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I love my morning walk. It’s a habit I’m consistent with, rain or shine.

I’ve written about eight reasons to take a walk every day and ten ways to optimize your walk, but what excites me the most is how much I get out of my walk because of the hacks I’ve implemented.

First, you need to understand the purpose of my morning walk. It’s designed to:

1. Anchor my day with a healthy habit
2. Get a low-impact workout that burns fat and builds strength
3. Push myself slightly out of my comfort zone (eat that morning frog) and inoculate myself to discomfort
4. Enhance the benefits of my morning fast like autophagy and fat burning
5. Reset my circadian rhythm
6. Walk my dog (@lunacovedelaney)
7. Warm up enough to make my morning cold plunge more desirable
8. Optimize my mindset for the day. Research has shown that 20 minutes outside (3X/week) leaves us feeling calmer and with sharper and more productive, creative minds.

So how do I accomplish all of this in a 40 minute walk?

I’ve hacked and stacked it. I’ve hacked everything from my sauna time, cold exposure, fasting, and exercise to optimize the time during these uncomfortable things so that I get the most out of them. But I’ve definitely hacked my morning walk the most.