The Walk and Roll with be held on May 15 from noon to 1pm. Participants will start and finish in front of the Hubert H. Humphrey Building, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 200 Independence Ave SW, Washington, DC.

All are welcome.  Be a part of the fun and join us for some physical activity along an accessible route through the beauty and history of our Nation’s Capitol!

About the Surgeon General’s Every Body Walk! initiative:  Walking is a simple form of physical activity that can be done almost anywhere, and walkable communities benefit Americans of all ages and ability levels.  Through the Every Body Walk! initiative, the Surgeon General will be promoting walking and walkable communities as a way to help Americans meet physical activity recommendations.  To learn more about the Surgeon General’s Every Body Walk! initiative, visit www.surgeongeneral.gov/initiatives/healthy-fit-nation.

This article, written by Scott Bricker (America Walks), Ted Eytan, MD (Kaiser Permanente) and Rae Anne Deakins (American Council on Exercise), explains how ‘telework’ integrates walking into your workday to make it an active day.

Start on Monday – the day all health breaks loose

Integrate walking into your workday – the walking meeting

• The best benefits of working from home are the many opportunities you have to take short walks. One of our favorite ways to walk at work is the Walking Meeting.
• Phone meetings are a perfect time for you to try your first walking meeting. So what is a walking meeting?
• A walking meeting is basically a regular meeting, but rather than sitting in a chair, you take it on foot. You can walk for all or part of a walking meeting; oftentimes I will walk for the first portion of a call and return to my desk to take any notes needed. You can stop walking to write notes in a small notebook or on your smart phone.

When to take a walking phone meeting?

Walking and talking is perfect for a variety of phone calls, including:

• Conference calls & webinars – how many times do you find yourself checking emails and distracted during conference calls or webinars? If you walk you will remain focused on the subject matter at hand and still be able to participate. For webinars, yes you will miss the slides, but will be able to focus in on the speaker.
• Meet and greets – science shows that your brain is more stimulated while walking and therefore you are likely to be more creative while walking. Walking and talking can help you generate fresh ideas with new clients or partners.
• Staff meetings – walking is a wonderful way to take staff meetings. Of course one person will need to take notes and ensure all agenda items are covered.
• Personal calls – need to talk to the spouse? Just get up out of your chair, start walking and talking.
• Breaks – even if you don’t need to talk on the phone, a walk around the block is a perfect way to regain energy and alertness.

TIPS – like always, have a good grasp of meeting materials prior to your walk. Time your walking meeting – typically I’ll begin and end my phone meetings at the desk and begin my walk during an agenda item for which I am not the point person. Do not do walking phone meetings if you are the primary facilitator or note taker.

What you need
All you need is a mobile phone, but we strongly recommend a high quality head set to free up your hands. Being hands free also allows you to hit the mute as you are walking past your neighbor’s barking dog.

Integrate walking into other parts of your life this week

• Walk to get your food: Approximately 20% of all car trips are made to buy food. While you are saving commuting time, think about walking to the grocery store to purchase fresh food for your meals for the week.

When telework week is over, keep walking

• After you’ve prototyped walking meetings during telework week, bring them back with you to the office and see what happens
• Explore alternatives to commuting that involve active transportation (walking, bicycling, public transit) during this week. You can deliver the same health benefits to yourself and society even when you aren’t teleworking.
• Some organizations have a goal of 4 telework days a pay period, think of these as “active work” days – schedule them on Mondays to combine them with other health behaviors you adopt on Healthy Monday.

Learn more about the benefits of walking and walking meetings

• Every Body Walk! – co-benefits of walking
• Dr. Ted Eytan’s blog – blog posts on walking meeting
• Walksteps.org – tools and tactics to make your community more walkable.
• Healthy Monday – “The Day all Health Breaks Loose”
• ACEfit.org – free exercise library, expert health and wellness blogs, healthy recipes and more

Want to help make Ashland a better place to walk? Join us for a free 1.5 day workshop and learn about easy and low-cost tools for changing neighborhoods into safe and attractive places for people to walk to work, school or play. In this meeting we aim to:

• Share innovative and effective tools and identify techniques and strategies to help the partners, advocates and others in the Ashland community implement projects and campaigns that further walkability;

• Explore specific walking strategies that our community can more immediately embrace to take responsibility for overall improved public health, wellness, transportation, economic development and livability of the region;

• Strengthen the collaboration among organizations and government by engaging partners;

• Utilize national and local experts to support our work; and • Gather information to provide the community with an action plan and strategy that increases walking projects and policies in Ashland.

Come join the discussion!

9 a.m. – 4 p.m. Friday, March 8th and  8 a.m. – Noon Saturday, March 9th

Ashland Public Transportation Center, 99 15th Street

Registration is required and can be completed online at http://tinyurl.com/a7q6gpy

For more information: Call Laura Patrick at (606) 324-1544 or via email to laura.patrick@khf.kdhs.us