I feel like TikTok is essentially one inside joke after another, which means it sort of has this tendency of confusing people. So no shame at all if you’re not too sure what exactly a hot girl walk is – trust me, I was right there with you when I first heard about it, too.
Earlier this year, I was mostly on the wellness and personal development side of TikTok, and I kept hearing folks go on and on about this thing called a hot girl walk. I can’t even pinpoint one particular video that introduced me to the magical world of the hot girl walk because everyone seemed to be talking about it. I kept seeing morning routine after morning routine that almost always featured a hot girl walk. At first, I just assumed it was a morning walk, but the more I learned about it, the more my interest was piqued, and the more I fell in love.
The Hot Girl Walk Overview
Let’s get into the details and answer the burning question: what is a hot girl walk?
The hot girl walk was started by Mia, also known as @exactlyliketheothergirls on TikTok, and is a 4-mile walk mindfulness/confidence-building exercise where you’re only allowed to think of 3 things:
- Things you’re grateful for
- How hot you are
- Things you want to achieve
No drama, no negativity, no limiting beliefs.
She acknowledges that some people enjoy listening to podcasts, but encourages you to listen to music to be more alone with your thoughts.
Also read: These 9 Workout Mindset Shifts Will Make Your Fitness Journey More Enjoyable
How my life has changed since incorporating a hot girl walk into my daily routine
I was a pretty active person before starting my daily walks earlier this year. I would typically fit in 5 workouts a week, and hit my 10,000 steps daily. However, thanks to the global pandemic and the fact I both work and workout from home, I started to feel like I was spending far too much time in my house. Seriously, Friday would hit and I’d realize that the only time I had left my house all week was to retrieve my garbage and recycle bins on garbage day, which, of course, isn’t ideal.
Admittedly, getting out of the house wasn’t exactly the easiest task at this time. COVID was at an all-time high here in Canada, and I wanted to be mindful of what I did to ensure I was doing my part to slow the spread. I decided I would start taking a 15-minute walk in the afternoons on weekdays just to make sure I was getting out of the house. I would lace up my shoes, queue up some music or a podcast, and off I’d go. I didn’t have a fancy goal or plan, I would just walk around my neighbourhood, stretch my legs, and get some fresh air.
But it wasn’t too long until I fell head over heels for my daily walks. They went from being a tool to get me out of the house, to one of my favourite parts of my day. They were the uninterrupted me-time away from my computer and my stressors that I didn’t realize I needed.
It wasn’t long until my 15-minute walk turned into a 30-minutes… which then turned into somewhere between 45 minutes and an hour. I also upped my walks from 5 days a week to 7 days because I realized how much better I felt on the days I would go for a walk versus the days I wouldn’t go on one.
It was also around this time that I learned about the hot girl walk.
The hot girl walk embodied everything I wanted out of my walks but took it up a notch. You see, my daily walks had absolutely nothing to do with a fitness routine, exercise plan, or physical goals because I already had a fitness routine that worked for me. My walks were all about my mental wellness. But the major difference between what I used to do and a hot girl was making sure to eliminate any negative self-talk, limiting beliefs, or thinking about issues that I’d need to deal with.
For example, let’s say that an issue arose that was particularly stressful: I’d typically head out on a walk and think about the steps I would need to do to solve it. The hot girl walk differs from what I did before because instead of focusing on the negative stuff, I would have to think about the positive things. So, instead of spending the next hour thinking about everything I needed to do to solve the issue, I would spend the next hour thinking about how amazing things are, how lucky I am, and how great I am at solving things. I would think about different times in the past when I overcame something and how amazing it felt, or about all of the wonderful things happening in my life and all of the great opportunities on the way. I would focus on the good and kick those negative thoughts to the curb.
This attitude changed the game for me.
Now is probably a good time to mention that I’m a firm believer that constant positivity is unrealistic and unproductive. We are humans, so we’re going to experience a wide variety of emotions. Yes, positivity and happiness are both great, but we can’t discount when we’re feeling sad, fearful, or angry. Feeling things other than happiness is a normal and healthy part of everyday life, so I don’t want you to think that the hot girl walk means that you need to be always happy. Telling yourself that you need to be constantly happy or positive will probably leave you feeling pretty discouraged when negative feelings inevitably arise.
To me, the hot girl walk sets a boundary around those negative feelings. It lays the framework to create a space dedicated to positivity and growth by allowing the negative feelings to wait to be explored until later.
Things can often feel worse at the moment. I’m sure we can all think of a time when we’ve gotten bad news, or something has gone wrong, and we’ve felt like our world is crashing down around us. But when we look back on it after the fact, we may feel as though it wasn’t as big of a deal as we thought it was in the moment. The hot girl walk physically removes you from the situation and provides a space to focus on the good, which can get lost in times of stress or uncertainty.
Having a dedicated space to focus on your goals, dreams, and aspirations is incredibly important. When you ask someone what they want, they often focus on the things they don’t want, such as “I don’t want to be in debt anymore,” or “I don’t want to be single.” Very rarely do we step back and focus on what we really want. The hot girl walk is sort of like your dedicated you-time. It’s a space to think about what you want, focus on what you have available to you, and become the best version of yourself.
Why the hot girl walk works so well for me
I’m not naive: I don’t think a long walk will magically improve your life. I mean, if you’re not accustomed to taking daily walks already, randomly trying to force yourself on a regular 4-mile walk may be a difficult task – and that’s okay.
We need to be kind and accepting of where we are now because I truly believe that slow, gradual change that fits into our lifestyle is the most sustainable and enjoyable journey.
Or, at least that’s what has worked for me.
As I mentioned earlier, I didn’t start by taking long daily walks. In the beginning, all I wanted was a way to get out of the house, and seeing that it was one of the only things I could do safely while in a lockdown, it felt like a no-brainer.
These walks have worked so well for me because it was a slow, natural progression that I customized to fit into my life. Instead of going for a 4-mile walk, I do about 4-5 kilometres – and that’s not just because I’m Canadian. My schedule changes daily, so I just try to stick with what my schedule will allow, instead of forcing myself to do something that works for other people.
In the beginning, I kept them short because that was what I could commit to. Back then, I would not have been able to commit to the walks I go on today because they wouldn’t have been important to me. I would have found every excuse I could think of as to why I couldn’t step away from my computer for an hour, and eventually, I probably would have stopped trying altogether.
But the more I went for walks, the more important they became to me, and the more time I felt comfortable allocating to them. The hours in my day hadn’t changed at all, but my priorities did.
So please don’t get too hung up on the distance or time commitment for the hot girl walk – be kind to yourself, look at your schedule, and do what works for you. If that looks like a 5-minute walk down the street, then you do that. If that looks like a 20-minute walk to get a coffee, then you do that. Over time, your priorities may change and you may find yourself allocating more time to your walks, but they also may not and you may find that a shorter walk works for you – both are totally fine outcomes. You do you.
7 Reasons Why You Need To Take A Daily Hot Girl Walk
If you can’t tell already, I love the hot girl walk, and I truly think every guy, gal, and non-binary pal needs one in their day. Allow me to explain why.
1. It gets you out of the house
Whether you’re like me and spend most of your day in the comfort of your own home, or you spend most of your day in an office, the reality is that it can be pretty difficult to get outside. I kept telling myself that one day I’d adopt a dog and would finally have an excuse to get out of the house, but that’s not necessarily the only answer. The reality is that you don’t need a dog, fancy clothes, a fitness tracker, or any other external thing to go for a walk. Walking gets you out of the house, changes up your environment, and fills your lungs with some fresh air.
2. Forces you to check your mindset
Remember, there are only three rules to the hot girl walk: you need to focus on the things you’re grateful for, how hot you are, and the things you want to achieve. When I’m feeling stressed, when I’m dealing with limiting beliefs, or when I’m having a pity party, I know that the hot girl walk is one of the most effective ways to pull myself out of it because it forces me to shift my mindset and to focus on the opportunities. The start of the walk may feel a little more challenging, but the further you go and the more you focus on shifting your mindset, the easier it’ll be. Everything else can wait until you’re home.
3. It’s dedicated time to think about your goals
As I mentioned earlier, a lot of us are much more accustomed to thinking about everything that we don’t want as opposed to thinking about what we do want. The hot girl walk is a dedicated space to focus on what you want.
Why is this important? We create more of what we focus on, sort of like the new car theory. Let’s say you decide to buy a blue Honda Civic – you go to pick it up, drive off the lot, and then start seeing the exact same car everywhere. It’s at every stoplight, you see it in the background of movies, and you randomly notice that your neighbour has the same one in their driveway. When we start paying attention to something, our brain starts looking for it. Similarly, when we are focusing on the things that we don’t want to happen, we are still focusing on the bad things. Focusing on not failing a test is putting your energy on the thought of failing the test, whereas focusing on the thought of passing the test focuses your energy on the positive thought of passing the test. It puts you in a better mindset and allows your brain to search for confirmations to help you achieve your goal.
4. You have some uninterrupted time to learn something new/work through your thoughts
I know the official rules advise against podcasts, but I sort of beg to differ. The way I see it is that you can’t change or grow unless you know that you need to. Personally, I like listening to podcasts that can either introduce me to a new concept, will hype me up, or work through something that’s been holding me back. I keep the podcasts focused on personal development, the law of attraction, or manifestation so I can learn something new and grow as a person. I’m a big believer that there is always more to learn, and in my opinion, these walks are the perfect time to do so.
5. One word: endorphins
In the wise words of Elle Woods, endorphins make you happy. Here’s the reason why I love the hot girl walk as opposed to other mindfulness practices I do: it gets you outside, it gets you thinking positively, and it gets your endorphins up. This combo works so well for me because it gets me feeling my best so I can focus more on the things that make me feel good.
6. Fresh air/vitamin D is always a good idea
I want to touch more on this point because I think it’s so important. I mentioned this earlier, but unless I’m intentionally getting outside, I will find myself spending way too much time indoors. Spending time outside can help with the production of serotonin, which can help reduce stress and improve your overall mood. Of course, make sure you’re safe when you’re outside: wear a hat, put on some sunscreen, stay hydrated, wear appropriate footwear, try to time your walk so it isn’t too hot… you know the drill.
7. You can customize them to fit your needs
I recruited my cousin on a hot girl walk the other day, and she explained to me that she does pretty much the same thing on her bike. She said how she always thinks about her dreams, goals, and things that make her happy. The idea of a hot girl walk is, well, exactly that… an idea, a concept. If you’re not interested in walking, have a physical limitation that impacts your mobility, or you simply prefer something else (such as biking), that’s totally fine. At the end of the day, the hot girl walk is a mindfulness practice, and it will be much more sustainable if you enjoy it. Customize it to fit your needs, your schedule, and your overall interest.
