On Healthy Living

After a pleasant July, August is more than making up for it with hot days and humid nights. It’s just unbearable to be outside for any length of time. When it’s too hot to do much of anything outside, it can really put a dampen on any walking routine.  Usually I just walk around the neighborhood, but on unbelievably hot days, I travel to the mall.

As a beginner mall walker, it can be hard to keep a pace because it is easy to get distracted by the sights, sounds, and the smells of the mall. Temptation can be resisted and a good walk in the mall can be had. Here is how I get the most out of my mall walking.

Most malls unlock their doors way before the mall officially opens, allowing walkers to get in their walk way before it becomes crowded. This makes a great time to walk at the mall. Most of the time this is when I walk at the mall. Sometimes it can be challenging to get moving this early, so I have to walk when the mall has officially opened.

When I have to walk during open hours, I keep to the outside track of the mall. This helps to avoid some traffic and get the most out of my walk since I will be able to keep a faster pace. Taking along my MP3 player will block out a lot of the mall noise from distracting me from my walk. Unfortunately, there isn’t a nose plug so that I don’t smell those delicious cookies being baked. With our mall, it is very hard to avoid the food court since it is in the middle of the mall. Avoiding the food court is easier in some mall layouts that put the food court at one of the ends.

Some malls have walking clubs where people meet up and walk together. Our mall walking club is done through one of the local hospitals. Check with your local mall to see if such a club exists.

Lynn Little wrote this on August 7th, 2007 and filed it under Healthy Living |