The idea came to me in a hotel room a few miles from Disneyland in California. I was attending a conference on podcasting for the radio station. I wanted to explore what the station could do with this growing medium.

I also wanted to start my own podcast. Something that was separate from the station and was mine. I was pacing back and forth in the hotel room before the sun came up thinking about topics I could build a podcast around when the idea popped up almost fully fleshed out.

I love walking and was aware of how many people buy a Fitbit and then struggle to reach their goal. I could do a daily podcast as I walked that would motivate others and help them get more steps. I would call it More Steps With Dave. Brilliant, right?

I fell in love with the idea and began developing it even more. I bought my own microphone and recording equipment and started recording sample episodes.

They sounded dumb.

I kept practicing and recording and it never got better. Meanwhile, the plan was also to have a companion blog and website. While the podcast was flopping around like a fish on the floor, the blog felt good.

I love to write and it’s how I best explore ideas. I think more clearly when I write than when I talk…which is a little odd since I’ve spent my professional life talking on the radio. Eventually I gave up the idea for the podcast and focused exclusively on the blog which started as Goal: 20,000 Steps.

That name coincided with my 20k One Year Step Challenge where I publicly committed to reaching 20,000 steps every day for a year with no breaks. Soon after I crossed the “finish line” I changed the name to Walking is Fitness.

I truly enjoy writing these articles and creating free resources to help you set and achieve your fitness goals by walking more and walking more intentionally.

But, the idea of a podcast has never completely gone away. As much as I love writing, I also love podcasts and am working on one for the station that will debut next year. I’m excited about that. I also believe this blog needs a podcast which is why I couldn’t shake the idea.

For more than a year I’ve thought through different concepts, but none felt right until this summer. Recognizing that not everybody prefers reading over listening…I’ve decided to simply turn each blog article into a podcast. Now you’ll have the option to read or listen.

G.K. Chesterton once said, “If a thing is worth doing, it’s worth doing badly.” His point is not that we should lower our standards and do our work with sloppy effort. Instead, Mr. Chesterton’s philosophy is that if something has value it’s going to take time to reach excellence and we should be lean into the awkward beginning.

In other words, don’t let your insecurity about how well you’ll be able to do a thing keep you from getting started. Kind of like how a lot of us approach fitness. It feels hard, awkward, and maybe even pointless because of how long it’ll take that we don’t even start.

That awkward beginning could be a speedbump for me with this podcast. I know it won’t sound as good now as it will a year from now. But, I can’t start in the future or I’ll never get started. Mr. Chesterton believed we need to be willing to work through the difficult beginning to pursue what has value.

I guess this is my way of saying, I don’t love the way these early podcasts sound, but each one I do is a little better than the one before and I can’t wait to hear what they’re going to sound like next year. That said, I’m trying to do some fun things with each episode that I can’t do with the blog posts and I hope you’ll enjoy it.

There are a couple ways you can listen to the Walking is Fitness podcast. If you already enjoy podcasts, search your favorite podcast provider for Walking is Fitness. You can download individual episodes or subscribe and each new episode will be automatically delivered to your phone on Wednesday morning.

Or, if you prefer, you can listen to each episode through the blog post itself.

To give you a taste of the podcast I’ve recorded the three most popular Walking is Fitness articles.

HOW MANY STEPS SHOULD STEPS SHOULD YOU GET A DAY?

This blog post was published November 6, 2019. It answers the question a lot of new (and not so new) Fitbit owners ask.

FIVE LESSONS FROM WALKING 20,000 STEPS A DAY

I wrote this article a few weeks before I finished my 20k One Year Step Challenge. It’s actually one of my favorite posts.

THE DOWNSIDE TO WALKING 20,000 STEPS A DAY

As much as I love the immense benefits of walking as much as I do, there is a cost. I wrote about that in early April 2019.

Starting next week each new blog article will also be a podcast episode so you can choose whether to read or listen.