Walking Club Starts Tonight

If you’ve thought of getting outside for a bit of exercise but have no one to do it with, or perhaps you don’t mind walking alone but want to feel safe, come and join the Monday Night Walking Club.

We are meeting at 7 p.m. tonight, Aug. 22, at Oak Leaf Park, 401 Centennial Dr. (behind Target). This club will be open to anyone and is a place to meet people if you like or walk alone if you like. You can exercise while you walk (just don’t bump into someone else) or jog or stroll. Oak Leaf Park is a half mile loop and has a playground as well as a shelter. Just meet at the shelter at 7 p.m.

The purpose of the Walking Club is to encourage people to get out and exercise. Walking is probably the safest form of exercise, easy on the joints and still offers a cardio-vascular workout. You can walk as long as you like, suggested is a half to one hour. Walking at a pace of 20 minutes to the mile, you can get in a gentle 2-3 mile walk. Remember to walk in both directions to work the body on both sides equally.

If you want to enhance your walking workout bring 1-2 lb. hand weights. Just bend your elbow and tuck in your arms as you walk so your arms keep pace with your legs and your strides are equal. You can also bring stretch tubing to a workout and add a strength training session to your walk. This gives you an all round workout. If you walk 50 miles a month you can lose 12 lbs a year. That’s walking 2 miles every day and not an impossible task. If you run you can do it in 30 miles or so, but it’s a bit harder on the joints.

Wear comfortable clothing and consider bringing a jacket and visor if you want to keep the sun out of your eyes. Sunglasses are good too. Bring water to drink also to stay hydrated. As weather gets more unpleasant, Oak Creek offers Fitness Walking on Mondays -Thursdays, 6 to 8:30 p.m. and Saturday mornings 9 a.m. to noon. Check out page 37 of the latest Acorn for all the info.

Meet me tonight at the Shelter at 7 p.m. and I’ll give you some walking tips and exercise ideas for those who want them. Please identify yourself and we can introduce ourselves to one another as well. My Simple Steps classes start on Sept. 19 so I won’t be able to continue the Walking Club but hopefully there will be enough of you to continue on your own. See you tonight.