Heard of the “Hot Girl Walk”? Here’s what it is and why you should do it.
At last, a TikTok trend that we, grown-ups, can get behind!
First of all, let’s not get stuck on the name “hot girl”. You can be whoever and still benefit from this practice.
And I’m not going to pretend that any of this is new either — The Hot Girl Walk (HGW) combines well-known wellness elements, such as movement, gratitude, mindfulness, and visualisation. But it does so in ways that are simple and fun to apply to your daily routine.
So, strap on your favourite pair of trainers, and let’s go!
The origin story:
It all started sometime last year when Mia Lind, a college student known as @exactlyliketheothergirls on TikTok, decided to share the principles behind her lockdown health and fitness routine and dubbed it the “Hot Girl Walk”.
In contrast with many other trends on social media, encouraging young girls to eat very little or to strive for unreal beauty standards, Mia just proposed that her followers go on regular long walks (with a twist).
Mia (@exactlyliketheothergirls) TikTok | Watch Mia’s Newest TikTok Videos
The main elements of the Hot Girl Walk:
The HGW, as Mia defines it, is a 4-mile mindful walk during which you are only allowed to think of:
- The things you are grateful for
- How hot you are
- The things you want to achieve
Mia’s hot tip for when you’re thinking about your goals is to visualise the person you’ll be once you’ve achieved them. She encourages us to listen to some banging tunes and even created a playlist on Spotify, but why not compile your own?! She warns that listening to a podcast could be distracting though, and take away the mindfulness element of the practice.
Mia also explains that the HGW is all about building confidence and transforming from the inside out. She says the practice allows us to create an energy that we can carry with us throughout the day.
Pretty sound advice, right?!
The benefits:
Whether you choose to go on a HGW or just a plain old regular stroll, the benefits of building a daily walking habit are difficult to ignore:
It boosts your energy and lifts your mood
Walking gets your blood pumping throughout your body and gets more oxygen to your brain, making you feel energised.
It also releases endorphins which relieve stress and make you feel happier.
It strengthens your immune system
One study followed 1000 participants during cold and flu season. It found that walking for at least 20 minutes a day for a minimum of five days a week allowed people to reduce the number of sick days they took.
And when they did get a bit of a sniffle, their symptoms weren’t as harsh or long-lasting as those in the control group who were sedentary.
Being outside and absorbing natural sunlight is also a vital part of our vitamin D metabolism, which is essential to our immune defence.
It keeps you alive for longer!
Walking is a cardiovascular exercise. So it burns calories, which helps to maintain a healthy weight and keep your internal organs working at their best. It also strengthens your heart’s muscles and reduces your blood pressure, which in turn reduces the risks of developing heart disease.
The brisker the walk the better, according to a study in the British Journal of Sports Medicine. It was shown that walking at an average to brisk pace significantly reduces the risks of “all-cause mortality”.
It doesn’t mean that we’re going to live forever if we go for a daily hike around the block. That would require serious incantations or some kind of a soul trade-off. But, it could buy us a few years by staving off illnesses (including cancer).
It unlocks your creativity
A study from Stanford University compiled the results from 4 different experiments which showed that walking, especially outdoors, allowed people to generate more new ideas.
This was found to be true while they were walking as well as for a time after their walk. The use of indoor treadmills was also successful in increasing creativity.
Researchers concluded that walking was a simple way to unlock creativity and advised that the working day should include opportunities for walks, especially in creative industries.
Convinced yet?
If you need more convincing to start moving; the great thing about walking is that it requires no equipment, apart from a comfortable pair of shoes, and no money.
It’s also a fantastic entry-level cardio exercise and it’s easier on your joints than a lot of the higher-impact workouts like running or jumping rope. Plus, you don’t need to do the prescribed 4 miles — You can start small and build yourself up. You’re the boss of you!
The important here is to move and connect with yourself, your thoughts, and your aspirations.
So, let’s plug in our headphones, channel our inner hot girl, and sashay our way to our best life!
PS:
I went for a #hotgirlwalk in the middle of writing this blog and visualised myself as I pressed the ‘publish’ button. Then, the claps and positive comments came raining down in hundreds and thousands. My article went viral and I finally made real money with my writing on Medium.
Let’s test the power of visualisation — I pressed ‘publish’, the rest is up to you.
;0)
