Walking is one of the best ways to stay active. Running and bicycling may burn more calories, but more people stick with walking than with any other type of 
exercise. And walking has the added benefit of strengthening and toning muscles.
WalkingSpree’s walking for wellness program is based on the use of the Pocket Pedometer™, an Omron USB pedometer, which encourages you to get moving and shows how incremental bits of exercise and movement can add up over a day. During the 1960’s, the 10,000 steps a day philosophy, called Manpokei, was established in Japan to encourage physical activity and provide a targeted step goal. This movement has gained momentum throughout the Western World as the standard for a walking exercise program to improve and maintain good health. A person who walks 10,000 steps a day will burn between 2,000 and 3,500 extra calories a week, contributing to improved health.
Heart attacks are still the leading cause of premature deaths in North America. Walking helps:improve the efficiency of the heart muscle and aids blood to flow faster and freer around the body. A strong, healthy heart means no heart attacks.
- Regular walking also helps to fight other killer diseases, such as diabetes and certain cancers, as well as debilitating conditions such as osteoarthritis, and it also supports the immune system.
Walking provides emotional benefits, too: it seems to improve mood and reduce stress.
Here are some other facts about the benefits of walking. A diabetes prevention study of more than 3,000 patients with impaired glucose tolerance (a pre-diabetes condition) shows that those who walked or exercised five times a week for 30 minutes lost between 5 and 7 percent of their body weight and reduced their risk of diabetes by 58 percent. Those over age 60 reduced their risk of diabetes by 71 percent, a result not matched by any drug used in the study.
- In another study, 44 diabetic patients who wore a pedometer for three months and were asked to walk 10,000 steps a day showed improvements in their fitness, blood glucose, cholesterol, triglycerides, blood pressure, and weight, and lost an average of more than 4 lbs each.
According to the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), a group of middle-aged women who used pedometers showed a significant inverse relationship between the average number of steps they took and their body mass index (BMI) as well as their measures of body fat, waist and hip circumference. Women who averaged more than 10,000 steps a day had only 26 percent body fat, well within the recommended BMI range, while those who averaged fewer than 6,000 steps a day had 44 percent body fat.
People who are physically inactive can be motivated to get up and start walking through a 10,000-step program, as another study reported by the ACSM shows. A sample of 58 women was divided into two groups. The first group walked for 30 minutes a day for four weeks, and improved various health measures by 44 percent. The second group walked at least 10,000 steps a day over the same period, and their health measures improved by 76 percent.
The modern workplace is becoming increasingly busy and stressful but sedentary with its computer-based environment. As a result, the workplace has a major impact on the physical activity levels and the overall health of its employees. A study by the American Council on Exercise reveals that secretaries take an average of 4,327 steps a day at work, while teachers take 4,726 steps, lawyers 5,062 steps, and police officers only 5,336 steps. Nurses do better at 8,648 steps, while factory, construction, and restaurant workers walk about 10,000 steps a day on the job. At the other end of the scale are custodians, who walk nearly 13,000 steps a day, and postal workers, who manage nearly 19,000 steps. Studies such as these suggest that a pedometer, by showing employees how many steps they take each day, could encourage them to become more active in order to reduce the risk of future health problems
Frequently Asked Questions About WalkingSpree
What is WalkingSpree?
WalkingSpree provides a fun online wellness program that uses the Omron HJ720IT USB Pocket Pedometer that connects to the WalkingSpree.com website to track walking data online within a walking community. We provide members with Activity, Food & Body Tracking so they can visually measure their success. Online coaching is provided by Certified Personal Trainers and Registered Dieticians to provide a permanent lifestyle change to help members become fit and healthy. You can out more info about how the program works on the tour page.
How can walking prevent heart disease?
Walking helps improve the efficiency of the heart muscle and aids blood to flow faster and freer around the body. A strong, healthy heart means no heart attacks. Walking fits the bill and researchers say walking briskly for three hours a week will reduce coronary heart disease risk in women by 30 to 40 percent.
I have a Pedometer
Many people have used free or promotional pedometers. Those pedometers use mechanical springs that measure steps every time you shift your body or even sneeze. One study on a major promotional giveaway of free pedometers in Kellogg’s Special K boxes showed an error rate of 45% in comparison to actual steps taken. That means when you think you walked 10,000 steps, you likely walked between 5500 or 14,500 steps, you have no way of knowing for sure. How would you like to be using the latest dual sensor accelerometer technology measuring the actual steps you walked instead? The USB Pocket Pedometer record your steps with 99% accuracy and sends your step data online so you can see quickly and easily how many steps you've taken over the past day, week, month or year. It's conveniently carried in your pocket, purse, tucked in your bra or around your neck. You really do get what you pay for.
This program would be great for my work place. Do you have corporate wellness programs?
Yes, WalkingSpree provides full corporate wellness programs to meet the needs of your corporation, both large and small.
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Don't just take our word for it. See what WalkingSpree members are saying about our USB Pedometer and our online program.
We joined WalkingSpree because we like technology and your pedometer is the best. The database and documentation is great.
— Vera & Paul
The WalkingSpree staff and many of the members have become my mentors and motivators to help me accomplish my goal of not only walking the Avon walk but to become healthier and to find the balance that I need in my life. The pedometer is one of the most accurate pedometers I have ever had and I have had several. — Kayte
What an inspiring place walkingspree.com has become! I feel as though I belong to a family that is concerned with all aspects of me. — Brian
I found walkingspree.com searching for a dependable pedometer and thank goodness for that. The coaches are wonderful and they really push me to want to do more more more. Thank you to walkingspree.com for recognizing us, that to try really hard to do what you push us to do....This really works!! — Wendy
Your support services have always been so quick to respond to any question I've had. I really appreciate the great customer service.
— Trudy