Photo by Matthias Ripp/FlickrCC
Stand with both your feet together.
Now put your left foot approximately 12 – 18 inches out in front of you.
Now, bring your right foot past your left foot and a further 12 – 18 inches in front. Repeat with trailing leg.
You’re doing it.
It may not seem as exciting as other, more extreme sports (you don’t see any gear companies sponsoring pro walkers), but the health benefits of walking are enormous.
It also has a lot of convenience factors going for it:
- You can walk many places, even indoors: walk an extra lap around the grocery store or Wal-Mart, walk at the mall, walk in your church rec area or at the school gym after hours, all without disturbing others the way you would if you were, say, riding a bike.
- You don’t end up super sweaty, so you can walk before and during your work day.
- You can make walking part of your routine: since you can wear almost any type of clothing and walk comfortably, try “walking” errands and taking walking breaks. Facebook will still be there when you get back.
Photo by lindejesus/FlickrCC
Start tracking your steps with a pedometer or your phone and watch the steps add up.
For more ways to make walking part of your everyday, check out this article from the Everybody Walks! national campaign.
There are a number of walking groups around West Virginia if you’d like to walk with someone else. Check out our listing of walking groups and resources here: WVPAN/walking.
More and more West Virginians are realizing the importance of walking. These folks have gone above and beyond to create cool walking programs to get people excited about walking.
The Mingo County Diabetes Coalition Lunch Walk encourages teams to sign up to walk at lunch to earn points. You can track your progress on a map from West Virginia to Los Angeles, or along the Appalachian Trail. This is the third year of this program and more people sign up every year!
New River Gorge NPS Walk 100 Miles challenge – walk 100 miles along the banks of the New River and earn a prize! Just because this guy did it in 14 days doesn’t mean you have to – you have all of 2016 to walk your miles. First 100 people to hit 100 miles win an additional prize!
Trying to convince a friend or family member to start walking with you? Show them this video, and then head outside for a walk!
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