Ready for National Walking Day in Palm Beach County?

A walking family (Photo provided)

What are you doing this Wednesday to improve your fitness level?

The first Wednesday in April is National Walking Day, designated by the American Heart Association to encourage people to walk more.

The Heart Association touts these grim statistics of our inactive lifestyle:

*65 percent of adults are overweight or obese,

*sedentary jobs are increasing while physically active jobs are decreasing and now make up only 25 percent of our jobs,

*and our average work week is lengthening to approximately 47 hours per week.

Running shoes for walking

My lime-green New Balance running shoes

I plan to wear my snazzy New Balance lime-green 1080v2 running shoes all day Wednesday to keep me in the walking frame of mind. Running shoes actually support your feet better than walking shoes, said Dr. Scott Strolla, a West Palm Beach podiatrist.

He recommends buying your running shoes in a physical store and not online, so that your gait can be analyzed by a running shoe clerk.

Walking suggestions

The Heart Association gives these suggestions for those who will be working Wednesday:

*Convince your company to get involved and allow employees to wear sneakers to work.

*Take at least 30 minutes out of your work day to get up and walk around.

*Change one of your meetings to a walking meeting and let colleagues know why you are making the change.

What are your walking plans this Wednesday? Please let me know in the comments section below.

Special thanks to former colleague and friend Stephanie Artero of West Palm Beach for sending me an email about National Walking Day. She lost nearly 35 pounds and 7 inches from her waist last year and gained some healthy habits to help maintain her goal weight.

And now, for my numbers

I had my best walking day last week on Wednesday, March 27, 2013, when I walked:

Steps: 12,744

Miles: 6.4