PRINCETON, W. Va. (WVVA) -The first Wednesday of April is the American Heart Association’s “National Walking Day,” a holiday dedicated to promoting an active lifestyle and the health benefits that come with it.
The American Heart Association says regular activity is a great way to keep heart-healthy, helping to lower blood pressure, lower the risk of chronic diseases, and more. They also say that walking is one of the simplest ways that you can keep active.
However, Alex Sinicrope, a physical therapist at WVU Medicine Princeton Community Hospital, says many people aren’t getting the recommended 150 minutes of walking a week.
“A lot of times, people are busy with work and sitting long periods of the day, and even people that are retired tend to lose that activity that they had prior,” Sinicrope.
Walking can also keep joints and muscles strong, help weight management, and reduce pain. But if walking can provide many health benefits, the inverse is also true; not walking enough can lead to health problems.
Sinicrope saying this could lead to chronic pain, losing muscle mass, and lower energy. This can create a viscous cycle, with the loss of energy contributing to you walking less.
“When we don’t get up and move around, we become more sedentary, and, of course, that just produces more of that, so it’s best to get up, get active, and start walking,” say Stacey Bailey, a fitness director at the Princeton Health & Fitness Center.
Bailey and Sinicrope both say the benefits of walking regularly go beyond your physical health, helping your mental health as well.
“Walking along with just any sort of physical activity is always kind of a mental refresher. The endorphins that the exercise produces just kind of helps with that mood balance. It helps with just clearing your mind and working through frustrations or things of the day that have been heavy on you, just a way to help clear your mind,” says Bailey.
If you are looking to improve your consistency with walking, both also recommend getting some well-fitting shoes, grabbing some friends to walk with, and tracking your progress with an electronic device. Sinicrope says you should build up to thirty minutes a day five times a week, but also remember that the path to regularly walking starts with a first step.
“My advice is to always start small, so try to start five to ten minutes a day to find time in the morning before work or park a little further in the parking lot to get some steps in and then gradually build yourself up…” says Sinicrope.
Sinicrope says if you have any underlying health conditions that make walking difficult, you should get cleared by your doctor beforehand. He says a sedentary lifestyle may also cause pain while walking and recommends physical therapy to help with that.
If you are looking for an opportunity to put these walking tips to the test, there may be a chance for you to do that in May. The Last Annual Macey Whittaker 5K Walk/Run is planned for May 3rd at 8:30 am at the WVU Medicine Princeton Community Hospital and will take participants on a route through the Princeton City Park.
Proceeds will be going to “raise awareness of safe sleep practices and SIDS prevention.” You can get more information on the Facebook page here.
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