PEOPLE are being urged to #Try20 and walk for at least 20 minutes a day as part of their daily exercise.
It’s all part of a new get active campaign by Living Streets which has declared May as National Walking Month.
It’s also calling on all local authorities, including locally, to allocate more space to walking and cycling during lockdown.
It’s all part of an effort to maintain physical and mental health wellbeing during lockdown.
Health experts recommend a brisk daily walk as an easy way to improve your health with a 20-minute walk being shown to reduce the risk of a number of health conditions, including certain cancers, depression, heart disease and Type 2 diabetes.
The charity has also issued #Try20 tips for how to walk safely during the Covid-19 lockdown and how to keep your daily exercise interesting, with activities for families, people working from home and those who are restricted to indoor exercise.
The tips are accompanied by a podcast, which has well-known personalities talking about the benefits of walking, including Olympic champion Chris Boardman MBE, and Professor Shane O’Mara – author of In Praise of Walking.
Jenni Wiggle, interim chief executive, Living Streets said: “Walking is one of the most accessible ways to stay active. Just 20 minutes can help improve our wellbeing and connect us with what’s around us.”
Professor O’Mara added: “Regular walking has great benefits for our physical health, but it also improves mood, memory and problem-solving, and can help with depression and anxiety.
“We need to integrate walking into every aspect of our everyday lives and that’s why it’s so important to improve our pavements and pathways so that everyone can enjoy its benefits.”
To download your #Try20 resources or to ask your councillor to allocate more road space to people walking and cycling, visit www.livingstreets.org.uk/nwm
