The Magic of the 10-Minute Walk
Supercharge your strongevity with a few short walks
The Highlander helps strength athletes and enthusiasts live stronger for longer. Join hundreds of fellow Highlanders on the journey:
10-Minute Walks for Strongevity
Staying stronger for longer may be as simple as a short walk after you eat.
Stan Efferding, pro bodybuilder and powerlifter, popularized the 10-minute walk as part of his Vertical Diet. The idea is simple. After you eat, walk for 10 minutes.
The purpose of the walk is many fold:
Improve digestion by reducing indigestion.
Improve insulin sensitivity by reducing peak and duration of insulin response to a mean.
Helps with low back pain.
Can encourage better weight loss as increased frequency of exercise with same volume has a better effect on weight.
Decrease all cause mortality.
Reduce stress to improve sleep.
Frequent movement is just great. And timing it after a meal is even better.
Does the 10-minute walk really work?
My glucose monitor says they do.
I consistently see lower peaks and quicker returns to normal levels on my monitor when I get a walk in post meal. I’m currently eating a lot of carbs as I build some muscle over the next few months, so the walks help with the big spikes I get from a 100g+ carb meal. While I try to time my big carb hits around training, I also now consider whether or not I can get a quick 10-minute walk after the meal.
And walks seem to be more effective than other light exercise. I’ve tried 10-minute bikes. A few minutes of jump rope. A circuit of bodyweight exercises or technique work. Walks seem to do more to blood sugar than all of those alternatives.
Im not sadistic enough to try a few minutes of burpees, but I imagine walks would do better than those too. Certainly on the digestion front.
Add some 10-minute walks to your day, and see if you handle food better. Especially after your bigger meals.
Chocolate Protein Mousse
When you’re dieting, you get pretty food focused and creative about how to make filling meals and treats that taste good. In bodybuilding prep and post, I think I’ve collected about 50 recipes, mostly desserts, that keep me sane and within my target macros. Another Highlander was recently telling me about how he enjoyed the ice cream recipes from a few weeks back.
Here’s another of my favorite treats — Chocolate Protein Mousse — and it’s super easy:
3/4 cup 0% fat Greek yogurt (170g)
2 tbsp peanut butter or other nut butter (32g)
1/2 scoop Optimum Nutrition Natural Chocolate protein powder
If you don’t have the protein powder, you can sub a 1/4 tbsp of cocoa powder.
Mix all the ingredients together with a spoon until smooth, or use a hand blender to put air into the mixture for a mousse.
Macros for the recipe are 335 calories with 16.5g fat, 12.5g carbs, 37g protein.
Eat your mousse and stay stronger for longer.
Disclaimer: The Highlander is an educational Substack about how to live stronger for longer. As with all exercise and health advice, consult with a doctor and/or trainer. This is not medical advice.
