Years ago I had a typical desk job, glued to a computer screen in a gray bullpen in a windowless room. Could there possibly be a more bleak work environment? I wondered as I often contemplated how far one could throw a computer terminal from a third-floor office window. I started walking at lunch less for the exercise than to relieve the tedium of the day. Often, the prospect of my noon walk was what kept me plugging along.

But after a while, even my noon walk became mired in tedium and I eventually figured out why: I was doing the same two-mile route over and over. Passing the same uninspired downtown architecture (my route took me past the state government complex in downtown Raleigh) was better than eating at my desk, but it wasn’t the escape I craved. Walking at lunch, I discovered, is as much about the escape as the exercise. You do it to get away from the familiar, from the mundane, from the routine. Substituting one same-old same-old with another won’t return you to work energized and refreshed.

For some of you, this isn’t an issue. If you work at SAS at its Cary headquarters, for instance, you have a network of walking trails out your office door. Likewise, if you work in Research Triangle Park, where 14 miles of jogging/pedestrian trail wind through RTP’s 7,000 acres. Most of us, though, need to get more creative with our routes. Here’s what I did.

First, I decided that 30 minutes wasn’t enough time for either the escape I craved or the aerobic boost I needed. So I awarded myself an hour for lunch (to be made up with an extra half hour tacked on at day’s end). Then I cut a circle out of cardboard, marked it with the points of the compass and fashioned a needle. Just before heading out, I’d spin the needle: Whichever direction it came to rest on was the direction I would walk that day. Thirty minutes out, 30 minutes back.

My noon walk became an hour-long adventure. The four prime coordinates took me to four distinct worlds.

North meant a trip past the hideous state government complex to the old Mordecai neighborhood. Much as I love a walk in the forest, it’s hard to beat walking through a gentrified neighborhood and checking out the home improvements.

West took me to the warehouse district. Today, this is a happening area in downtown’s reviving nightlife scene; back then, it was pretty much just that: a warehouse district where brick buildings, most abandoned and little changed from a half century earlier, made you feel like you’d been plunked down in the pages of a gritty Mickey Spillane thriller.

South took in a massive grain processing plant and smaller industrial operations, many with intricate mechanical workings that, from the street and observed through a left brain, resembled Rube Goldberg creations.

East was my favorite. East took me into older residential neighborhoods were people still hung out on porches, talked to their neighbors, took time to enjoy life. The perfect social antidote for a morning spent staring at a screen.

Every day was a surprise. And because the world isn’t simply divided into North, South, East and West, but northwest, north-northwest and west-northwest as well, the routes rarely repeated. If it appeared they might, all the more incentive to pick up the pace and explore even farther.

I learned a lot about the neighborhood I worked in on those lunchtime walks. I also lost some weight, got some sun and improved my odds at a longer, healthier life.

Most important? I never discovered how far one could throw a computer terminal from a third-floor office window.

The post Walk@Lunch: Exercise and Explore appeared first on GetGoing NC!.

We’ve already gone over what National Walk@Lunch Week/Day is and why it’s important. Today, we’ll discuss how to make it happen. Not that taking a walk is rocket science, but it’ll behoove you to have a little direction going into tomorrow.

What you’ll need

Shoes & socks. While some shoes can double as work & workout shoes, for the most part you’re smart to bring a separate pair of shoes dedicated to the purpose. You don’t need fancy athletic shoes, just something comfy that won’t cause blisters or otherwise mess with your feet. As for socks, a pair of plain old athletic socks will serve the purpose, which basically is to keep you from having sweaty feet the rest of the day.

Wet wipes. Speaking of sweat, there’s a chance you might work up a little. Some people stash wet wipes in their desk to freshen up with after a walk. (Amazing what a swipe under the arms can do minimize collateral damage.) Others stick a damp washcloth in a ziplock bag. Hand sanitizer applied in the aforementioned

pits works as well.

A quick, portable lunch. Ironically, while a main goal here is to keep you from eating at your desk, you likely will end up eating at your desk — but only because your alotted lunch period has been consumed with a walk! Thus, you’ll need something quick and portable, something you can eat with preparation and without paying it much attention, and because you’ve just done well by your body and don’t want to ruin the effect, something healthy. Veggies (carrots and cherry tomatoes top my list), fruit (we’re coming into strawberry season), and maybe a sandwich (mustard instead of mayo, wheat bread instead of white), and you’ll have one happy body the rest of the day.

Game day game plan

Breakfast. It is the most important meal of the day, even more so if you’ll be burning extra fuel over the noon hour. Don’t scrimp; make sure you’re sufficiently fueled to make the most of your walk.

Pre-walk refueling. Even if you had a good breakfast, it won’t hurt to have a quick snack an hour before you walk. A handful of nuts, for instance, is particularly effective.

Slipping away. Let’s face it, if you have a reputation of working through lunch, you may be a little concerned about being away from your post for 30 minutes or — gads! — 35. You may need to ease your boss and coworkers into the notion of you being away. Do this by giving the appearance that you’ve just slipped away for a moment. A sweater over the back of your chair, a report scattered across your desk, even buying a piping hot cup of coffee to leave on your desk just before heading out — all good ways to divert attention.

Enlist recruits. Another way to not draw attention to your absence: Recruit coworkers. If they’re in on the act, they won’t left to speculate on your whereabouts.

How long should I walk? Shoot for half an hour. One camp of healthcare advocates says that as little as 10 minutes of continuous walking can do you good. This may be true, but if you really want to reap the benefits of being active, you should keep your heart working for a good 30 minutes. It’s discouraging to be doing what you think you’re supposed to be doing and not feel better or see results; minimize that risk with a minimum 30-minute walk.

Where should I walk? Good question, one we’ll answer tomorrow.

Post walk. If you did your job and got your heart rate up, chances are you’ll return with what the more genteel among us would label a “glow,” the rest of us a good sweat. Five minutes or so of chilling in a cool spot should erase most of that glow, those wet wipes you packed should handle the rest.

Log it. I’m big on logging workouts, if for no other reason than at the end of the week you can look back and see that at least you accomplished something. If you’re a just-the-facts type, your distance and time will suffice. Those of you who like a more complete recollection of history may also want to record the weather, where you walked, who you walked with, what you thought about on your walk.

What I thought about? Yes, what you thought about. For while you may think that the main reason to walk over lunch is for your physical well-being, you’ll be surprised by what it does for you mentally. Away from email, away from the phone, away from the constant barrage of demanding coworkers and bosses, you’ll discover the true benefit of taking 30 minutes to take a walk: time to think.

Or, perhaps more crucially, not.

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