Move more to get Healthy For Good™!
On Wednesday, April 5th, thousands of Americans will take a step towards being Healthy For Good, and walk to celebrate the American Heart Association’s (AHA) National Walking Day, sponsored locally by Nice Pak/PDI in Orangeburg.
The American Heart Association will kick off the month-long campaign on National Walking Day, April 5, to encourage people to move more by increasing their physical activity. The campaign is broken down into weekly themes. Week one focuses on walking and the basic tools you need to get started. Walking is one of the safest, least expensive, and most sustainable forms of exercise. Weeks two and three focus on recreational sports and outdoor activities the whole family can do together, and week four focuses on mindful movement and reducing stress by doing activities such as yoga, Pilates and tai chi.
The American Heart Association recommends that adults participate in at least 150 minutes of moderate intensity aerobic activity or 75 minutes of vigorous intensity aerobic activity or a combination of both each week. That’s about 30 minutes most days of the week. Kids should get at least 60 minutes of physical activity every day.
Walking Day is part of the AHA’s “Healthy For Good” movement, designed to inspire all Americans to live healthier by making small changes today that can create a difference in your health for decades to come. Healthy For Good is sponsored locally by Orange Regional Medical Center.
Studies have suggested that moderate physical activity has many proven benefits for overall health, such as lowering blood pressure, increasing HDL, or “good”, cholesterol and controlling weight. Exercise can also improve circulation, manage stress, counter anxiety and depression, improve muscle strength and help control diabetes. All these changes help to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and stroke, the nation’s No. 1 and No. 5 killers.
Nice Pak/PDI, Cardinal Health, Mount Saint Mary College, and Orange Regional Medical Center are just a few of the organizations sponsoring National Walking Day events at their workplaces as part of worksite wellness programs. To help create a culture of health at work, the American Heart Association offers a free Healthy Workplace Food and Beverage Toolkit for organizations at http://bit.ly/AHAToolkit.
For more information about National Walking Day, and to download a free toolkit, visit www.heart.org/movemore. Residents are invited to join one of the many regional Heart Walks to keep moving, including the TriCounty Heart Walk, set for Sunday, May 7th at Harriman State Park. Register online at www.tricountyheartwalk.org.
The Heart Walk is sponsored nationally by Subway, and locally by Healthy For Good Sponsor, Orange Regional Medical Center. Local sponsors include HOLT Construction, St. Luke’s Cornwall Hospital, Orange Bank & Trust, NicePak – PDI, Active International, Cardinal Health, Crystal Run Healthcare, M &T Bank, Highland Medical and Nyack Hospital. Media sponsors include: AJ Ross Media, Rock City Media, Hudson Valley Magazine and Mix 97.7.