Get WalkIN'

Relapse Prevention

Did you ditch those plans for daily walks a few weeks ago when circumstances made your life hectic? Has your plan of waking up early for morning walks become more of a joke between you and your alarm clock? Here are five (5) strategies to make your walking goals stick!

Don’t leave walks just for the weekend. If your week is jam-packed, don’t assume you’ll be more motivated on the weekend for a walk.
Know yourself and your potential pitfalls. For instance, if you know that nothing gets done after your kids get home from school, don’t tell yourself that’s going to be your walk time.
Set realistic goals. If you’re not a morning person, don’t plan your walk for 5 a.m.
Make a schedule, but be flexible. Don’t let not feeling well one day or a surprise meeting another day mean you lose one of your walks for the week.
Keep your intentions front and center. People with a consistently strong intention to exercise have the best chance of following through with it. So whether you’re going on vacation or have a busy week ahead, make time for walks. You’ll be more likely to get back to your routine when your life returns to normal.

Getting Your Steps In: How to Make a SMART Plan to Walk for Exercise

Motivational Tip: Small habit changes can add up to big transformations.

Making an exercise plan is easier than making exercise a habit. We're human, and it's natural to make excuses for not doing things we know we should do and yet don't feel motivated to do. But there are strategies you can use to get started with and be disciplined about a fitness routine, even when your willpower wanes.

Before you begin any exercise regimen, get your physician's approval. It's important to know that your body is in the right condition to get in shape. Then, follow these suggestions for turning good intentions into real results.

Set a SMART goal. SMART stands for specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and time-bound—it's basically a template to help you determine exactly what you want to accomplish and to do it in a way that won't discourage you from achieving it (Bailey, 2017). See the box below for a sample SMART goal for starting a walking routine.

Your SMART goal for starting a walking routine could look like this:

Specific - I will walk to improve my endurance and overall health.
Measurable - I will walk 10 minutes a day, four days a week.
Attainable - I have the time to dedicate to this, and I have a good place to walk in the neighborhood.
Realistic - I know I can walk for five minutes at a time, so adding another five minutes to each walk is reasonable.
Time-bound - I will start Sunday and follow this plan for three weeks.

Gradually add time to your walks. Increasing your walks by as few as five minutes per week will add up. If you prefer to measure your progress in steps, add 1,000 extra steps per day every two weeks until you reach 10,000 daily steps. (You might be half of the way there already—according to the American College of Sports Medicine (Sprow, 2019), the average American walks 4,800 steps per day.)

Have a backup plan. If bad weather makes it unsafe to walk outside, designate an indoor shopping mall or track that’s open at a time that's convenient for you to walk. If you know you'll be busy during your normal walking time, block off another part of your day for the walk.

Make it social. Walk with a friend or make it a tradition to take a family walk after dinner. You may even walk further or faster than you would by yourself because your mind is occupied with conversation. Plus, it may help you hold yourself accountable to your goal. A study done by Scarapicchia et al. (2017) showed that there can be a positive association between social support and the ability to stick with an exercise program.

Make it charitable. In addition to giving you a designated distance, a charity walk may fuel you with a stronger sense of purpose, motivating you to sign up for and finish the walk.

Make it competitive. Sign up for a virtual walking program, such as Penn State Extension's "Everybody Walk Across Pennsylvania," a distance challenge in which all participants' miles are added together.

Document your progress. Use an activity tracker that counts your steps, measures your distance, and monitors your heart rate. A simpler, low-cost option is to journal about your workouts in a notebook.

Make it impossible not to walk. Park farther away from the stores when you're running errands. When you're grocery shopping, make extra laps around the store. You can even do laps around your house while you're on the phone. Just do so with caution—distracted walking can be dangerous.

Full article: https://extension.psu.edu/getting-your-steps-in-how-to-make-a-smart-plan-to-walk-for-exercise

Activity: Have you encountered setbacks to your walking? Tell me one strategy to overcome this barrier. Email me at: krichey@purdue.edu

Next Topic: Don't Forget: Walking is Good For You!

Walking Safety

Always walk facing oncoming traffic.
Use the sidewalk. If there is no sidewalk, look for a smooth, stable surface alongside the road. If there are guardrails, see if there is a smooth, flat surface behind the barrier where you can walk. If you need to walk on a paved shoulder, stay as far away from traffic as possible.
Be careful on bridges and narrow shoulders of the road.
Be sure drivers can see you. Wear brightly colored clothing, and if you walk during low-light hours, such as dawn or dusk, be sure you have reflective material on your clothing or walking shoes, and carry a flashlight.

Upcoming Walking Events- Marshall County

Find more information for the Relay for Life Marshall County

Here: https://www.facebook.com/rflmarshallcountyin/

https://secure.acsevents.org/site/TR/RelayForLife/RFLCY26NOR?pg=entry&fr_id=112038

Group Walking-Saturdays

Saturdays at 9:00 AM
Centennial Park (meet under the canopy near the tennis courts)
Step away from the noise… and into a peaceful, intentional start to your morning.
This guided Meditation Walk is an opportunity to slow down, breathe deeply, and reconnect with yourself and the natural world around you. Together, we’ll move with awareness, presence, and ease in a calm, supportive space.
What to Expect:
• A mindful 3–5 mile walk
• Gentle guidance to help you stay present
• A welcoming, judgment-free environment
Details:
• Ages 12+
• No pets, please
• Bring water + dress comfortably
->After the walk, you’re invited to stay for an optional tea + coffee gathering, an opportunity to connect and continue the experience.
This event is FREE, we’d love to have you join us.
Come as you are. Leave feeling grounded, clear, and connected