10,000 Steps A Day

All over our school district, the initiative to get people moving is catching on...and students and teachers alike are taking advantage of the work that Physical Education teachers are doing to help them.  The initiative is to get folks up and moving:  perhaps for a few minutes at the beginning of the day, for the first few minutes of a planning period, during a few moments during your lunch time, or after school.  The American Heart Association recommends getting 10,000 steps per day.  "Walking is one of the simplest ways to get active and stay active. With each step you take, you travel further down the path to a healthier lifestyle. Research has shown that walking can have a significant impact on your health by lowering your chances of heart disease. Learn more about the benefits of walking and how incorporating it more can lead to healthier living." 1  

"Research has shown that walking at least 30 minutes a day can help you:

-Reduce your risk of coronary heart disease and stroke

-Improve your blood pressure, blood sugar levels and blood lipid profile

-Maintain your body weight and lower the risk of obesity

-Enhance your mental well-being

-Reduce your risk of osteoporosis

-Reduce your risk of breast and colon cancer

-Reduce your risk of non-insulin dependent (type 2) diabetes" 2

So here's how it works:  

1. Teachers are creating maps at their schools to show how many steps are available on each hallway in a round-trip (both up and down the entire hall).

2. Next, the P.E. Teachers are creating and posting “Fit-Stops.”  These are stations along the way that explains an easy to preform exercise for strengthening different muscles in the body. The six basic stations are:  Calf Raisers, Wall Sits, Wall Push Ups, Leg Raisers, Balance on One foot, and Overhead Presses from the Wall.  More stations may be added as the program progresses.

3. P.E. Teachers, are putting out the map so teachers can see how many steps they can get during a walk to the office, or the gym or to the media center, etc. 

4. PE Teachers are creating School Challenges.  

Here are some of the ideas:

Charting teachers’ steps and watching to see how many steps it will take to get to Disneyland in Orlando, FL.

Charting steps and having friendly competitions between grade levels or subject areas at the school.

Charting steps and challenging another school with the average steps per week.

Whatever the challenge before you, the biggest challenge is with yourself...let’s get moving!

Get Fit…Stay Fit,

Keith 

1  https://goo.gl/sqLLM0

2  https://goo.gl/Lfreuy