"People who don't walk might feel a few aches and pains at first," Dr. Lee says. "But those go away." She adds that even people with arthritis find their joints don't hurt as much after they've been walking for a while. "The important thing is to move and not fret about goals," she says. "Work on enjoying it. If you enjoy it, you'll keep doing it."

Both Drs. Lee and Franklin recommend trying to increase what you do a little each week. Trying to walk about 10 percent farther or 10 percent longer each week is reasonable, they say. And if you can't get in 30 minutes all at once, both advise breaking up the time into 10- or 15-minute periods. "Three 10-minute periods," Dr. Franklin says, "will give you almost as much benefit as one 30-minute period."

Dr. Franklin also says you shouldn't limit yourself to a formal walking program. "The key isn't to walk 30 minutes and then say you're just going to watch TV the rest of the day. I sometimes recommend getting a pedometer you can wear on your belt. A pedometer counts the number of steps you take. Then, at the end of the day, you can look to see how much you're walking."

The average person takes between 2,500 and 3,500 steps each day. Dr. Franklin recommends challenging yourself to increase the average number of steps you take on a weekly basis. "The more you move," he says, "the better you'll feel."

Source: http://resources.purematters.com/fitness/exercise/a-good-walk-can-make-you-young