How Are You Going to Spend Walk-It Day?

One of the easiest ways to incorporate physical activity into a relatively sedentary lifestyle is to walk. We do it every day as it is: treading from your desk to the restroom, pacing the hallway, or stepping from door to driveway. But do you really think those steps total the recommended 10,000 you want to get in a day? Probably not. But it's a start.

And you can always work your way up to taking more steps throughout the day. "I always tell people to work the hardest and best that you can and over time you'll progress to a more advanced pace," says Jennifer Cohen, a personal trainer you might remember from Shedding for the Wedding who's working with Weight Watchers to promote its Walk-It Challenge and Walk-It Day.

Half the battle though is just getting out there and taking those steps. Dealing with the rain, tolerating the cold, convincing someone else to join you. But that's me making excuses, exactly what Cohen doesn't want you to do when you're walking. "You can do it any time, any where, no excuses," she says. She suggests that we incorporate some type of activity in our daily routines, one of the easiest being walking. "Health should be your No. 1 priority and you should make it part of your routine and put it in your calendar just like you would any other appointment," she says.

The good news is that this is nothing to stress over, really. That daily activity can be as easy as taking a walk after dinner. If your path includes a hill or a sandy beach, you're upping the intensity even more--Cohen reminds that added resistance can strengthen your muscles and your cardio system. Cohen offers more walking tips on this video at fitperez.com--good stuff (you can also view it below). Let's just say I wish I had opted for the video and sound byte option when I was talking to Cohen about her involvement with the Walk-It Challenge, my interview would have been less of a sad, tongue-tied flub. Or maybe I should have taken a walk before speaking with Cohen...physical activity is supposed to be good for the noggin'.

 

Need an excuse to go for a walk? You can on Sunday thanks to Walk-It Day, a day where Weight Watchers to encourage any and everyone to go walking either on your own or at one of its more than 50 5K walks/runs organized through RRCA. Maybe you've been training for the day for the last six weeks, or maybe you know you can handle the distance and want to tackle it on May 22. Whatever your motivation, it's a good way to get off the couch.

Video grabbed from fitperez.com and photo grabbed from dreamstime.com.