Dig out your athletic shoes and start walking this Wednesday, April 7. The American Heart Association is hosting National Start! Walking Day, an initiative to encourage our country to simply move. They say two-thirds of the U.S. population is overweight or obese, and that the Start! initiative provides a simple solution.
This Wednesday the American Heart Association is challenging all Americans to get up and walk for a mere 30 minutes during the day. They’ve teamed up with women’s boxing star Laila Ali (daughter of Muhammad Ali) to help spread the word about how unintimidating walking can be, as well as the numerous benefits to heart health and overall well being.
Start the day with a brisk walk, use your lunch break to walk with a co-worker, or take a walk through your neighborhood after dinner. Put away the excuses because everyone has 30 minutes to spare in their day.
When faced with losing weight, initiating a new exercise routine can be a daunting task, and one that often encourages people to stay complacent. However, walking is accessible, affordable and provides results. Whether laps around your backyard, office parking lot or a neighborhood trail, with a comfortable pair of shoes, and maybe even a good partner, you’re literally steps away from improving your health.
You might like to know that walking has the lowest dropout rate when compared to other types of exercise, and it’s a sort of gateway to taking on more ambitious activities, like running or cycling.
Learn more at StartWalkingNow.org and even create a MyStart! walking plan.