Elle Halliwell: 'Thanks to walking, I finally have fitness JOMO'

She has a newfound appreciation for exercise

Halliwell says she just likes walking, with a "smattering" of yoga and Pilates. Image: Instagram

After discovering she didn't enjoy HIIT or running, Halliwell took to walking. Today only wild weather and weekly sleep-ins keep her from lacing up her shoes.

I didn't come from a fitness-loving, sporty family. We used to laugh because my mum wouldn't even walk to our letterbox. In hindsight, it was far from funny, but it does explain my innate aversion to fitness.

At school, I tried every sport, and despite my enthusiasm, my lack of coordination always found me in the outfield or on a bench. Looking back, any drive I had to participate in activities that pushed my heart rate stemmed more from peer pressure and a need to fit in than actual joy. My favourite 'sport' was fishing, and it still is, but I'd take a book over pretty much any other form of fitness any day.

In my 20s, it was vanity that continued my drive to be 'fit.' I tried high-intensity interval training, CrossFit, winter ocean swims, stair sprints, and soft sand running - actually all running. And I couldn't stick to any of them for more than a few months.

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Despite my aversion to exercise for the sake of exercise, I like to push myself. Give me a challenging hike involving insanely beautiful views, wildlife encounters, and good company (occasionally - I'm more of a solo walker), then I'm in my element. Top it off with meditation, and life doesn't get much better.

But performing lunges and jump squats to the sounds of thumping house tracks surrounded by sweaty, grunting humans is not my vibe unless it's 1am and I'm in a nightclub (which these days is very, very unlikely).

And I used to feel so guilty about it. I was active, did plenty of incidental exercise and was a healthy weight. But I couldn't help feeling I was lazy and would ask myself: Would my health suffer if I didn't push my body hard enough?

But in 2016, a shift occurred. I'd just turned 30, and I started to walk. I'd just been diagnosed with blood cancer and was pregnant with my first child. I needed to clear my head, and so I started to take short strolls around my neighbourhood.

I noticed my mind felt clearer, my sleep was improving and as weeks passed, the walks got longer. I began to look forward to lacing up my sneakers and heading out; soon I was hitting eight and 10 kilometres at a time.

But by the time my son was a toddler, the fitness guilt crept back. I signed up for F45, and the walks dropped off. Six months later, the four times weekly weights and intense cardio sessions had left my body inflamed and with the appetite of a teenage boy. So I quit and again began my search for another fitness program I'd actually stick to.

It wasn't until last year when I was struggling with depression and mentally at the lowest point in my life that I put on my walking shoes again, having remembered the feeling of hope and joy I had felt in those days after my diagnosis.

I bought a pair of AirPods, downloaded Ryan Holiday's book The Obstacle is The Way, and began to stroll up and down the Bondi Beach promenade. Day after day, whether rainy, windy, sunny, or still, I walked the ever-changing mood of the ocean, my constant walking companion.

In contrast to my early fitness experiences, I discovered a newfound appreciation for exercise that aligned with my inner sense of peace and joy. It wasn't about pounding music or intense workouts but rather the simplicity of walking, and it was during this transformation that I stumbled upon the Sydney Harbour Hike.

This hike, with its stunning views and historical significance, exemplifies my newfound love for fitness through immersive, soul-nourishing activities like walking. In contrast to the high-intensity workouts that never quite resonated with me, the hike encapsulates the kind of fitness journey that truly speaks to my soul—a journey that celebrates both physical activity and the sheer beauty of nature, all while raising money for The Fred Hollow’s Foundation.

Slowly, and with the help of therapy, medication, meditation, and time, I began to heal. My mood improved. I began walking with friends, calling loved ones interstate and finding joy again. Today, only torrential cyclonic rain events - and Sunday sleep-ins - will keep me from my daily 7km walks.

It's kind of ironic too that I've been complimented by a number of friends on my recent acquisition of 'abs,' when I've done maybe three crunches this whole year (during a random Pilates class last month).

But it wasn't until a girlfriend tried to recruit me into her weekly soft sand run club that I had an epiphany. I don't like running. I don't like HIIT. I don't like team sports. I just like walking. With a smattering of yoga and Pilates.

Perhaps it's a side effect of the ageing process; this inner confidence to accept ourselves as who we are and who we can be, rather than who we feel we should be, or should want to be. And I'll walk to that.

Originally published as Elle Halliwell: 'Thanks to walking, I finally have fitness JOMO'