DR. WALLACE: I'm planning a new exercise routine to improve my health and also to lose some weight. We all already know that walking is healthy, but I'm wondering if it is better to walk faster or to walk longer?

I know you were a varsity coach, so I'm guessing you have a take on the benefits of each mode of walking. And please don't tell me to start running or jogging, since those are definitely not my things. I can see myself sticking with a walking program, but I feel if I force myself to run or jog when I don't really want to do that, it will discourage me and cause me to stop everything and lose all the benefits in a short period of time. — Ready to Start, via email

READY TO START: They are both very good for different reasons! It's not a cop-out to tell you this, and I even have suggestions on where to start and why. When I was a high school and college student myself, I ran track and was what is known as a "distance runner." I thoroughly enjoyed those days.

These days, I walk every single morning, so I'm very happy to give you encouragement and strategies that I feel may help you. To start with in the beginning, I suggest you walk at a slower and comfortable pace and go for endurance. Start out with whatever length of walking is comfortable for you — even something as short as 10 minutes is fine — but gradually seek to extend the duration of your walks as you build up stamina, muscle memory and endurance. Don't worry at all about your speed. Seek to go longer distances gradually and work your way on to regular walks of at least 20 minutes and hopefully as close to 30 minutes as possible.

Be sure you have good comfortable walking shoes, walk on surfaces that are safe and well lit and keep track of your success by noting the distances and the time walked on a calendar or a brief journal. It's encouraging to see a lot of days filled in with the corresponding times listed.

Once you build up your time and distances, then you can slowly begin to add a bit of a faster pace mixed in. Let's say you are up to 25- or 30-minute walks at a slow, comfortable pace and that you're ready to pick up the pace a bit. When you do, select a five-minute "window" to walk faster in the middle of your overall walk.

For example, walk at your normal comfortable pace for 10 minutes to warm up and get started, and time yourself to walk five minutes at a brisker pace immediately thereafter. Once you hit the 15-minute mark, downshift your quicker pace back down to your very comfortable slower pace for the remainder of that walk. Then, each week seek to add a few minutes of more brisk walking in the middle of your walk, and build that five-minute brisk segment up to six, seven and even 10 minutes over the course of a few weeks or a month.

Then, as that becomes easier and more routine, eventually you can fill in everything to be at a brisk pace other than the first few minutes to warm up in the final few minutes to cool down during your walk. I like to walk about 35 minutes or more a day, and I use two minutes at first to warm up slowly and two to cool down at the end, but the rest of my walk is brisk but under control. That's the key, in my opinion. Don't seek to walk faster and faster. Your goal is health and fitness, not to enter a speed-walking competition. Your safety is also paramount, so don't ever push yourself beyond what your body tells you feels comfortable.

I trust that if you start slowly and build up gradually, you'll have a much more enjoyable experience, and your chances of sticking with your new walking routine will be greatly enhanced.

LET'S SAY I'M NOT AN ATHLETE

DR. WALLACE: I'm a 17-year-old guy, and you could say that I'm what's typically called a nerdy type of guy. I'm short and thin and I wear glasses, too. I don't play any sports because I'm both small and uncoordinated. There is some good news, however. I'm pretty intelligent, I get good grades and I can program computers really well.

Is there any hope that I'll find a girl who would go out with someone like me? So far, my social life has been skinnier than I am. — Hopeful Things Will Change

HOPEFUL THINGS WILL CHANGE: With each passing year from now on, your intelligence will become a greater and greater asset to you and to your social life. Seek to join some clubs or groups while you are in high school, and absolutely do the same the moment you arrive on a college campus.

Be yourself and be confident of your ability to earn a living in this world by using the gifts and talents you have.

We all have strong personal points, and it's best to play them up consistently and responsibly. If you do this, I trust it won't be long until your social life picks up some meaningful momentum.

Stay the course and keep studying hard. Your future self will be proud of your accomplishments both in terms of learning and socializing.

Dr. Robert Wallace welcomes questions from readers. Although he is unable to reply to all of them individually, he will answer as many as possible in this column. Email him at [email protected]. To find out more about Dr. Robert Wallace and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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