Year-round walking is a great way to get your daily dose of physical activity. By making a conscious effort to walk every day, it can be easily incorporated into your daily routine, using 30-minutes to collect your thoughts, connect with friends or get in your daily podcast.
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, cities and towns all over the province have been making efforts to improve the quality of outdoor spaces for pedestrians in order to make more space to walk (and bike, and roll) with more physical distance between one another. Check out the What’s Happening page to see what’s going on in a community near you.
Here are 3 reasons why walking is a great way to get active:
It can add years to your life. Walking improves cardiac risk factors such as cholesterol, blood pressure, diabetes, obesity, vascular stiffness and inflammation, and mental stress. Studies have shown that walking reduces the risk of cardiovascular events by 31% and cuts the risk of dying by 32%, in both men and women. Walking every day at a casual pace can achieve this, although the longer you walk and the faster the pace, the greater the results. Read More>>
It’s the cheapest form of exercise around. You don't need any special equipment to walk in the course of your daily life. All you need to walk is a good pair of shoes (something well-fitting and supportive) and somewhere to walk! Proper footwear is important in order to avoid foot, leg, hip and back pain in the future. Read more>>
Consider getting off the bus one stop early or taking the further parking spot to get in a little extra walking. 30-minutes of walking a day is best recommended and can be done all at once or over the course of the day. Consider all those little ways you can incorporate walking into your daily routine and get the benefits!
It’s a guilt-free social networking tool. A great way to make time to get together with friends, family or coworkers. It’s a low impact exercise making it accessible to most individuals. Consider grabbing your catch-up coffee with a friend while taking a walk around the block, or walk to a park and enjoy lunch, the walk and the fresh air and see the benefits for your mental and physical health! Or consider bringing a pair of earbuds with a built-in microphone for your phone and take meetings while you walk, instant mobile office!
Walking is an easy way to get a little exercise in and realize the benefits for your health and fitness, your pocketbook and your social interactions, personally and professionally! Challenge yourself to walk 30-minutes every day, and see how it improves your day!
