How was your 30-minute walk yesterday? Wednesday, April 8th was National Start! Walking Day sponsored by the American Heart Association.  The Start! Walking Program encourages employers to create a “walking-friendly” environment at work.  The program also encourages employees to incorporate more walking into their work week.

A lot of us truly underestimate the power of walking.  Walking is a great form of exercise for all physical activity levels.  And the benefits, well… they are simply endless!

Walking just 30 minutes each day can help with weight management and can improve blood pressure.  It helps decrease your risk of obesity, heart disease, osteoporosis, colon cancer, type 2 diabetes, and breast cancer.  It can also enhance your mood and relieve feelings of stress and depression.

Here are some tips to help incorporate more walking into your day:

• Join a walking group at work.
• Schedule the time on your calendar so that you don’t forget.
• Keep your tennies at your desk, in your backpack, or in your car.
• Make an effort to walk more (i.e. get off the bus 3 stops early and walk home)
• Buy a pedometer so that you can track how many steps you walk each day

What’s great is that you can even divide your walking breaks up – 10 minutes in the morning, 10 minutes at lunch, and 10 minutes before you head home.  The American Heart Association says that walking is the easiest positive change a person can make to effectively improve heart health – and – walking has the lowest dropout rate of any other physical activity.

Sounds good to me! Grab your tennies and get started today!