IMHO, walking is the best exercise in the world. Doesn't require fancy equipment or a gym membership. Easier on the joints than running or jogging. You can do it anywhere -- at the mall, on the track at the local high scool or just in your neighborhood. When the weather is bad, i just walk around my house. Can even do it on vacation. Unless you walk for a sport, it's not competitive. You can go at your own pace, and no one is going to laugh at or make fun of you. Even walking slowly raises the heartbeat. And there is some psychological and social benefit to it too. I walk at a mall. We have a great group of regulars -- young people, retirees, students, even mall employees. I know a guy who comes to the mall to walk in shorts and a T-shirt. Around 8:30 am, he changes into a suit and tie and goes to work. There are young mothers with toddlers in strollers who walk the mall while pushing the kids around. I know one guy in a non-motorized wheelchair. Although he obviously can't walk, pushing himself in the chair gives him upper arm strength. It's encouraging and uplifting just to observe him getting his own kind of exercise.
