Jess Joiner, fitness coordinator at Morton Plant’s Cheek-Powell Wellness Center in Clearwater, demonstrates the proper walking technique near Morton Plant’s Clearwater campus.
CLEARWATER – The American Heart Association has declared April 8 National Start! Walking Day, which takes place during National Workplace Wellness Week as an effort to draw attention to workplace wellness programs.
“It’s a day to encourage the community to start walking because walking is easy to implement, it has the lowest dropout rate, and physical activity reduces your risk for heart disease,” said Kate Sawa, communications director for the American Heart Association in St. Petersburg.
Employees are encouraged to walk together during their lunch breaks, before or after work, Sawa said, and the American Heart Association promotes walking at least 30 minutes a day most days a week.
There are numerous benefits of walking regularly, said Jeanmarie Scordino, exercise physiologist and lead trainer of the Morton Plant Mease Wellness Centers. Walking benefits include:
• Decreases depression
• Helps to increase muscular strength
• Eases lower back pain
• Helps reduce hypertension and high blood pressure
• Increases good (HTL) cholesterol
• Helps decrease body fat
• Helps maintain and increase bone density
• Reduces the risk of Type II diabetes
• Increases one’s metabolism
• Increases the immune system
Scordino encourages people to exercise between 30 and 60 minutes each day, even if that is broken into 10-minute segments. Studies have shown, she said, that 60 minutes of moderate exercise each day has significant health benefits even when it is broken down into smaller segments of time throughout the day.
To walk properly and most effectively, people should wear good shoes and strike with the heel and roll through to push off with the big toe, Scordino said. The hips and shoulders will rotate gently and the arms will swing at their sides – people should not stiffen up their torso because this will put unnatural stress on the body, she said.
Scordino advises people to start out slowly and stretch often to avoid injury.
After a while, she urges people to increase their pace and duration of walking. For instance, she said, pick three mailboxes and pick up your pace as you pass them. Then slow down to a more comfortable pace.
“Over time you’ll find that your regular, natural walk will be a little faster when you go out and walk because your body has gotten stronger,” Scordino said.
Jess Joiner, fitness coordinator at Morton Plant’s Cheek-Powell Wellness Center in Clearwater, said it is good to increase one’s stride and pace, but he advises against using weights as they walk. This can put strain on the body and could cause injuries, he said. Instead, hills offer natural, safe resistance and increase intensity.
Debbie Fulton, an accountant II at the clerk of court in Clearwater, has gotten her office involved in workplace fitness ever since her floor participated in last year’s Walking Day event.
“Everyone brought their sneakers and walked on break, their lunch hour and before and after work,” Fulton said. “After doing that, now they’re walking together at break and on their lunch time. I think it peaked their interest to be healthy.”
Her team members often take the stairs to their office and then up a few more flights to the break room instead of using the elevator, she said, and she encourages people to park further away to get some extra exercise. Employees now bring healthy snacks into work more often, she said, exchanging doughnuts and bagels for fruit and yogurt.
The American Heart Association and a healthy lifestyle have been passions for Fulton for the past 10 years.
“I just want to spread the word,” Fulton said. “My mom and dad both have high blood pressure, my grandparents all died of heart attacks, so you have to start young.”
Now it has become a family affair. Fulton of Largo said her daughter walked while pregnant, so her grandchildren – now 4 and 2 – have walked since before they were born. Also, Fulton’s 15-year-old niece is a walker who collects money each year for the National Heart Association.
This year, Fulton expects about 30 of the 40 people on her floor to participate in National Start! Walking Day. She plans to bring in a healthy breakfast, walk with co-workers on break, and document the number of steps they walk for extra motivation. She encourages other businesses to get involved with the event and in general workplace wellness programs.
“It’s great for morale, it’s good for stress,” Fulton said. “You’re out there walking in the fresh air, getting away from your desks for a few minutes. I think it’s good for businesses to encourage walking.”
Scordino and the American Heart Association offer the following tips for walking and exercise:
• Walk with a friend to add accountability
• Try to walk or exercise even just five minutes a day
• Join a birding group to learn and have fun while walking
• Join a sports team for added fun and competition
• Exercise by playing with your kids
• Use stairs instead of the elevator
• Take a lap around the block when you get home, even before you go inside
• Put on music and clean your home for 15 minutes
• Choose activities that are fun, not exhausting
• Add variety into your exercise
• Wear comfortable, properly fitted footwear and clothing
• Find a convenient time and place to do physical activities and work on making this a habit
• Don’t overdo it, especially at first
• Keep a record of your activities and reward yourself at milestones
• Walk on smooth, soft surfaces that is well-lit, safe, and does not intersect with traffic
• Take time to warm up and cool down
• If you will be active for more than 30 minutes, drink water every 15 minutes, especially in hot, humid conditions.
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