WalkingProgram

Your step-by-step

Get Moving:QuickRead®Brochures

What can exercisedo for you?Regular exercise can help you do all these things:• Get more “good” cholesterol (HDL)

in your blood• Lose weight and keep it off • Sleep better• Have more energy and get more done• Make your heart and lungs stronger• Keep your bones strong • Prevent diabetes• Make your muscles stronger and firmer• Prevent falls • Lower your blood pressure• Feel better about yourself and your life• Stand taller and look greatSource: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

HP10.3019

Now that’s amazing!

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Tips for walkers• Buy a good pair of walking

shoes. Shop where the sales-people know about shoes.

• Get shoes that fit in the store. That is, don’t buy shoes you need to “break in.”

• Wear layers of clothes. That way, you can “peel off ” some clothes or add more. In cold weather, wear a hat and gloves.

• Don’t overdo it. Add time and distance slowly.

• After your walk, do some gentle stretching exercises.

Stretch out after your walk

Front-of-Thigh Stretch:Stand straight. Lean against a wall for balance. Bend the knee of one leg,

bringing the foot up behind you. Pull the foot up toward your bottom with your hand. Keep your knee pointing to the ground. Hold for 10–20 seconds, then relax. Do this a few times on each side.

Back-of-Thigh Stretch:Stand with feet hip-width apart, onefoot about 6 inches in front of the other. Lean against a wall for balance, and slowly bend forward from your hipswhile flexing your ankle (on the legthat’s in front). Point your toes up,keep your back flat. Hold for 20-60seconds, then switch legs.

Lower-Leg Stretch:Stand about 1½ feet from a wall. Lean forward and push against the wall with your hands. Keep your heels flat on the ground. Hold for 10 –20 seconds, then relax. Do it 5–10 times.

StepProgram

Step1: Find a route to walk. Start with a one-mile round trip. Here’s how: Drive a halfmile from your home in all directions. Use your car’s tripmeter to keep track of the distance.

Note 2 things:• the nicest walking routes• landmarks or signs that mark the half-mile points

Step 2: Pick a time to walk.Before breakfast? Before dinner? Both?

Step 3:Get ready. Buy good walking shoes if you don’t have them. Hang a calendar in your kitchen and get some gold star stickers.

Step 4:Walk a mile! Walk a one-mile round trip from your home. Walk slowly for 3–5 minutes to warm up. Build to a steady, strong pace that doesn’t make you breathless. Slow down for the last 3–5 minutes.

• Put a gold star on your calendar for this day.• Mark the calendar how long it took you to walk a mile.

Step 5: Walk every day. Repeat step 4 until you can walk a mile in 20 minutes.Remember to warm up and cool down with a slowerpace. In between, walk briskly, but not so fast that you lose your breath.

Step 6: Build up to 2 miles. Either map out a two-mile route, or walk the one-mileroute twice.

Step 7: Slowly increase your pace.Slowly increase your pace until you can walk 2 miles in 40 minutes. Remember to warm up and cool down.

Step 8: Build up to 3 miles.Now you’re ready to reach for your third goal — 3 miles in an hour.

Step 9:Keep walking.Either keep doing a 3-mile walk, or add to your time and distance. It really helps to set goals and keep track of your progress every day. You’ll see!

Do:• Dress to be seen.Wear light-colored clothes. Wear reflective clothes after dark.

• Walk with a friend when you can.

• Change your route from day to day. That way, a thug can’t wait for you at a certain place and time.

• Cross only at corners. Check carefully before and during crossing. Make eye contact with a driver before you walk in front of their car.

• Watch for drivers who speed, trying to beat the light. You may not be safe just because you are in a crosswalk or you have the “walk” signal.

• Carry ID. It’s important if you have an accident.

• Carry a cell phone or phone change. Note where there are public phones and open stores.

Don’t:• Don’t walk where it is smoothand wet or icy.

• Don’t walk near overgrown,dark, or deserted places.

• Don’t wear headphones.They make it harder for you to hear traffic, dogs, and people coming toward you.

• Don’t go near a strangerin a moving car. Keep your distance to give or get directions. And turn around fast if someone in a car bothers you. Head the other way.

• Don’t assume that all driverswill obey traffic signals just because you do.

Walking can help you feel better and live longer. Walk for just 3 weeks, and we believe it will become part of your life.

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Safety TipsBefore you start your walking

program, check with your

doctor if you:

� have not exercised for awhile

� smoke

� are overweight

� have a family history of high

blood pressure or heart disease

� have any other health problems

An early-morning walk is a blessing for the whole day.— Henry David Thoreau

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Before You Step Out