Walking Is Not a Consolation Prize
By Doreen Warfield, Studio Strong
Okay so I need to say something that’s going to bother some of you, which is that a lot of executives I talk to treat walking like it doesn’t count. Like it’s the thing you do when you can’t do a real workout. And I get why, because it doesn’t feel hard, and we’ve all been trained to think if it’s not hard it’s not doing anything.
That’s wrong, and I want to actually explain why instead of just telling you to walk more like some poster in a doctor’s office.
There’s a Stanford study from 2014, real one, not something I saw on Instagram, where they had people do creative thinking tasks while sitting versus while walking. And walking increased creative output by 60 percent on average. In one of the experiments it literally doubled the number of creative responses people came up with. And here’s the part that actually matters for you, the effect didn’t stop when they sat back down. It stuck around.
So if you’ve ever taken a walk to think through a problem and come back with the answer, that’s not a coincidence and it’s not just you. That’s an actual measurable thing happening in your brain, and there’s real research behind why Steve Jobs did walking meetings and why Zuckerberg does too. It’s not a quirky habit. It’s a performance tool they figured out works.
Here’s what I think is actually going on.
You’re stuck in back to back meetings, staring at screens, trying to solve hard problems while sitting completely still, and your brain is fighting you the whole time. And instead of questioning the setup, you assume you just need more coffee or more willpower.
Meanwhile the fix was never complicated. It’s just moving. Not a workout. Not forty five minutes of sweating. Just walking, which every single one of you already knows how to do and doesn’t require a gym membership or a shower after.
And this is where I bring up something else, which is your actual health, not just your output.
Walking doesn’t ask much of you and it still moves the needle on almost everything that matters. Blood sugar. Stress. Sleep. Recovery. It’s not going to build you a ton of muscle, I’m not going to pretend it is, but it is genuinely one of the most efficient things you can do for your body with the least amount of effort and risk. There’s no learning curve. Nobody’s ever gotten injured badly walking around a block.
If you’re someone who’s not doing anything right now, walking is not the beginner version of fitness you graduate out of. It’s a legitimate tool you keep using forever, alongside whatever else you’re doing.
So here’s what we’re doing about it.
Studio Strong’s Step Challenge kicks off September 1st, and it’s built around exactly this, just moving more, consistently, in a way that’s actually trackable so you’re not guessing whether you did enough. If you’ve been meaning to build a walking habit and just never had a reason to start, this is the reason.
Take the first step, literally, at vst.bz/step.
You already know how to do this one. You’ve just been told it doesn’t count. It counts.
Doreen Warfield and the Studio Strong team have helped hundreds of O’Fallon business owners discover their strength through private, personalized training. Studio Strong | 629 West Hwy 50, O’Fallon, IL | 618-581-0193 | studiostrong.fit
Part of our Chamber Business Performance Series for 2026.By Doreen Warfield, Studio Strong
Okay so I need to say something that’s going to bother some of you, which is that a lot of executives I talk to treat walking like it doesn’t count. Like it’s the thing you do when you can’t do a real workout. And I get why, because it doesn’t feel hard, and we’ve all been trained to think if it’s not hard it’s not doing anything.
That’s wrong, and I want to actually explain why instead of just telling you to walk more like some poster in a doctor’s office.
There’s a Stanford study from 2014, real one, not something I saw on Instagram, where they had people do creative thinking tasks while sitting versus while walking. And walking increased creative output by 60 percent on average. In one of the experiments it literally doubled the number of creative responses people came up with. And here’s the part that actually matters for you, the effect didn’t stop when they sat back down. It stuck around.
So if you’ve ever taken a walk to think through a problem and come back with the answer, that’s not a coincidence and it’s not just you. That’s an actual measurable thing happening in your brain, and there’s real research behind why Steve Jobs did walking meetings and why Zuckerberg does too. It’s not a quirky habit. It’s a performance tool they figured out works.
Here’s what I think is actually going on.
You’re stuck in back to back meetings, staring at screens, trying to solve hard problems while sitting completely still, and your brain is fighting you the whole time. And instead of questioning the setup, you assume you just need more coffee or more willpower.
Meanwhile the fix was never complicated. It’s just moving. Not a workout. Not forty five minutes of sweating. Just walking, which every single one of you already knows how to do and doesn’t require a gym membership or a shower after.
And this is where I bring up something else, which is your actual health, not just your output.
Walking doesn’t ask much of you and it still moves the needle on almost everything that matters. Blood sugar. Stress. Sleep. Recovery. It’s not going to build you a ton of muscle, I’m not going to pretend it is, but it is genuinely one of the most efficient things you can do for your body with the least amount of effort and risk. There’s no learning curve. Nobody’s ever gotten injured badly walking around a block.
If you’re someone who’s not doing anything right now, walking is not the beginner version of fitness you graduate out of. It’s a legitimate tool you keep using forever, alongside whatever else you’re doing.
So here’s what we’re doing about it.
Studio Strong’s Step Challenge kicks off September 1st, and it’s built around exactly this, just moving more, consistently, in a way that’s actually trackable so you’re not guessing whether you did enough. If you’ve been meaning to build a walking habit and just never had a reason to start, this is the reason.
Take the first step, literally, at vst.bz/step.
You already know how to do this one. You’ve just been told it doesn’t count. It counts.
Doreen Warfield and the Studio Strong team have helped hundreds of O’Fallon business owners discover their strength through private, personalized training. Studio Strong | 629 West Hwy 50, O’Fallon, IL | 618-581-0193 | studiostrong.fit
Part of our Chamber Business Performance Series for 2026.
