Although most outdoor enthusiasts don’t need to be prodded to take a nice, long walk out in nature, but so many Americans do so little of it that the American Heart Association (AHA) saw fit to declare the first Wednesday of every April to be National Walking Day. The reasons that people walk are as varied as the people themselves are, and include everything from mental and physical health to caring about the environment. Walking just 30 minutes a day has a number of health benefits, and with AHA statistics showing that 1 in 2 men and 1 in 3 women are at risk for heart disease, it might be the most simple way for you to improve your health and your odds of longer life at the same time.
So what happens on National Walking Day? It’s pretty simple, really: get out and walk! Encourage others to take a walk with you, whether it be friends, family members, neighbors, co-workers during a lunch break, whoever you wouldn’t mind taking a 30 minute (or however long you like) stroll with. And of course, don’t just limit yourself to the walk because it’s National Walking Day — find some inspiration to get out and stretch those muscles every day. It costs you nothing to walk, but avoiding it could have some very dire costs indeed! Here’s a great little video that gives you just a few of the great health benefits of regular walking.
Image via tedeytan
