Held annually on the first Friday every April, National Walk to Work Day is designed to get commuters up and moving. Founded by Prevention in 2004, this year’s National Walk to Work Day falls on April 1st, and participants are encouraged to walk for all or part of their commute.
Here’s how you can participate:
If you can walk or bike the whole way to your job, do it. If the roads are safe for you to navigate them sans vehicle, wake up early enough to make sure you get to work on time, and set out on foot. Make sure you wear comfortable walking sneakers and carry your professional shoes along with you. You may even want to bring a change of clothes depending on the length of your walk and weather in your area.
If you take public transportation, try walking to a stop further than you normally take to hitch your ride, or get off at a stop further from your work and fit in your walk after your ride.
If your commute is too long, unsafe or otherwise un-walkable, you can make it a Walk to Lunch or Walk After Work Day. Gather your friends or coworkers and fit in your walk whenever you can. It’s the steps, not the timing, that’s important. Who knows? You may even be able to convince your fellow walkers to make it a daily routine.
Walking is the cheapest and easiest way to fit activity into your day, so don’t limit it just to Walk to Work Day. Get in extra steps everyday by parking further away from store and building entrances, taking the stairs instead of elevators or escalators and taking regular family walks whenever you can.