Walk this way!

30 Minutes a day keeps the doctor away!

It ‘s a great time to be starting to walk for exercise as the weather gets nicer everywhere! The good news is that you don’t even have to carve out a big chunk of your day to reap some of the benefits. For cardiovascular fitness and health, you can start with as little as 3, 10 minute bouts a day for 5 days a week! If you are looking to lose weight, 30 minutes a day at a “brisk” pace of 3,000 steps in those 30 minutes (100 steps per minute = 2.7mph) needs to be your target.

If you have heart, vascular or breathing issues, be sure to check with your cardiologist or primary care physician to make sure you are healthy enough to start a walking program.

If you are starting from a point of severe inactivity, most people can start at a point of 2 to 5 minutes at a time and build up from there.

It’s as easy as parking a little farther way from the store entrance or walking around the block! Carve out little points of extra walking here and there throughout your day and you will be amazed at how quickly it can all add up!

You can turn your walk into a core exercise too! Here’s how you do it:

• Hold your torso upright with a light lift through your chest

• Pull your head back in line with the rest of your body and lightly tuck your chin

• Lead with your hips, not with your chest

• Roll through your toes before you take a step forward

Now get out there and enjoy this beautiful spring!