11 Walking Resolutions to Kickstart Your Fitness Journey

If getting in shape always seems to be something you’ll start tomorrow (or January 1), it’s time to change things up. These 11 walking resolutions are easy to commit to and are habits that will give you a head start on reaching your fitness goals.

Set SMART Goals

Instead of setting lofty and often unreasonable goals, set a SMART goal. Work on increasing your walking duration to a time-bound target, which can lower your risk for disease, improve your mood, and help you lose weight by creating a calorie deficit. After a few weeks, you can increase two or three of your weekly walks to up your step count even more. But, no matter how far you walk, the point is to get into a routine of daily exercise.

Focus on Nutrition and Daily Movement

• Focus on nutrition: Eating in a calorie deficit is important for weight loss, but you also need to properly fuel your body for exercise. Start by keeping track of your daily caloric intake with MyFitnessPal to notice trends and see where improvements can be made.
• Move your body daily: Try to find various forms of exercise you enjoy and make it a goal to move your body every day. It doesn’t always have to be intense, either — yoga and swimming are great low-impact complements to a walking routine. On days when you can’t get outdoors, a quick bodyweight circuit helps you build strength and work toward your goals.

Create a Weekly Walking Plan

To progress your level of fitness, you’ll need to have a plan. Instead of just heading out for a walk without a goal in mind, making a weekly walking plan can help you to get the most out of each of your workouts. Including long walks, shorter interval sessions, and even a few strength training or yoga sessions can ensure you’re including variety, working on your weaknesses, and keeping things fun. This also provides a way to track your weekly mileage so you can compare each week to the next and continue to build fitness while minimizing the risk for injury.

Set Up an Indoor Workout Space and Find a Training Partner

Chances are, things are going to come up from time to time that keep you from heading outdoors for a walk. Whether it’s the cold this winter, or a busy schedule with the kids, setting up a workout space indoors is a great goal that can help you avoid skipping workouts. This can be as simple as a yoga mat and a few hand weights or as complex as a dedicated space in the garage with a treadmill and walking workout videos.

A dedicated training partner can be motivating and keep you on track on the days when you don’t feel like exercising. Plus, it’s a great way to be social (and yes, you can even walk with a friend virtually). Consider joining a walking club, or enlisting your spouse, best friend or other family members. Bonus: Your dog counts, too.

Challenge Yourself with Walking Events and Strength Training

While small goals add up over time, it’s always good to have a goal that pushes you beyond what you think you might be capable of, like a walking event. From 10Ks to the marathon, there is something out there for everyone. If you want to improve your walking performance so you can increase your cadence and distance or try walking with weights. You’ll need to strengthen muscle groups like the core and glutes that are commonly neglected during walking. A resolution that focuses on yoga, bodyweight exercises at home, or hitting the weights in the gym twice a week helps you get in better walking shape and be healthier overall.

Make Every Step Count

Not all of your walks need to be dedicated workouts. In fact, it’s all those short 10-minute walks that can end up making a big difference in your daily step count, calories burned, and overall health. As an added benefit, research shows that walking can also decrease the risk of cardiovascular-related diseases and help support your weight loss goals. Every two hours, make it a goal to get up and move around for at least 5 minutes.

Embrace the Mental Benefits of Walking

While a dedicated walking routine can certainly have many physical benefits, it also provides psychological benefits that shouldn’t be discounted. Once or twice a week, make it a goal to get rid of distractions and concentrate instead on a more meditative experience while you walk. Bonus points if you explore nature more on these walks.

Keep Your Routine Fresh and Focus on Recovery

One of the big problems with any fitness routine is boredom. Doing the same workout in the same location day after day can eventually become tiresome and mentally challenging. That’s why getting out of the neighborhood and exploring a new trail or park is important to stay fresh and keep your routine exciting. Even though walking is a low-impact activity, a big part of being able to walk every day as you increase distance and intensity is recovering properly. While stretching and icing sore joints are certainly part of the equation, one of the most overlooked aspects of recovery is making sure you get plenty of high-quality sleep each night. It’s important to make a balanced diet part of your recovery plan and did you know your nutrition can impact your sleep? If you aren’t doing so already, make it a point to shut off your devices an hour before bed and sleep for at least 7–8 hours each night.

Originally published December 2019, updated December 2025