Walktober
Happy Walktober!
October is the perfect month to encourage your audience to commit to adding more walking or rolling into their daily routines. It is a fun, engaging way to take advantage of cooler temperatures to engage in healthy and safe physical activity. Whether strolling on the sidewalk, wandering through the park, or even moseying around the house, walking in any form grants people of all ages and abilities a safe and accessible way to be active.
Who is doing it? Communities, organizations, families, and individuals across the country – think of it as a national, month-long walking community! To support these efforts, Move It Monday offers a variety of tools and resources for starting or strengthening a daily walking routine.
Why walking? Walking is one of the most effective exercises for overall health and wellbeing. Among its many health benefits, walking can improve heart and lung health, bolster immune system function, and reduce risk of developing type 2 diabetes. A brisk walk can help also individuals meet the weekly recommended guidelines for physical activity. Walking can be appropriate for individuals of all abilities and requires little to no equipment.
Move It Monday Walktober Resources
Before launch, share with your audience information on proper walking form and how to prepare one’s body and environment to safety walk.
Move It Monday’s Top 10 Ideas for Walking More:
- Park farther from the entrance while doing errands.
- Take your four legged friend out for an extra walk.
- Plan a family scavenger hunt in the backyard or park.
- Take a post-dinner walk-and-talk with a friend, spouse, or child.
- Download an audio book and listen to a chapter on a walk in the neighborhood.
- Taking a trip to the grocery store? Park far from the store entrance.
- Walk around the house, apartment, or even in-place while brushing your teeth or waiting for your coffee to brew! This is called “habit stacking.”
- Take a family walk during a virtual-schooling lunch break.
- Watching a TV show? Walk in place during commercials.
- Have a garden? Get out there! Every step counts.
Walktober in Action throughout New Jersey
New Jersey Healthy Kids Initiative (NJHKI) has joined with Move It Monday to motivate New Jersey communities to get off the couch and walk this Walktober.
New Jersey Health Kid Initiative’s director Peggy Policastro and program development administrator Erin Comollo led a team of students from the Institute for Food, Nutrition and Health’s Student Ambassador Program at Rutgers University in developing a series of “walking presentations” especially for Walktober! Each video was designed to encourage walking by using fun, engaging, and motivating Move It Monday ideas.
Check out Vivian video for turning walking into a fun, and safe scavenger hunt activity for the whole family.
Interested in promoting walking beyond Walktober?
Download our 12-week Hit the Ground Walking Package, designed to introduce your audience to the benefits habitual walking.
Want to organize a Monday Mile walking program? Check out our Monday Mile resource page.
Are you or members of your organization attending this month’s APHA Conference? If so, reap the health benefits of walking and start tracking your walking minutes towards APHA’s Million Minutes Challenge!