Tips to make Mall Walking Fun

Here are some tips for making your mall-walking routine more enjoyable:

1. Walk with a buddy. Bring along a friend or meet up with one at the mall. Just make sure you’re both at a similar fitness level and can walk at the same pace for the same amount of time. (Family members make good walking buddies, too.)

2. Window shop. Mall walking is a great way to keep an eye out for bargains—especially if you’re at the mall several times a week. Walk by your favorite stores regularly to see what’s on sale.

3. Listen to your favorite tunes on your Ipod that are fast paced it’s a great motivator. Or just listen to music that moves you. (Many malls play music during mall-walking hours, which is enjoyable if you like what they play.)

4. Make plans for after your walk. You’ll be even more motivated if you have something special to look forward to such as coffee with friends, a breakfast or lunch date, or shopping at all the stores you’ve passed while walking.

5. Aim for the prizes. If your mall-walking program includes incentives for miles and/or hours walked, make it your goal to win a prize—then another, and another.

6. Play games. Remember the Alphabet Game during long family car trips? You can play it while mall walking. Look at signs throughout the mall, watching for words that begin with each letter of the alphabet. Once you’ve found one letter, move on to the next, and the next. You can also create your own mall-walking version of I Spy, or invent other “mind games.”

7. Set personal goals. Decide when and how to increase the frequency, duration, or intensity of your walks, then go for it! It may help to keep a journal of your successes, so you can see how much you’ve accomplished. Get creative with goal setting. For example, you could figure out the distance to a travel destination (a weekend getaway, a bed-and-breakfast), then reward yourself with a trip to that place once you’ve walked the number of miles it would take to get there.

8. Think, dream, and plan. Use this time to clear your head. Don’t fall into the trap of thinking about all the things you have to do at work or everything you need to catch up on at home. This is your time—dream about your summer garden, imagine a trip you’d like to take, plan a great meal for you and someone special, or just think about wonderful things you’d like to accomplish in the future.

9. Reward yourself. Give yourself a reward for walking—you’ve earned it. Stop for a fruit smoothie or low-fat yogurt, buy a new sweatshirt, get a massage, or take a hot bath when you get home. These small indulgences not only will remind you that you’re doing something positive for yourself but also will help motivate you to stick with your program.