You know how you go out for a walk to give your body some good stuff? Not just movement, hopefully, but maybe also a dose of nature, time to connect, peace, joy.

That’s all really good for you being well. (And, hey, don’t let winter — if you have winter — stop you. A brisk winter walk can feel majorly awesome.)

But, we all get in habits, and, with walking, that habit may look like strolling along at the same pace, time after time. While that’s tons better than no walk or no movement, there’s a simple thing to do that will amp up its power, without taking even a bit more time. Really, how cool is that? Wellness in not even a minute extra.

Here’s the deal: A recent study found that older adults who walked faster than 3 miles per hour had a 50 percent lower risk of heart disease than those who walked at a slower pace. So, to keep it simple, pick up the pace. Even if you pick up the pace for part of your walk to start. You may need something to tell you how fast more than 3 mph is or use a treadmill to get a feel for it, but then you can manage on your own.

I guess I’m blessed that I’m short. All these years of walking with people generally taller than myself means I developed a pretty fast pace. 3 mph feels pretty much like a slow stroll to me. It’s nice to know that something I now naturally do is building in some health insurance. (The good kind, not the costly kind.)

Besides pace, distance counts, too. Those who walked an average of seven blocks daily had a 47 percent lower risk of heart disease than those who walked five or fewer blocks each week.

This next bit can be both helpful to see what you’re really doing and motivating. Get yourself something that measures how far you’ve walked. You can get something relatively less expensive — as simple as a $10 pedometer — or fancier devices that measure that and more at a range of prices. I recently bought a FitBit (I got the simpler one because I mostly wanted to see steps and sleep.), and it really does motivate me to do more. It’s fun seeing the graphs and various info and keep track of what I’m doing to keep my body well. It’s well worth the investment to me. I used a pedometer (okay, well, pedometers and pedometers as I lost them, broke them and dropped them in the toilet!) long ago, then used a fancier, tracks all kinds of stuff one a few years ago, but this one suits me just fine right now.

These two little changes in what you’re doing can make a huge difference in your health not so far down the road.