Category: walking

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MAY IS NATIONAL WALKING MONTH #WalkThisMay…

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National Walking Month – #WalkThisMay May is Living Streets’ National Walking Month. This year, we’re encouraging you to #Try20 – and walk for 20 minutes each day during May.

Walking is an easy and accessible way to improve physical and mental health and a 20-minute walk can reduce the risk of a number of preventable health conditions, including certain cancers, depression, heart disease and Type 2 diabetes.

By swapping a short drive for a short walk, you can also help reduce air pollution, congestion and road danger – whilst saving yourself some money and getting active in the process! 

Check out Living Streets #Try20 tips, resources and checklist designed to help you stick to the challenge! 

WALK TO SCHOOL WEEK TAKES PLACE DURING NATIONAL WALKING MONTH. FIND OUT MORE HERE!

Do you love the outdoors but struggle to get the kids outside in all weathers? Here are five top tips from Muddy Puddles about how to make outdoor play fun, whatever the weather.

  1. Don’t make it overwhelming – A run around in the garden, a walk in the woods or a trip to a local park for an hour can all help to boost their health, without being too overwhelming.
  2. Comfort is key – Whether it’s a rainproof jacket and waterproof trousers, or an all-in-one puddle suit, you’ll just need a pair of insulated wellies to keep those little toes warm and you’re all set!
  3. Switch things up – A trip to the park or a walk with the dogs are always good ways to get outside, but there are lots of other ideas which might grab your children’s attention.
  4. Encourage interaction and spontaneity – While a mucky school uniform is a nuisance, there’s nothing wrong with getting filthy while playing outside. Encourage your children to interact with the outdoors space in whatever way inspires them -–regardless of how messy they get.
  5. Rope in their friends – While a mucky school uniform is a nuisance, there’s nothing wrong with getting filthy while playing outside. Encourage your children to interact with the outdoors space in whatever way inspires them -–regardless of how messy they get.

The Parks Trust say Celebrate National Walking Month – Throughout the month you’ll be able to attend a variety of walking events, take part in their Walking Festival as well as follow new self-led walking routes which will be released shortly.

This year’s Walking Festival will be taking place across the weekend of 7th to 9th May. Over this three-day period, there is an exciting programme of walks across the city, all of which vary in difficulty and duration meaning there’s always something for everyone. A great family walk is an introduction to Geocaching, or if you’re looking to find out more about the culture in Milton Keynes take part in the Public Art in Campbell Park walk.

The Walking Festival also includes walks to allow you to explore new areas such as Wolverton Floodplain and Waterhall Park. The Parks Trust would like to thank their Walking Festival partners and volunteers, without their support they wouldn’t be able to put on such a variety of walks.

Walks Around Britain has a list of all the Walking Festivals throughout 2022 in the UK.

Source: Living Streets Parks Trust Walks Around Britain

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NATIONAL WALKING DAY- APRIL 6th, 2022 & 17 REASONS TO TAKE UP WALKING FOR YOUR HEALTH…

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National Walking Day is every year on the first Wednesday in April, 6th 2022. National Walking Day is exactly as it sounds – a day to celebrate the easiest way to be the healthiest version of you. Walking for thirty to sixty minutes per day may sound like it isn’t much, but studies have shown that it can drastically improve your health.

No matter how small your walk is there is proof that it will benefit your health if you walk on a regular basis. Take a look at the following 18 benefits to walking daily.

1. To help tone your muscles.

2. To boost your immune system.

3. To reduce the risk of cancer.

4. To help you sleep better.

5. To help you to keep fit.

6. To activate stronger and healthier bones.

7. To make you feel more energetic.

8. To improve your confidence.

9. To help strengthen your heart.

10. To keep your weight in check.

11. To help prevent osteoporosis.

12. To boost your Vitamin D levels.

13. To make you feel happy.

14. To lower blood pressure.

15. To delay ageing.

16. To increase lung capacity.

17. To address key symptoms of Fibromyalgia.

HISTORY OF NATIONAL WALKING DAY

The National Today website write about the History of National Walking Day. Walking has always been a part of being human. Many archaeologists have found that even when humans were nomadic tribes, we would often walk great distances to stalk our prey (think Wooly Mammoths) and wait for them to sleep before pouncing. Walking is, essentially, what humans are physically we best at. We’re the slowest runners, the worst swimmers, and we can’t even fly without a big jet engine. Walking is the humans bread and butter.

Maybe that’s why during the Victorian era there was a little fad called pedestrianism, where walking became one of the major spectator sports in America and Europe until baseball usurped it. But individuals would wager massive bets over whether walkers could make it marathon distances and under what time. There’s a reason why racewalking is an Olympic sport, after all.

Whether it’s John Muir’s spiritual journeys through the woods; pilgrimages to Mecca; or just a casual stroll through your local park, walking has always held a close, dear place in the hearts of humans. It’s no wonder that there are so many health benefits associated with it and also why National Move More Month and National Walking Day were created promote this fantastic and surprisingly easy pastime.

Source: National Today

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3 EXERCISES THAT COULD HELP FIBROMYALGIA SUFFERERS KEEP FIT…

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As a fellow fibromyalgia sufferer, I know all too well that some days it is impossible to do any form of exercise but if you can manage just one on your good days it will help keep you fit.

Many people with fibromyalgia worry exercise will make their pain worse. That anxiety is acknowledged and it isn’t uncommon that people with fibromyalgia experience more post-workout pain and tiredness when they first begin exercising.

Exercise can induce fatigue so it’s a bit of a catch-22, that one of the most effective treatments can aggravate the symptoms of the condition, at least initially.

The trouble is writes The Guardian “the combination of pain, fatigue, and inactivity often leads to weak and deconditioned muscles, making ordinary daily activities challenging. But research has shown that exercise can alleviate symptoms. “It’s one of the most proven treatments for fibromyalgia.”

So, which exercises are the best ones to try? Before starting any exercise routine, get advice from your doctor or physiotherapist. They can suggest safe exercises tailored to your condition and ability.

1. Hydrotherapy – Fibromyalgia Symptoms says that Hydrotherapy is actually one of the oldest types of health treatments in existence today. It still occupies a major place in medicinal treatment throughout China, Japan, and Europe. Believed to have healing properties, water has long been used to treat various illnesses, ranging from gout to depression. The use of thermal spas and baths was introduced by the Romans in the fourth century BC and since then has risen in popularity. Various forms of hydrotherapy are now used in countries all over the world. Hydrotherapy appears to be particularly effective for those suffering from fibromyalgia. In particular, hydrotherapy techniques help to:

  • reduce muscle pain
  • improve sleep disorders
  • increase mobility
  • reduce stiffness

A variety of studies involving fibromyalgia patients and hydrotherapy have been performed. In one study, fibromyalgia patients were given therapeutic whirlpool baths twice a week for six weeks. Upon conclusion of the study, the patients involved had better muscle and joint function, reduced pain symptoms, and improved sleep quality. The only side effects areas with any water-based activity, caution should be exercised to remain safe from drowning.

Almost all hydrotherapy is carried out in pools more shallow than the height of the person using it. Patients should drink sufficient amounts of water to avoid becoming dehydrated. The buoyancy of the water can make some activity seem easier, while it is actually working muscles very hard. Patients should get used to how their body feels after a session in order to gauge appropriate levels of activity (i.e. not “overdoing” it). The warmth of the water may make a person feel dizzy. If the hydrotherapy is taking place in a chlorinated pool, the patient should shower immediately after to avoid irritation to their skin.

2. Pilates-

In the 1920s, physical trainer Joseph Pilates introduced Pilates into America as a way to help injured athletes and dancers safely return to exercise and maintain their fitness. Since then, Pilates has been adapted to suit people in the general community.

Joseph Pilates was born in Germany in 1880. As a child, he suffered from rickets, asthma and rheumatic fever. By all accounts, he was quite sickly. Yet he was obsessed with growing into a fit young man. Some accounts suggest he was obsessed with ancient Greek ideals of the physique.

Pilates can be an aerobic and non-aerobic form of exercise. It requires concentration and focus because you move your body through precise ranges of motion. Pilates lengthens and stretches all the major muscle groups in your body in a balanced fashion. It requires concentration in finding a centre point to control your body through movement. Each exercise has a prescribed placement, rhythm and breathing pattern.

In Pilates, your muscles are never worked to exhaustion, so there is no sweating or straining, just intense concentration. The workout consists of a variety of exercise sequences that are performed in low repetitions, usually five to ten times, over a session of 45 to 90 minutes. Mat work and specialised equipment for resistance are used.

The Pilates method is taught to suit each person and exercises are regularly re-evaluated to ensure they are appropriate for that person. Due to the individual attention, this method can suit everybody from elite athletes to people with limited mobility, pregnant women and people with low fitness levels.

Always consult your doctor before embarking on any new fitness program, especially if you have a pre-existing medical condition or have not exercised in a long time.

3. Walking –

According to the NHS walking is simple, free and one of the easiest ways to get more active, lose weight and become healthier.

Sometimes overlooked as a form of exercise, walking briskly can help you build stamina, burn excess calories and make your heart healthier.

Very Well has some great ideas to inspire you to get some walking done on a regular basis.

  • Why not check out your environment on foot. Notice what is going on around you and you’ll find you never really walk the same way twice. There are always new things to see.
  • Find pleasant places to walk. Look for walking paths, greenways, and pedestrian streets to enjoy.
  • Bring along your family and friends. Walking together is a great way to connect with others, and a great way to catch up with all the news.
  • Walk instead of drive for a few trips each week. Walk part of your commute to work or school. Leave the car behind or get off a stop early on public transit. Walk to the store for small items. You’ll save money and have a purpose for getting in your daily steps.
  • Try a charity walk to raise money for a cause. Put your steps to good use.
  • Take a short walk break even if you’re busy. If it’s hard to work walking into your day, try a 15-minute walk on a work break, or walk during your lunch break.

You do not have to walk for hours. A brisk 10-minute daily walk has lots of health benefits and counts towards your recommended 150 minutes of weekly exercise.`

Source: NHS, Very Well, Science Direct, Fybromyalgia, Joseph Pilates