"Walking is a man's best medicine"
Hippocrates
Want to share the end of year result of The Body Matters MOOC I took during the late winter of 2016
In the first week, one
of the lessons was presented by Steven Blair an internationally renowned
physical activity expert. He enthusiastically made the point that to maintain
health all that was needed was 150 minutes a week of moderate exercise. That is only 2.5 hours a week or 5 half hour
sessions or any way you want to do it. Keep in mind though walking at a
leisurely pace doesn’t cut it other than it is better than being a couch
potato. I found Activity Level Defined by Steps per Day and posted it on the fridge (need to dig it
out and post it again )
He also showed us
the only medication needed, pedometer in a prescription bottle. Gave one to our family doctor to keep on his
desk as a conversation piece :D
“… Wearing one and
going about the day is the simplest way to get started on the road to better
health! The ability to see the total steps taken in a day gives a baseline to
an individual’s physical activity level, which makes it easy to add an extra
1,000 – 2,000 steps to a typical day. It
is the immediate feedback the Piezo® pedometer provides that enables the
recognition and motivation needed to make a difference in one’s health. “
Shared what I was
learning with my hubby and for some reason that 150 minutes a week stuck He
started wearing a pedometer and walking. In May I gave him a FitBit for his birthday
which he wears daily and we stated combining our steps in virtual walks. Our steps were
converted to kilometers and the distance drawn on a map.
In March we started off from home to walk to our son’s in
Head of Chezzetcook Nova Scotia. By the end of June we were into Nova Scotia and
at our son’s by mid-July. From there we
headed east clockwise around the circumference of the province.
Each week I’d mark our distances on the map, by December 31st
we had reached the South Shore at Sable River not far from Kejimkujimkujik
National Park, where we will rest for a while. Maybe one day we’ll be back to finish the
remaining 150 kilometers to Dartmouth to complete the Counter Clockwise Walk Around Nova Scotia.
However I didn’t
keep up my part of the walk , my partner did most of it with me hitching a ride
for most of it - so have my gear out and ready which I hope will motivate me to
get my duff up and moving. 
As usual my pedometer will be worn. It is one of the first
things I put on in the morning and the last to come off at the end of the day.
Realized as I wrote this that 150 minutes of exercise and Canada’s 150 anniversary of Confederation
could be linked somehow – have yet to figure it out how to link them but think
where we have decided our virtual 2017 walk
steps will intermingle with the 150th.
We decided hubby will
head east from Victoria and I am
going west from home so we know who
walked what when we meet up. It would be nice to do it by July 1 in a really
great place to virtually celebrate the 150th Anniversary of Confederation.
Now need to think of a visual way for us to see our progress
as marking a map is not as motivating as it was 9 months ago :D
To show my hubby how
well he had done,tallied his distance then figured out how far that would have
been…
His steps took him from
home to Head of Chezzetcook and back home again.
Then to Ottawa, down to Kingston and was almost home again However, with what he did without step
counters he gets a free ride for what he
did before March..
During 2017 I plan to carry my own weight.
Why do I want to do this? Think the poster says it all :D
"Walking is the best possible exercise. Habituate yourself to walk very far."
Thomas Jefferson
