Walking is a great part of a healthful lifestyle
that will help you to be trimmer, more energetic and happier. Study after study
supports this. If you do not have a regular exercise routine, consider walking. The benefits of increased energy and productivity will repay your investment of time. Then you’ll reap the added benefits of an improved mood, decreased stress and
firmer muscles. To get started, purchase a pedometer and track your steps for
a week. Your first goal should be to daily walk the number of steps that you
walked on the most active day. Then add 500 steps per day as you feel you can. Set an ultimate goal of 10,000 steps. It
takes up to six months for a new activity to become a habit so rededicate yourself to your goal daily.
To add some interest to your walking program:
▪ Take a trip. Find out the distance
to a destination and then take a virtual trip by adding up your steps daily towards your destination. A mile equals approximately 2000 steps. Map Quest is a great
source for this information plus you can print out a map and highlight your progress for motivation! A trip from Barix Clinics in Wylie, Texas to Barix Clinics in Scottsdale, Arizona is 1,110 miles or 2,220,000
steps. If you take 10,000 steps a day, this trip would take about 7 ½ months. What a fun way to keep you going! You
may want to make a lot of stops along the way with smaller goals.
▪ Form a walking group with friends, family or coworkers.
▪ Sign up for a charity walk.
▪ Visit parks and enjoy the trials.
▪ When carting your kids around, arrive early and walk around for 10-20 minutes. Keep your headphones, walking shoes and water bottle in the car so you don’t
skip a beat.
Happy Walking!
