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Fall is the time for fairs, exhibitions, apple picking, musical festivals and a host of other outdoor activities. Why not take advantage this year and incorporate these events into your fitness routine while having fun to boot? Here’s how:
Most regions in Canada celebrate autumn with country fairs and farmers markets. Why not make attending one a full day’s outing? When you arrive, size up the eats, flea markets and vegetable stalls before you even sample the fare by taking a brisk walk around the perimeter and up and down the aisles. After that workout, you can treat yourself to a piece of pumpkin pie and take home fresh harvest vegetables such as red peppers, carrots and squash.
How about apple picking? Canada, especially in Ontario and British Columbia, boasts some of the best farms in North America. Find one in your area and instead of taking the hay wagon to the end of the orchard, walk it! Stroll down the long lanes of apple trees–Northern Spy, Gala, Empire–and decide which ones you’ll choose before placing any in your basket. Then, go back to harvest the pick of the crop. (See Food below for more).
Pumpkin patches are a great place to get some exercise. Fields and fields of those orange beauties stretch out all across the country. Walk to the end of your favourite pumpkin patch, choose one, then walk back to the cash. Now, do it again. You’ll get aerobic and strength training all at once.
Autumn music festivals are great places for walking. For example, The Celtic Colours International Festival on Cape Breton Island (Oct. 10 – 18, 2003) features some 300 musicians including the likes of Natalie MacMaster and Mary Jane Lamond, and more than 30 venues in various towns from Glace Bay to Sydney. For this event, you can work in some exercise by walking between venues in each town. At other outdoor festivals, you can zigzag through the crowds and enjoy the diversity of people and acts.
On cold autumn days when it’s raining outside, can I include the miles working out on my Nordic Track to my Walking Club log?
Absolutely. In fact, any movement you do on any workout equipment–treadmill, elliptical or stair machine–qualifies. Most machines will track the distance you cover during your workout, which can be added to your log. But that’s not all. Walking in indoor malls, fairs, exhibits, garden shows among others can also be added in. Ditto for those of you who have indoor occupations in which you do a lot of walking, including nurses on rounds, office mail carriers and homemakers (just think about how many times you walk up and down the stairs to fetch scissors, do laundry, etc.). How can you measure those distances? Simply strap on a pedometer (see Gear) and make those kilometres click over.
Send your walking and fitness questions to [email protected].
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Marion Hourie, a librarian at the local public library in Creston, B.C., had always wanted to start a walking group. When she saw the flyer at her local Pharmasave announcing its walking partnership with Chatelaine, she was thrilled, so Marion approached Mike Poznikoff, the store manager, and made plans to advertise the launch last March. “When I showed up for the first walk, I was surprised to see 28 people signed up,” says Marion. Fuelled with free bottled water and energy bars from Pharmasave, the group walks through the beautiful Kootenay Mountain region just south of Cranbrook and Nelson, B.C. near the Idaho border. One outing took them along the boardwalk of the town’s wildlife refuge for migrating birds, which is known for attracting osprey and swan, among other species. In May, the group participated in the Blossom Festival 10-kilometre walk/run to raise funds for Terry Fox and marked laps for the Relay for Life. “We’re feeling our way, but we hope to walk as many months as possible during the year,” says Marion.
Do you have a success story to share? E-mail it and your phone number to [email protected].
Researchers at Queen’s University in Ontario want to prove that exercising is better than dieting for trimming inches off waistlines. Over the next two years, the study hopes to have as many as 500 participants, half of whom will receive encouragement from a health counsellor to exercise the equivalent of a brisk 45-minute walk, as many days as possible. Why wait for the research results? Have a walking buddy gently remind you to take a hike!
If you’re a person with diabetes, walking may in fact save your life. So says a new study by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Those who walked just two hours a week reduced their risk of death from all causes by 39 per cent.
Pregnant? Just had a baby? Walking is one of the best exercises during this special time, according to new guidelines by the Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada. Take the medical checklist to your doctor before starting out.
Clock a few extra kilometres at the following events for fun, your health and often, a good cause.
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| DATE |
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EVENT |
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LOCATION |
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MORE INFO |
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| Sept. 7, 2003 |
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Walk Against Violence: British Columbia Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
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22 locations in British Columbia |
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604-647-6407 |
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| Sept. 14, 2003 |
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Walk against Violence: Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
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Unionville, Ontario |
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1-888-ONT-SPCA |
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| Sept. 21 , 2003 |
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Cheerios Mother Daughter Walk for Heart & Stroke |
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Nationwide |
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1-888-HSF-INFO |
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| Sept. 21, 2003 |
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AIDS Walk |
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Nationwide |
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E-mail: [email protected] |
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| Sept. 28, 2003 |
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ScotiaBank Toronto Waterfront Marathon for the charity of your choice |
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Toronto |
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www.torontowaterfrontmarathon.com |
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Oct. 5, 2003
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Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation/ CIBC Run for the Cure |
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Nationwide |
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1-800-387-9816 |
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Oct. 8, 2003
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International Walk to School Day |
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Nationwide |
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1-888-822-2848 |
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Oct. 26, 2003
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Niagara Falls International Marathon |
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Buffalo, N.Y. to Niagara Falls, Ont. |
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905-356-9460 |
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®/TM Trade-mark used under license
by Unilever Canada
*One can of SlimFast powdered shakes, six Meal-On-The Go bars and six Ready to Drink shakes. Must be a Canadian resident over the age of majority. One per household.
As part of healthy eating, this food may assist in achieving and maintaining a healthy body weight because it is portion controlled. Useful in weight reduction only as part of an energy-reduced diet.
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Articles by June Rogers
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