Is Walking enough? A new study questions the benefits of a walking program.

Walking alone won't give you 6 pack abs or the stamina of Lance Armstrong, but for the average person there are a great many benefits to participating in a walking program. If you have been a couch potato for the last few years starting a walking program will provide numerous benefits. People recovering from injuries can often walk when they cannot participate in more strenuous activities. Not to mention the peace of mind that comes from walking.

Why is this discussion occurring now? Because a new study from the University of Alberta shows that slowly walking 10,000 steps a day may not be enough exercise to result in significant health benefits.

"Generally, low-intensity activity such as walking alone is not likely going to give anybody marked health benefits compared to programs that occasionally elevate the intensity," said Dr. Vicki Harber, lead author on the Health First study, which was presented recently at the American College of Sports Medicine annual conference.

Everyone wants to be healthy and often improving your health starts with taking that first step. This is the time of the year when the weather across the globe should inspire us all to get outside and take a walk. Whether you are experiencing the bracing chill of fall mornings or just starting to see the buds on trees it is time to get moving.

Why walk? Let me count the ways!

1. The average person burns 100 calories per mile walked and takes about 2,000 steps per mile. Walking burns body fat!

2. For most people walking an extra 20 minutes per day will burn an extra 7 pounds of body fat over the course of a year

3. As I have found, walking can help ease back and neck pain

4. Walking has been proven to lower blood pressure. A study at the University of Indiana has shown that even taking several short walks over the course of a day can lower blood pressure.

I recently visited Seattle, Washington for a long weekend and it was well worth the 5 hour flight. The thing I love about Seattle, other than the low humidity, is the fact that there are so many in town neighborhoods that are a walker's paradise.

I stayed in West Seattle where it was an easy walk to restaurants, bars, coffee shops, music stores and best of all a cupcake shop! If we had walked in the other direction we would have been in the Alki beach area with the restaurants looking over both water and the mountains. The strip of pebbly beach that runs from Alki Point to Duwamish Head is about 2.5 miles. The water temperature ranges from 46 to 56 degrees Fahrenheit so your activities will be confined to dry land unless you are particularly hearty.

The neighborhood was very hilly so I felt like I was able to get a reasonably good workout, at least good enough to enjoy a cupcake from Cupcake Royale. There is a preserve located in West Seattle that was within walking distance of where I was staying. The preserve has walking paths and you can walk through an old growth forest without leaving the city.