Walking

An easy choice for everyone, every day

Every Queenslander should have the opportunity to walk and use quality walking infrastructure as part of their daily routine, so they can experience the lifelong health benefits of increased physical activity.

Source: Queensland Government

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In addition, the Action Plan for Walking lists the practical actions needed right now to grow walking and will be updated every 2 years.

Heart Foundation Walking

Walking – the wonder drug

Walk Hub

The Walk Hub is a place for resources, tips and information that will support you to help make Queensland a walk-friendly state: more walkable towns and cities, streets, parks and green space.

Queensland Walks

Benefits of walking

Walking is part of every journey we make. It is important that people are encouraged to walk more often. As a regular activity, walking:

• improves health and fitness for individuals in the community
• benefits the environment by reducing air pollution and traffic congestion
• provides children with an informal learning environment for their physical, practical, emotional and social development
• improves local neighbourhoods when goods and services are purchased locally
• provides people with the social benefit of interacting with others in their community
• increases a sense of safety with more people out and about
• is the least costly and most sustainable form of transport.

Source: Queensland Government

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There’s no better way to refresh and reconnect with nature than walking in national parks. Our walking tracks will lead you through diverse environments, ranging from rugged rainforest gorges to peaceful forested creeks and long sandy beaches.

You’ll discover much more on foot than from the car window! Get up close to delicate ferns beside the track, glimpse flashes of colourful birds and butterflies flitting through foliage or gaze in wonder at picture-perfect views.

Walking tracks are designed to be enjoyed by everyone, from families with small children in strollers and visitors with limited walking abilities or who use wheelchairs, through to serious hikers seeking more challenging walks.

Tracks are graded from easy to difficult so you’re sure to find one to suit your preferences and abilities.

Source
Walking
Parks & Forests
Department of Environment and Science

Great Walks of Queensland

Some of Queensland’s best natural areas are now yours to explore as Great Walks of Queensland.

Glorious beaches, spectacular geological formations, crystal clear lagoons, ancient rainforests and rich indigenous culture are just some of the treasures you can discover.

The Great Walks of Queensland are a world-class system of walking tracks through Queensland’s protected area estate, including four magnificent World Heritage Areas.

Great Walks of Queensland offers a range of experiences, from short, easy strolls to half and full-day walks and extended overnight adventures, giving people of all ages and abilities the opportunity to explore, experience and enjoy the magnificence of Queensland’s parks and forests.

Ten Great Walks are now open for you to enjoy.

Source: Queensland Government

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Top ten ways walking can improve your work day

Source: Queensland Walks

Walking meditation – three easy techniques

Being mindful and living in the moment has become wildly popular in the mainstream… and with good reason! The benefits of mindfulness or active-awareness are scientifically known and documented.

Walking in a flow state adds to the experience – and because we believe that your state of mind during a hike is as important as the trail itself we would love to share The Walking Blog guide to Walking meditation – three easy techniques.

Walking Meditation: Before you start walking

Prior to setting off, take one minute to prepare. Stand still, close the eyes and smile.  Even if you are not feeling particularly happy, the physical act of smiling (even if it is fake) will make you feel better.

Now take in a few deep breaths holding the breath for a short moment at the top of the inhalation and the bottom of the exhalation.  Exhale slowly. With each exhalation try to let go of a bit of tension in your body.  A good way of doing this is to say in your mind, “Let go”, or “relax” as you exhale. Allow your breathing to return to normal and you will feel a little more relaxed almost instantly.

• Technique One: Being mindful of the body
• Technique Two: Getting the rhyth
• Technique Three: Mindful of your surroundings

Source: Inspiration Outdoors

How Far Can a Healthy Person Walk?

How far a healthy and fit person could walk continuously in eight hours or the distance you could achieve in a day is a question that can come up when planning an adventure trek. Another situation that could require it is walking unexpectedly due to transportation breakdowns in a natural disaster or personal emergency.

While your body is made for walking, the distance you can achieve at an average walking pace of 3.1 miles per hour depends on whether you have trained for it or not. A trained walker can walk a 26.2-mile marathon in eight hours or less, or walk 20 to 30 miles in a day. Steadily building your mileage with training allows you to walk long distances with less risk of injury. Read More

Source, Wendy Bumgardner, Very Well Fit

Walking and cycling to work

Walking and cycling to work makes commuters happier and more productive

In Australia, more than 9 million people commute to work every weekday. The distance they travel and how they get there – car, public transport, cycling or walking – can influence their well-being and performance at work.

Walking isn’t just good for you

Walking isn’t just good for you – it’s good for the economy
It’s a truism that walking — as with most forms of exercise — is good for you.

John Howard credited his longevity as PM, in part, to daily walks; Albert Einstein walked to sharpen his mind; writer Henry David Thoreau needed four hours a day to preserve his “health and spirits”.

But walking isn’t just good for your physical and mental health; it’s also good for the economy.

Walking great for your mental fitness

10 reasons why walking is great for your mental fitness

30-year-old Jake Tyler was in a bad place. Plagued by anxiety, depression and even suicidal thoughts, he calls it the “darkest state of mind” he’d ever been in and feared he would never recover. But then something twigged: “I’d started working on my physical fitness, and whenever I’d spend time outdoors I realised the positive impact that being immersed in nature was giving me. Which got me thinking: if something as simple as taking a walk and encountering the natural beauty of this country can make me feel so much better, why don’t more people do this? So, I decided to do something about it.”

Why Walking Is So Good

Why Walking Is So Good for Parents, Toddlers, and the Cities Where They Live

Planning and managing cities has become one of humanity’s defining challenges, yet it is hard to know how to plan for what a city needs now and in the future at the same time. What can we measure to determine if a city is functioning well for its residents today and is likely to live up to its full potential in the long run?

One answer: The daily life of a toddler.