my walk/cycle to and from work. It was around 40mins stick a podcast or music on bliss.

What's your route like? Anything likely to be shut off if it floods?
I opted to do a further route to avoid road walking and busy areas where I wouldn't be able to switch off needing to be alert.

It's weather that's the ball ache. Having to take extra rain protection and the like. Shoes need to be good and comfy. I actually got some reoccurring foot pain from wearing the wrong shoes so they are a must.

It's definitely do able but there is days you don't want to feeling under the weather/heavy period and do have to factor in the extra Time. Maybe give it a 2 week trial?

Not quite the same sort of distance, but For my old job, I used to have about a 35 minute walk each way, and my current one is about a half hour cycle.

For a few years in between, I worked exclusively from home, and I really missed the walk, so much so that I'd go out for one on lunch, rain or shine.

For me, it gives a nice opportunity to decompress, wake up in the morning, and get out of work mode in the evening. I've usually got a podcast chuntering away ate in my headphones.

The rain can be a bit of a bastard. Keep an eye on the weather, and bring waterproofs unless you know for sure it's going to be fine later. I also keep a set of clothes in work for those days I get absolutely drenched on the way in.

Sounds like a really good amount of time to me. It's a pretty normal amount of time to spend on your commute but it's also getting fresh air and exercise. You could build up to running it one of the ways maybe?

I used to have a 50 minute walk, now I have a 45 minute cycle. It just becomes habit and I honestly enjoy it, it’s an opportunity to wake up a bit in the morning and decompress on the way home. I like seeing the change in the seasons properly on the bits where I cross through a park and a cemetery, and little things like having a contest in my head over which houses I pass have the best Halloween / Christmas decorations at those times of year. You won’t have to worry about being late due to traffic / delayed trains, and you’ll save a fair bit of money. Have a travel mug to take coffee / tea with you in the morning and it’ll be fine.

I used to do this and loved it. I didnt need to worry about the gym as I was getting so much natural exercise in my daily life, plus it is great to know your commute is free

My walk to work is around 2.9 miles so it takes me around 50-55 minutes (I don't walk that quickly) . If I get the bus it takes around 30 mins - 40 mins by the time you include the walk to the bus stop, and the wait for a bus and the morning traffic etc, so it seems a great way to get some exercise in for only adding around 15-20 mins extra to my commute

I usually walk all the way in to work and sometimes get the bus back part of the way (so walk the first couple of bus stops and get the bus the rest of the way home from there) though sometimes I might walk the whole way or occasionally I get the bus all the way home - depending on if a bus is coming and how much of a hurry I am in and how late I have worked to. I always walk in though. I listen to an audio book and see it as my commute and as time to ease into work. I don't do it in the pouring rain though, drizzle and a bit of rain fine as I have a very good coat but not in really heavy rain as otherwise I am soaking when I get to work. This rarely happens though

I only go to the office 3 times a week though so this does not happen every day. For me It is the only way I can make myself walk on a work day, otherwise it seems such a waste of time. On my WFH days I am full of good intentions to do a long walk before work but I just never do it, instead I spend the 'commutet ime' catching up with stuff around the house and always run out of time to fit in a 40-50 min walk before I start work

DH and I usualy do one long walk at the weekends which I see as time spent together so am OK to do. It is just the walking on my own for the sake of it that I find difficult to do consistently. It is just so dull! So I generally do a longish walk 4 times week as a result

When I was studying (as a mature student so only a few years ago), I walked between 6-10 miles daily (depending on whereabouts my classes were that day), to avoid tube fares. I lost a stone without changing anything else. If you can do it really is the easiest way to fit in more exercise.

I used to do it, about a 50-minute walk. I listened to music or podcasts and it really helped me separate work from home. Occasionally I wasn't in the mood to walk home after work, but the bus would have taken longer so I just cracked on. It's very good exercise.

Do you normally drive in? Can you do part of the journey home by public transport if the return journey doesn’t seem appealing when you’re tired? I think it’s a perfectly reasonable , sensible and healthy thing to aim for. But also to accept that there may be days when the weather is really bad, or hot, or you overslept, and it’s not going to work for you on those days. In terms of the exercise, try to add in a few stretches whilst your dinner is cooking.

I think it sounds great. Exercise built into my commute works well for me, much better than having to try and motivate myself to do something else after work. Can you leave smarter shoes at work /take a rucksack with spare clothes? (I get changed on arrival at work - being able to swap out of wet socks/trousers in the winter is a necessity)

I do it and love it. I chat on the phone or listen to audible. It doesn’t make you lose weight but you can maintain your weight without difficulty.

I used to do this. Highly recommend it. Get some good walking trainers, otherwise you wear out your work shoes!

I'm retired now but the last few years of working (Primary teacher) I walked to and from work 50 minutes each way. I loved it. It was a fairly pleasant walk, some of which was through a beautiful park. As others have said, you need to make sure you have all bases covered re. weather appropriate clothes. I used to feel great once I'd got home, knowing that I'd done enough exercise for the day.

How would she get home then 🤔

I used to to walk or cycle 3 miles each way to work in my previous job and really miss it. It was a great start to the day and a nice bit of headspace. The route involved a nice stretch of park and canal before arriving in the city centre. In the winter/ darker months i would tend to stick more to main roads if walking, and cycle more. I would highly recommend giving it a try!

There are plenty of people walking about after dark, presumably this is a fairly normal time of day, not midnight? Unless the walking route takes you through some particularly dreadful or isolated / dangerous areas, there’s no reason not to walk them. Along with likely all the other commuters / people going about their normal business.

OP sounds like a great plan - make sure you’ve got good shoes and maybe leave a spare change of clothes at work in case you get drenched one day unexpectedly. My teen does 45 mins each way to sixth form college and back, he really likes it actually, listens to podcasts and music. And my DH has half an hour of walking as well as the train journey - he’d def prefer the whole lot walking. It is a great way to just build in exercise.

My husband did this for two or three years before he retired. He was walking about 3 miles each way every day on top of having a certain amount of physical effort in his job. He walks very briskly so was able to do it in under 45 minutes. When he retired he found he put on a bit of weight and thought it was because he was no longer so active. He replaced it with a lot of running and long walks for pleasure. He is extremely fit and lean.

I used to live in a city 3 miles from my then work and would walk both ways every day (unless the weather was horrible then I would catch a bus). Would take me an hour and I really liked it with my headphones on de-stressing after work. With kids' after school activities now I'm not sure I could manage it these days though.

Maybe go to a specialist running shop and invest in a really good pair of trainers that you can change when at work. I like big squishy rocker type ones that feel like they're actively propelling me forward and makes walking quicker and more comfortable! (currently Saucony Endorphin Shift 3s but I need new ones and they don't make these any more, so if anyone has any tips I'll gladly take them! 😂)