One of my favourite things about walking is you don’t really need any special kit to do it. If, for example, I wanted to go mountain biking I’d need a bike, if I wanted to play football – I’d need a ball. But with walking – I just need to put one foot in front of the other.
That said – there are some things that can help enhance the walk – a decent pair of walking boots, suitable clothing (remember there is no such thing as bad weather, just the wrong clothes), a map (even if you know where you are – a trusty Ordnance Survey map will tell you so much more about the area you’re in) and, as I’ve recently discovered, a smart watch.
I’d always assumed these were more for runners (indeed I had one back in the days my knees allowed me to run) – but actually they’re great for other outdoor activities too. Especially walking.
The Garmin Forerunner 165 is the watch I have – and I love it. Most days I go walking in the countryside here in south Somerset where I live. Before having this watch I’d always take my phone with me to track the steps I’d taken and the distance I’d walked each day – but now I can leave the phone at home and know that I can still track these whilst being fully present and aware of my surroundings, looking at the beautiful views that stretch out ahead of me instead of walking face down looking at a screen.
It’s something we all need – more green time and less screen time. When we’re out in the green spaces, it’s great to pause for a moment or two and just breathe. It’s the perfect place to remember that each breath we take in, we do so because Mother Nature has breathed out. Each time we breathe out, we enable Mother Nature to take a breath in.
You can perhaps choose to just breathe normally, being conscious of the cycle of the breath with the world around you or … if you’d like a more tailored breathing exercise to do … your watch can help with that too. On the Garmin Forerunner 165 there are breathwork exercises that you can dip into at any time you need it. Quite literally, it’s wellbeing on the go!
As with any exercise, getting sufficient rest afterwards to allow your body to recover is essential. Guess what – this watch can help with that too! Tapping into your heart rate and the scope of the walk (or other exercise you’ve done) it’ll tell you how long you need to recover – giving you the encouragement you perhaps need to pop your feet up for a while. The “body battery” function also shows you when you perhaps need to rest.
If, like me, you do need some extra encouragement to clock up your 10,000 steps a day – Garmin can help. Through the Garmin Connect app (linked to the Garmin watch) you can sign up to challenges to receive virtual badges. These are things like walking the equivalent of the Great Wall of China (20,000 steps), Everest Base Camp (87,000 steps) or even the Appalachian Trail (a whopping 4.9million steps). I’m currently part way through the Inca Trail (56,000 steps) – although the views I’m getting aren’t quite the same as I’d get on the real thing!
Whether you’re a walker looking for something, like me, to help you keep in step or looking for gifting ideas for the walker in your life – from this walker I’d say you can’t go far wrong with one of these watches.
Author: Holly Barber