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I workout in the am so by the time I get to work my exercise is done.
I sit all day at a desk job. My butt cheeks get numb. Luckily we have long hallways and I drink water so I take numerous walks down the hall to visit the restroom. If I up the speed, gets the circulation moving in the cheeks and enables me to sit again when I get back to my desk until the next walk.
I notice some people have to go out of their way to "walk as exercise" intentionally while other people get around walking more often as practicality and don't feel the need to spend time "walking as exercise" because it's already what they do a lot of. Now, in the United States, it seems in general a lot of cities differ in how many people walk (for example in big dense ones like NYC, obviously more people walk to stores and get around as pedestrians etc.) and get things done via walking, so I wonder how the amount of walking "for fitness" vs. "walking to get by" differs for most people.
I have always lived in the suburbs of a largish city. When I was a kid, I did walk to get somewhere, as to the store for my mom, or to school.
But neighborhood stores closed, or I moved as an adult farther afield, and walking to any destination became impractical.
Now, as a senior, I do walk 2-3 times/week at a track in a community gym. I walk 1 mile on the track and do about 2 miles on a recumbent elliptical machine, for the sake of my knees. (I also work out on various machines for legs and upper body.) I do walk through 2 grocery stores twice a week, and I do yard work throughout the year.
I spent my career standing and walking, with some time spent at a desk. Its the standing that messes with your knees, IMO.
I really need the fitness walking. I want to keep my legs strong and my balance working, which us why I don’t use a treadmill. And when we travel I want to be able to walk a short trail or climb stairs. So, for me, fitness walking is useful.
I love walking and is the only exercise I'm willing to do. I drive a car, so I don't have to walk very much to get around, so I purposely go out to walk for 30 minutes (2 miles) every day during lunch. It is fast walking, not leisurely and relaxed; I walk fast enough to get my heart rate up. Weekends, I don't walk unless I have a walkable destination to go to.
I live in a city where you pretty much have to drive everywhere. I could probably bike to the local grocery store if I didn't mind being hit by someone not paying attention to the road. Our area has a lot of bike fatalities because we don't have enough bike paths and we have a lot of snowbirds and distracted drivers these days.
Honestly when we were kids (from a young age to teenage years) we didn't have a car until my mom went to work (night shift) so we never had the "luxury" of transportation other than walking. So it has always been for practical purposes but nowadays I am grateful for that upbringing and TG and knock on wood my legs are in great shape so I continue to do it for both practical reasons and knowing that it is also (for me) good exercise as well. I also do water aerobics and that's something I enjoy.
I think most people who walk to get around likely live back east in the US, or overseas, with good public transportation that they walk to, and small stores on many corners, and most of their life is, or can be, within walking distance, or within walking distance of public transportation.
Things aren't really that way out west. Stores are very spread out, with LONG distances between, and very poor public transportation options. Walking to get things done in my day isn't really an option, while still keeping a job. Everything is relatively far away, so if I was going to walk to run my errands, it could take many hours of walking, and that's choosing the closest options, which are often the most expensive. If I was going to ride the bus around, it would take a little less time, but not a lot less.
Therefore, I walk for fitness, not to get around.
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