A Guide to Cultivating a
Walking Partner in Your Own Home

By Ellie Hodder

The hardest part of any workout is lacing up your shoes and getting out the door. There are always good reasons for not exercising — an overcrowded schedule or (insert sorrowful voice here) “Nobody will walk with me!” Truth be told, those who are most successful long-term at sustaining an exercise program — any exercise program — have workout buddies.
What if you have a partner, sibling, or child who “needs to exercise”? Your inclination is to help. How do you do that without annoying the heck out of the unwilling?
If you will keep in mind a few guidelines and caveats, there’s a greater than average chance you’ll be an inspiration and develop a long-term walking buddy right in your own home.

GETTING STARTED

1. Are they ready to start?
Nothing defeats you and your best buddy more than dragging an unwilling person, kicking and screaming, through a walk. It’s exhausting to go on a walk with someone who is negative the whole time. So test the waters before you go and ask if your help is welcome.

• “Would it be helpful for you to start your walking program if you had a partner?”
• “Would you like me to walk with you at least some of the time?”
• “Shall we start in the morning (or insert appropriate start date)?”

2. Choose a duration and difficulty appropriate to the fitness of the individual you’re trying to help.
A one-mile walk at a 16-minute pace may feel like a leisurely stroll to you, but it may be uncomfortable for the person you’re introducing to walking. What’s their conditioning today? Do they have a health condition that will make the challenge greater as they start out, such as asthma, diabetes, foot problems, or extreme overweight?

• Start with a flat route even if you have to drive to get there.
• Figure quarter-mile to half-mile loops that go near enough to your start/finish so you can stop if needed, but can add distance if conditioning allows.
• Let your new partner set the pace. Check in to see if the pace is comfortable. And learn to let it be what it is. Everyone gets faster as they get fitter.
• Be conservative about distance and difficulty the first week or two.

3. Build a program gradually.
Most new habits take about 12 weeks to become the norm. If your partner hasn’t exercised for years, it will take time to rebuild strength and endurance. Someone who hasn’t exercised or had a strenuous job will have to regain muscle mass. This takes time and patience. Start with three days a week and, over a six month period, gradually work your way to five to seven days a week of some aerobic activity. Be encouraging as well as forgiving, and you’ll help inspire a regular exerciser.

4. Help your walking partner get the right tools for the job.

• Make sure they have a good pair of socks with flat seams that are made of a wicking material. This makes a nice, low-cost gift.
• Go to a reputable sports shoe store to have your partner fitted properly for appropriate shoes for walking.
• Think about a step-counting pedometer. It’s low cost and takes no set-up to work properly.
• As walking becomes a habit, help your partner add good clothing made of performance fabrics and, if you’re planning to continue living in the Pacific Northwest, purchase good rain gear.

5. Document your mutual successes. Start a journal.
Another characteristic of those who are successful at achieving the goals they set for themselves is that they write things down. For some, it takes the form of a detailed journal. For others, a notation on the kitchen calendar that they got out the door for 1.5 miles and walked for 30 minutes will do the trick. Wherever you and your partner are in the continuum, write things down and be sure to note the “Woo hoo!” days. Those are important to go back and remember on the days that aren’t so great.

6. Celebrate.
Rewards give all of us something to look forward to. Talk to each other about the milestones that will be cause for celebration. How about four weeks of consistent exercise to start?

While there are times when it’s nice to walk alone, to just soak in the day or be alone with our thoughts, we are, after all, social animals. It is truly a gift to have regular walking buddies. When the one at your side is a partner, sibling, or offspring, it’s a bonus. Write and tell us how it goes for you.

Coach Ellie Hodder is the founder of Women Walk the Marathon® and everything4walkers.com.

20 Years of Memories — When Friends Become Family Luann Johnson The “L-Team” has been walking together since 1987. The current “L-Team” consists of Linda Brown, Louise Marsh, Luann Johnson and Llacsah Ycnan — Nancy Hascall spelled backwards so she could qualify for membership! The group formed twenty years ago, among Lake Oswego neighbors. Their kids went to the same school, they volunteered together at school and in community groups, and they formed a bond based on their common paths. Some configuration of the group walks together every morning at 5:45 am, covering some 3-4 miles daily. No one shows up every day, but someone is there every time, and each can count on camaraderie for their walk rituals. Recently, Louise moved to a downtown condo, so the group has moved the Thursday walks to the waterfront so they could maintain the bonds of friendship formed through walking. Over the twenty years they’ve helped train two companion dogs, supported each other through health challenges and the death of parents, walked Luann through her son’s cancer treatments and eventual death, watched seven children grow and graduate from high school, and witnessed a wedding and the birth of two grandchildren. They are Jewish and Christian, Democrat and Republican, liberal and conservative. Though they’ve disagreed at times, they’ve never had a serious disagreement, and still they walk. “Thanks,” Luann told me, “for asking me for this and helping me [realize] what a special gift I have in these ladies and in this precious hour of time together.”