91ÊÓƵ

It’s hardly news that walking is good for your heart. But the power of walking in a group might catch even a heart expert off guard.

Dr. David Sabgir, a cardiologist with OhioHealth in Columbus, Ohio, discovered this after he started encouraging patients to take regular walks with him. He knew it would improve their health. But he didn’t anticipate the laughter, the conversations and the way people exchanged phone numbers afterward.

“The medicine part made sense to me,” he said. “The intensity of the community part surprised me.”

Similarly, Christina Gamble of Pelham, Alabama, thought joining a Birmingham-area walking club might simply be a good way to make friends in 2023. Today, she says it’s been “life-changing, really, to be part of this group and to meet the people I’ve met and to have the encouragement to walk and move more.”

As National Walking Day is celebrated the first Wednesday in April, here’s a look at what makes walking with others a unique way to help your health.

Walking is simply good for you

Walking seems almost too easy to count as exercise, Sabgir acknowledged. But he calls its simplicity a feature, not a flaw.

“The research is detailed and definitive,” he said. Regular walking helps reduce the risk of heart disease, stroke, Type 2 diabetes, many cancers, depression and cognitive decline. Walks also help lower blood pressure, improve cholesterol, strengthen bones and with weight management. The 91ÊÓƵ recommends 150 minutes of moderate-intensity activity a week, “and a brisk daily walk gets most people there,” he said.

Dr. Molly Conroy, a general internist who is a professor and chief of the division of general internal medicine at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, agreed. “Walking is definitely exercise,” said Conroy, who is on the physical activity committee of the Heart Association’s Council on Lifestyle and Cardiometabolic Health.

Walking can be a challenge for some people because of medical issues or if they don’t have access to a safe place to walk. But for the most part, she said, if a patient told her they were thinking about joining a walking group, she’d tell them, “That sounds awesome!”

Social interaction while walking is healthy

Sabgir’s efforts to get his patients to move more for their health led to Walk With a Doc, which he launched in 2005. Such doctor-led walking groups have since spread around the globe.

Joining a group adds a healthy social dimension to a routine walk, he said. “When people walk together, they’re not just moving their bodies; they’re combating isolation, building community and experiencing the mood-elevating effects of connection alongside those of exercise,” making it “a double dose of medicine.”

In his experience, “conversation makes the walk feel shorter, and the effort feel lighter. Every single time. People go farther than they would alone, and they come back the following week.”

Conroy said that a group also provides safety in numbers. And being part of a group, or even just having a companion to walk with, can be motivating.

Part of it, she said, is knowing that if you are running late, somebody will text to ask, “Where are you, walking buddy?” But more than that, she said, if you have the right group or partner, “there’s also something inherently joyful about having that time together.”

Does pacing matter on a group walk?

It’s important to keep goals in perspective, Conroy said. A walk around the block won’t prepare you for a marathon. But for some people, just walking around the block can be a triumph.

Conroy has talked with patients who found themselves eager for more activity than their walking partners. A large club might offer subgroups that appeal to different levels, she said. “There’s going to be the group that’s making the pace, the group that’s the middle of the pack, and then the group that’s maybe the caboose.”

What do you need to get started?

Conroy said that most people who are otherwise healthy don’t need a medical exam before starting moderate exercise. Common sense can guide you, she said, “but for the vast majority of people, probably the most dangerous thing they can do from a physical activity perspective is to stay sedentary.”

Sabgir’s advice for beginners is to set a low bar. “You don’t need special shoes, a fitness tracker, or clearance from a physician if you’re generally healthy and starting at a gentle pace,” he said. “Find one other person. Agree on a time and a place. Show up.”

To find a club, Gamble suggested looking online. And if you can’t find a group, start one. “I think that you'll be surprised how many people are actually searching for this kind of community,” she said.

What can someone get out of a walking club?

When Gamble first saw a post on social media asking whether women in her area would be interested in walking regularly, she decided to give it a try. But she had never taken part in any sort of group fitness activity before, and she was worried.

“That’s an experience that we hear over and over and over again from people that come to our walks,” she said, “is that that first walk is really scary. Just showing up is hard.” But once people take that first step and feel welcomed, “it’s a lot easier to show up the second time.”

She was one of four women who attended her group’s first walk. But the club, inspired by the “Hot Girl Walk” trend, quickly drew thousands of followers on Facebook. Now called the BHAM Babes Walking Club, the group has branches across the Birmingham region – and Gamble leads it.

A typical walk, she said, will cover 2 miles in a little less than an hour, although some hikes are longer. Sometimes two people show up, sometimes two dozen. Everybody may stay together, or they might break up into smaller clusters. Some moms bring kids in strollers. Some people bring dogs on leashes.

Although most of the women are in their late 20s to mid-30s, walkers have included people from early college through retirement age.

The group, which has a busy social calendar beyond the walking events, has helped Gamble, 41, make friends. It’s also helped her explore the area. And, of course, she feels it’s been great for her to have a consistent way to move her body and enjoy “all the health benefits that come with that.”

She’s had days where she didn’t want to walk but went anyway. “And several of the other girls will show up, and it'll be a really great conversation.” By the end, “it doesn’t feel like it's been 2 miles.”

“Community makes everything better.”