Ideas for Setting Up Walking Programs in Your Community

Neighborhood Walks. One of the best places to walk is in the neighborhoods where we live.  Think about setting up a walking group that meets weekly at the same time of day to walk at a local park or in your neighborhood.  Begin walking every week with a friend or two on Tuesdays at 5:30 pm, for example.  Get the word out.  Place flyers in the neighborhood.  Be punctual. At 5:30, leave the designated are and head out for 15 minutes.  Turn around and return. Take a minute or two to stretch the legs and call it a day!  Everyone has their 30 minutes for the day and at their own pace.

Schools are a great place to walk.  Many of them have tracks around the athletic fields. These tracks are usually well light, and provide a safe level surface for walking. School buildings are good places to walk during the rainy season and when it gets dark early.  Check with the school principals (and the parent teacher organizations) about whether this might be possible to use the schools for indoor walking.

Work. Of course, we spend as much time at work as in any other aspect of our lives, except sleep (in fact, some folks work far more each week than they sleep!). Start a worksite wellness walking program.  Get it done at work.  The longer in the day that you wait to exercise, the less likely you will be to do it.  You may also want to park your car 10 minutes away from your worksite.  That will give you 20 minutes simply going to and returning to your car.  Catch a 10-minute walk break instead of a coffee break, and you have your 30 minutes daily. Taking the bus to work will probably give at least an extra 10 to 20 minute walk.