The 10,000 Steps-a-Day Challenge! and Healthy Living!
I recently made a presentation to a Multi-National Corporate when I noticed most staff had some gizmos on their Tee-Shirts, Belts, Sleeves etc! Everybody was up-and-about. And there were rubber shoes stacked neatly somewhere, okay?! What's going on here? I though the gizmos were GPS devices to monitor where staff were at all times, as if CCTV, bio-metric scanners and tracking devices on vehicles were not enough. My fears were allayed when I was told that they were Pedometers, only much smaller than those used by cyclists.
The Group launched a challenge to staff worldwide to commit themselves to a "10,000 Steps-a-Day Challenge" with a very attractive prize to the winning country. "10,000" steps...! And walking within the office counts.
Who knows, maybe they were motivated to:
- improve their staff's lifestyle
- reduce medical bills
- improve productivity
- maybe help reduce stress
The answer depends on your stride length, the length of each step.
Number of kilometers in 10,000 steps = 10,000 steps X Stride Length in kilometers
Stride length can be measured or calculated:
Women = 0.413 * height
Men = 0.415 * height
10,000 steps * 0.0006608 km stride length = 6.608 km
Of course you can also do the reverse. How many steps did you take if you know how far you've walked:
Number of steps = Number of kilometers walked / Stride length in kilometers
For example the same woman with stride length 0.0006608 km walks 4 kilometers how many steps has she taken:
4 km walked / 0.0006608 km stride length = 6053 steps
Does it make a difference?
As sedentary person walks between 1,000 to 3,000 steps a day.
A cyclists thinks of revolutions per minute (RPM) and speed, and the pedometer could gives you the calories you've burned. You could burn on average about 300 calories on the 10,000 steps-a-day program. How this contributes to burning fat depends on your goals.
Source: http://www.feelslikehomeblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Track-Your-Fitness-Goals-Steps-Chart-1024x576.jpg
Calorie-and-Steps Calculator
SELECTING WALKING SHOES
Here a few basics for selecting walking shoes:
1) Look for a low, supportive heel that rounds (or bevels) in. A thick heel or one that flairs out will cause your foot to slap down rather than roll. This slows down forward momentum and increases the occurrence of sore shins.
2) A walker's foot hits heel first and then rolls gradually from heel-to-toe. So, you will need a flexible sole and more bend in the toe than a runner. You should be able to twist and bend the toe area.
3) Next, look for a shoe that is light weight and breathable.
4) Be sure your foot has enough room in the toe box. There should be a thumbnails width (or about a half inch) between your toes and the end of the shoe. The shoe should be wide enough in the toe that your toes can move freely. Your heel should not slip, and the shoe should not pinch or bind, especially across the arch or ball of your foot.
5) Go shoe shopping in the afternoon. Also be sure to wear the same socks you will be wearing during your walks. This can make a huge difference in how the shoe fits. Try on both shoes. Your feet may not be the same size (really!).
WARM UPS AND STRETCHING
Make every walk a complete workout by including these elements, andfollowing the correct sequence. Neglecting to do so will make walking more difficult, and increase the risk of injury.
- Warm up - Enables you to get blood circulating and warms the muscles to allow them to stretch
- Flexibility exercises - Toes, Ankles, Back and Arms; for 5 - 10 minutes
- Walk
- Cool down
- Stretch for 5 minutes
There are Business Opportunities being lost with all this healthy living, going by The Standard's article on July 14th, 2013, titled "Funeral Home Owners Rail Against Healthy Living".
Quote "After years of suffering in silence the Mortuary Owners Association (MOA) has strongly condemned healthy living, which it blames for the marginal rise in life expectancy. Addressing a gathering of funeral home owners, which had gone on into the dead of the night, the secretary general of the association, Foma Dehide, lambasted the silent campaign promoting healthy lifestyles that has been going on for some time now and which they see as the biggest threat to their future as an industry.
“All those promoting active lifestyles must stop. People must learn to sit idle with bowl of salty greasy chips in their hands watching TV or something,” said Foma. “Being a couch potato must come back in style now!” I like the way the writer covered up the name of the speaker with the embalming fluid "Formaldehyde".
The Article goes on:
“People need to adopt a more stressful lifestyle since this will lead to a situation where people turn to food for comfort, and thus add the much needed weight,” argued the secretary general.
The organisation also called on the government to come to their aid by removing taxes on junk food, highly processed foods, gaming consoles and anything else that is likely to lead to the increase the waistlines as it leads to a decrease in life expectancy. It particularly singled out the group of individuals who pose the biggest threat to their industry — health freaks.
“These are the kind of people who are taking us to the pre-colonial days by reintroducing traditional foods into our diets. How primitive!” chided Mr Dehide. “They are the same people who have declared war against processed foods in favour of whole grains, farm-fresh fruits and vegetables. This will just create an imbalance in nature because if we start eating such, what will rabbits and monkeys feed on?”
The MOA did not have kind words for the increasing number of marathons and charity walks being held every other weekend. It also urged people to shun taking the stairs and instead keep on using lifts even if they are just heading to the next floor.
“If God had wanted people to use the stairs, he wouldn’t have given us fingers for pressing the floor numbers in lifts,” argued Dehide.
Foma went on to complain that obesity has been given a bad name with all sorts of competitions aimed at cutting weight being aired all over. They were not happy either with TV stations and their fit anchors. The organisation also blasted corporates for discriminating against well-fed people in the media.
And in his closing argument, he posed the question:
“When was the last time you saw a fat person advertising a tube of toothpaste or a soap?” posed Foma".Funeral Covers
And speaking of Funerals, how many people actually look at the Funeral Cover included in the following policies compared to the cost of living:
- Personal Accident Cover
- Life Insurance Cover
- Health Insurance
- Pure Funeral Covers
The Funeral cover limts average KShs 30,000 - 50,000 but, new products in the market are available that provide cover of KShs 100,000 and KShs 200,000. The new covers are better able to meet today's funeral expenses given that the hearse itself costs KShs 96,000, the coffin between KShs 15,000 - 50,000. Some SACCOs have a funeral cover of KShs 30,000 but, they also cover the cost of hearses, in which they may have a shareholding.
In Life Assurance, you can cover yourself with different covers, whereas General Covers cannot be duplicated.
Your value is Unlimited!!!
