Take a Hike!
Every year is a full calendar of ‘awareness months’ and May is no exception. All are worthy in their way. From the nice-to-have, such as National Mills Weekend to the esoteric May Measure Month, there’s always something to engage with and celebrate. We’ve chosen May to promote a cause that should be – literally – close to our hearts…
Many medical professionals would, I’m sure, prefer that National Waking Month extended for rather longer than the current 31 days. Walking is as big a no-brainer as National Zombie Awareness Month, with which it shares these calendar weeks. (Watch out for the grey ribbons.)
Our beleaguered NHS, groaning under the pressure of caring for an ailing, ageing population are quick to praise this simple, low impact and easy-to-achieve pursuit. Walking is easy to do. You just have to do it.
Just leaving the keys at home during the rush hour takes your car off the road when we add half a million tonnes of carbon dioxide to the UK annual emissions count. The irony of driving less and walking more won’t be lost on the authors of this white paper, who link cardiovascular disease and vehicular emissions.
But it’s boring, you may cry. And that’s a decent shout. Even for those striding along at the approved rate of 3 mph, no-one would suggest that it’s rollercoaster of thrills and excitement. And that can be a barrier to pulling on those comfortable shoes and boots. So, a little self-motivation is in order. Coda can offer five.
Live longer and feel better. As the NHS point out, a brisk 10-minute daily walk is probably the easiest way to achieve your 150 minutes of weekly exercise, a key metric for adults aged 19 to 64.
The beauty of a walk is that for many people, it’s simply a question of hoofing it somewhere you were going anyway. Whether it’s your journey to work, the shops, taking the kids to school or just running an errand, leaving the car behind saves more than a bit of fuel.
Listen to something. The streets are stuffed with people strolling along with their Air Pods in, or headphones on. Whether you go for a streaming playlist, an audiobook, or podcast, there’s plenty to keep your mind occupied as you pound the streets or stroll through the park.
Some prefer to improve their mind as well as their heartrate by learning a language. The BBC Sounds app is free to download for Android and Apple, and offers plenty of meaningful content (and lots of live sport, if that’s your bag.)
Do it for charity. Here are six looking for help during this month. Leave the car behind for the school run and sign up for the British Heart Foundation’s Just Walk! Initiative. It’s on until 24 May and will help the 7 million people living with heart and circulatory disease in the UK.
Do it with other people. We can all use a bit more exercise and it’s harder to stay rooted to the sofa if you’ve committed to a group activity, or just walking with a friend.
Join Living Streets and you’ll be part of a social media movement, with hashtags and everything. (You could also win cash.) Their survey proved that ‘going for a walk’ topped the 10 most popular bank holiday activities, at a might 45%, with ‘going to the pub’ a modest fourth, at 23%.
Make it a challenge. Some of us won’t have friends, family, or workmates to motivate us, and still benefit from the extra push that hitting a goal or reaching a target gives us. If that’s the case, the Big Team Challenge will hit the spot, and offers plenty of UK-wide routes. Your pathway to fitness is open, people. Hit the NHS site and download your free Active 10 or Couch to 5K apps, and get going.
Small print alert
It’s important to add, of course, that anyone not sure whether their own health may not be up to that sudden effort should contact their GP, or friendly pharmacy first. And that’s us.