Walking: where to start

Walking benefits both your physical and mental health. Even just half an hour of walking a day boosts your condition, prevents injuries and offers protection against heart conditions, diabetes and obesity. On top of that, walking can increase the volume of oxygen your lungs take in, which keeps your brain sharp, improves your mood and lowers your stress levels. For mild and moderate depression too, walking is the ideal therapy. Good to know: feel free to split your half hour of walking a day into ten-minute blocks. In brief, walking offers huge results with little effort — something no other sport can match!

The average adult takes an average of about 6,000 steps a day. That might seem like a lot at first, but actually, it’s not quite enough! To stay really fit, we need to aim for 10,000 steps a day — which is around 8 kilometres. An activity tracker or a fitness app on your smartphone automatically keeps track of how many steps you take throughout the day. Trackers and apps give you that extra nudge to get out and about, but if you’re still struggling to go for a walk every day, try to schedule a stroll in your diary as a habit — during your lunch break, for example. Picking a walking buddy or listening to a fascinating podcast during the walk can help too! And finally: a gradual approach to increasing your daily step count is the key to success.

For a day hike on flat or gently rolling terrain — such as the woods, the beach or around town — category A-low hiking shoes are ideal. These are lightweight shoes with a flexible sole and good cushioning that make walking just about as comfortable as it can be. If you’re ready for a more challenging hike on hilly terrain, such as in the Ardennes, category A-mid trekking shoes are the better option. These shoes are cut a little higher and provide better support for your ankles. They also have a slightly stiffer sole, which offers good grip on uneven surfaces. Category A-Mid shoes are also an option to consider if you’re heading out with a light or slightly heavier backpack.

No two feet are the same, so there is no such thing as the ‘best’ pair of hiking shoes. Regardless, properly fitting shoes are essential for a comfortable walking experience — and that’s why your shoe size should ideally be based not just on the length of your feet, but also on their width. Luckily, more and more outdoor brands are doing exactly that, including Meindl and Hanwag. With ‘odd’ feet in mind, these brands offer shoes that are a little more spacious around the toes or the ball of your feet, with a tighter heel to keep them in place. To get an even better fit, an insole with proper cushioning is always a good idea.

Before heading out for a trek, it’s important to make sure your new shoes are properly broken in. Breaking in your shoes helps to avoid blisters and painful pressure points, which are the last thing you want when you’re out and about! Leather shoes in particular need a little time to give to the shape of your feet, so the best thing is to start with short walks, before slowly and gradually building up the distance. Simply start with a lap around the living room before carefully venturing further afield around your neighbourhood. Once you feel comfortable with that, you can leave paved roads behind for an easy hike with a light backpack. Wetting leather shoes to help them give to the shape of your feet more quickly is a myth: doing so is bad for your shoes and for your comfort!

You can certainly wear trainers to go for a walk, but the specific shape of their soles makes them more suitable for running. When you run, your feet hit the floor with a force equal to two to three times your body weight, while that figure stands at just one and a half times when you walk. As such, trainers need to be thicker and springier than hiking shoes around the forefoot and heel — the area you land on when you run. In brief, trainers are more tailored towards performance and cushioning, while the emphasis in hiking shoes is on comfort and support. The specially designed sole on hiking shoes also offers more support on uneven terrain.

Long distances or a heavy backpack can take a serious toll on your body while you are walking. A pair of walking poles can offer the necessary support, stability and shock absorption if you need it. When the terrain gets rough or when you suffer from joint pain, walking poles can also significantly improve your comfort and stamina while you’re exploring. On flat trails, they help you keep a more upright posture, so you can set a faster pace if you feel up to it. On hilly terrain with lots of climbs and descents, poles make it easier to keep your balance, and in snow or mud, they provide extra grip.

A low-cut hiking shoe offers more freedom of movement but less support to your ankles — but it still provides more support than trainers. As such, category A-low hiking shoes are ideal for walks on flat or gently rolling terrain. If you’re going for more challenging terrain with more hills to climb, your ankles need more support and category A-mid trekking shoes are the better option. Not only do these mid-cut boots offer more support, they also provide extra stability and rigidity. If you’re spending several days trekking through the mountains with a heavy backpack, you’ll need to up the game a little further by going for high-cut category B mountain shoes for extra support and extra stability.

Make sure your feet are firmly in your shoes and the tongue fits snugly against your ankle and shin, without any folds. Next, tighten your laces from the bottom to the top, making sure they’re not too loose and not too tight. Your feet should not be able to slide in your shoes, but your shoes also shouldn’t pinch your feet. If you’re wearing A-Mid or B shoes, don’t forget to use the metal hook in the middle of the tongue when tightening your laces. Tip: when tying your laces, pull the end of the lace through the loop one extra time — that way, the knot will stay tight. You can always tighten your laces a little more while you’re out walking — right before a long descent, for example.

If walking gets a little boring for you after a while, why not try geocaching? Geocaching is a kind of treasure hunt that uses GPS coordinates, which gives you a goal to aim for while getting rewarded for the kilometres you cover! You can also do your bit for the planet while you’re out by picking litter from the roadside or off the beach. Simply pack a plastic binbag and a set of disposable gloves to get started. You could even turn litter picking into a competition by challenging your friends on social media to beat your ‘haul’!