First, because why not? But in case you need a bit more convincing, here comes the top 3 reasons for why join ‘Walk The Talk’ this August:
Easy and simple as that: It’s genuinely good for you. How often do you dedicate time to your wellbeing? How often do you spend time thinking on yourself and what makes you thrill?
Exactly. Sadly, the most common answer is, almost never.
However, here comes a great opportunity to do something for yourself. Take you out there, enjoy the (hopefully nice) weather while you walk around a peaceful park, taking a break from the city and the responsibilities that come with our day-to-day routines. Really, why not?
Walking does not require the walker to be in their fittest shape, nor it demands a pace or rhythm that you are not comfortable with. Guess what, you choose! And most often than not, you’ll find yourself walking a longer distance that you thought you would. That’s because, when we do something that does not require all our attention (and let’s face it, you can walk even with your eyes closed) (not that you have to, though), we start daydreaming and allowing our imagination to take us elsewhere. Before you know, you are 3 miles from home in – what feels like – a split of a second.
Not enough for benefits? Okay, okay. Let’s talk about the physical benefits then!
Firstly, walking for even just 30 minutes increases your cardiovascular capacity, reducing the risk of heart disease or stroke. Moreover, it helps improve your balance and your muscle strength, therefore releasing joint and muscular stiffness. Isn’t this great?
Furthermore, these benefits come without much effort, as it’s considered a ‘brisk’ activity. This means that you should walk at a pace that allows you to talk, but not sing, comfortably. This is also great news, because it means you can catch up with a friend, or even just walk your cute dog, while working on yourself. Some would call this a win-win!
Do you want to take it to the next level?
If you feel confident in your fitness, you can also join ‘Walk The Talk’ jogging or cycling! In most cases, these activities increase your heart rate higher than walking would, so that means even more benefits. For instance, experts agree that jogging actually helps strengthen the immune system. This means, a healthier body’s response to a cold or respiratory infection, and even diabetes if it becomes a regular activity.
On the mental health side, surprise, jogging or cycling also bring benefits. For example, it allows your brain to better cope with the effects of stress, as it releases tension from your body and therefore, decreases your cortisol levels (a naturally released hormone in response to stress).
Seriously, are you still thinking about why join ‘Walk The Talk’?
While you focus on yourself, there are certain apps that can help you keep track of your walk. We’ve put together 3 examples of useful, and free, apps that measure the distance and steps walked in real time, so you don’t have to. This way, you know how close you are from your target at all times.
Here are the apps that you can easily download to your phone, for both android and iOs devices:
Google Fit: in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO), they developed an activity goal based on WHO’s global recommendations and shown to impact health. This app also makes it easy to monitor your progress and track your activity right from your phone or smartwatch.
Steps App: Their modern widgets make it easy and simple to track and understand your activity at just a glance. When used regularly, it also analyses your historical data and helps you discover your most and least active days to identify patterns.
Map My Walk: Allows you to log any kind of workout to keep track of your activity. It also includes access to find people around you who are also using the app, to find the support and motivation we all need from time to time.
Wow. Talk about benefits from walking! As if you needed any more reasons as to why join ‘Walk The Talk’?…
Genuinely, by participating in this initiative you are raising money for our Mental Health Day Centre in Dompoase (Ghana). This centre provides children and young adults with mental disabilities with food, water, clothes, medicine, and therapy daily. Your support would mean that they can continue covering the students’ basic needs, while promoting their personal development.
All the funds raised with this initiative will be donated to support our Mental Health Day Centre. You can easily register to participate in ‘Walk The Talk’ by completing the form in the link. There is a donation fee of £5 per participant.
Share it with your friends, family, work colleagues, neighbours… How many people can you get to take part?
General medicine, Mental care
