Some people have asked me whether or not walking every day counts as exercise. First of all, for those who walk every day, I commend you. The topic of walking reminds me of years ago, when I was challenged to wear a pedometer (a device that counts the number of steps taken) and walk at least 10,000 steps per day (equates to approx. 5 miles). At that time I was an intern at a hospital and by the end of the day I walked about 6,000 steps (about 3 miles). This left 2 miles by the time work was done, and I can be honest, most of the time I failed to finish the extra 2 miles because when I came home it was often dark and very late.

Physical activity is important for so many reasons. Being active can increase your chances of living longer, help you feel better about yourself, help you maintain or achieve a healthy weight and can help you get better sleep at night. Ocean County is known for the Jersey Shore and has a lot of perks for its residents, including the boardwalk, ocean, bays, lagoons, shopping, festivals and so on. One thing in particular that excites us about Ocean County is all of its great places outdoors to get some exercise.  Here are a few of our favorite places.