York fitness expert MICHAEL PHAN suggests a challenge for this month
CANCER Research UK is asking you to take 10,000 steps everyday in March to help raise funds for the charity.
Did you know that 10,000 steps equals around five miles so by the end of the month you’d have walked 150 miles which is about the distance from York to Cambridge.
There are plenty of ways you can hit your daily target. And you can do it without any equipment nor having to extend the hours in the day.
Here's my top tips:
1. Rack up the numbers by walking to work instead of driving
2. Take the stairs instead of the lift or escalators
3. Go for a family walk at the weekend
4. Physically leave your desk when you take your lunch and go for a walk
5. When you’re going to the shops, park further away than you usually would
6. Get outside and play with the kids
7. Run up and down the stairs every time you are waiting for the kettle to boil or there are adverts on there telly
8. Walk down every aisle at the supermarket, including the ones you don’t need anything from
9. Introduce a family walk together after tea
10. Use a timer to remind you to get up and move away from your work/desk every 25 minutes so that you get a chance to freshen the legs
11. Hide the remote control so that you have to get up to change the channel, or better yet, turn the telly off and get moving instead
12. Drink more water so that you have to walk to the loo more often
13. Get up to walk and talk the next time you have a phone call
14. Make a game of it and pick a common word used in the office. Every time you hear someone say that word, get up to do a lap, or go up and down the stairs or even march on the spot
15. Dance like no-one is watching - whenever you can, put your favourite tunes on and dance around the house to get your steps in and also plaster a beaming grin on that face of yours
16. Buddy up with a friend/family member and walk together when you can - having someone else there makes it so much easier that the time will fly
17. Ever tried having a stand up/walking meeting instead? They tend to get to the point of the meeting faster and you get your steps in too. Win:Win.
18. Give the dog a month of extra walks, or if you haven’t got one, you could offer to take your friend's or family’s dog for a walk instead.
Don’t worry if one day you don’t get your steps in, you can always get the steps up across the next week.
It’ll help you get fit and feel amazing as you step up to raise money for life-saving cancer research. Whether you walk to work, take up jogging, or give the lift a miss, the money you raise will help thousands of people in the future.
If you would like to Walk All Over Cancer in 2019 then visit cancerresearchuk.org
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