What’s creative about walking? If you are Aegis Therapies, a leading provider of contract rehabilitation and wellness services in the United States, the answer is everything.

One of the company’s recent innovations, WALK! with Aegis Therapies, has garnered nationwide attention as more than 50,000 participants collectively walked about 100,000 miles by the end of the company’s weeklong celebration of health and wellness, held September 20–24, in 2010.

How did Aegis accomplish these numbers, especially given the fact that their first Walk Your Ageis event took place in 2009?

First off, the events are hosted at 582 client locations across the US, including independent living communities, assisted living centers, continuing care retirement communities, skilled nursing facilities, and other locations.

Everyone participating in WALK! with Aegis Therapies receives an activity card for the week. Attendees walk 15–30 minutes on each of the five days. They also listen to upbeat songs on CDs narrated by health and fitness expert Chris Freytag, which are custom-made for these activities. In addition to daily walking, the program features other activities designed to encourage active aging and wellness and highlight different dimensions of wellness. These events are structured to remind participants of the importance of nourishing their emotional and intellectual health, in addition to maintaining their physical well-being.

Each participant’s activity card is stamped to mark days they complete both the daily walking exercise and the wellness activity planned for the day. Participating sites calculate miles walked daily by participants at each location, and Aegis staff tally the total miles walked at locations across the nation. Aegis also track contributions of participants who are in wheelchairs or otherwise unable to walk, as they engage in other physical activities.

In addition to walking, each day of WALK! with Aegis Therapies incorporates another dimension of wellness as follows:

Monday: intellectual wellness
Creative and stimulating mental activities include trivia questions about America and brain teasers.

Tuesday: emotional wellness
Activities encourage participants to stay positive, connect with others, and remain physically active. Attendees write thank-you or caring notes to friends, loved ones or caregivers; alternatively, they may engage in another activity that promotes positive thinking.

Wednesday: spiritual wellness
A 15-minute guided meditation segment encourages participants to merge the physical realm of wellness with the spiritual.

Thursday: occupational wellness
Participants engage each other in a game that involves going through the alphabet and listing as many occupations as they can for each letter.

Friday: social wellness
Activities promote social wellness and the importance of socializing with others. Socializing involves using good communications skills, having meaningful relationships, respecting yourself and others, and creating a support system that includes family, friends and caregivers.

Summary

Ultimately, WALK! with Aegis Therapies helps to spread the word about the importance of getting—and staying—healthy, and that participants use the program as a springboard to a happier and healthier life.

What are you doing to turn basic ideas into creative programming?

One measure of the richness of any community is its diversity. Variety of geography, age, ethnicity, culture and other traits is at the heart of American life and values.

As diverse as we are, though, and as differently as we choose to live, we have much in common. Deeply rooted in our shared, human physiology, for example, is the need to move. We all benefit from physical activity and exercise. Whether in a schoolyard or a nursing home, condo or campground, in the pink of health or post-chemo, the power of exercise can help us keep healthy or recover. The research is unmistakable, but more compelling for most people is the empirical evidence - how good they feel when they get regular exercise for recreation and as part of daily living.

But, how to get everyone to understand the need to be physically active? How to ensure they have ample opportunities to exercise, and how to motivate them to do it? The answers, fortunately, are as diverse as our communities themselves. I was reminded of this on May 31, when we kicked off the second World Congress on Exercise is Medicine with a community walk in Denver. Everyone - from schoolkids to the Senator to the "Biggest Loser" star - had a great time, and finished the walk just a bit healthier than before.

Just move!

At heart, physical activity is about movement. As two-legged creatures, we are made to walk. The setting may be a mall, trail, sidewalk or office park. No gym membership or special equipment needed; shoes are optional but recommended. The pace may be slower in the retirement home than the high school, but the benefits are just as real. Accumulating daily steps toward the Federal Physical Activity Guidelines is a big contribution toward better health for all. We should share the Guidelines widely and help people find ways to meet them.

But, walking isn't everyone's cup of tea, and it isn't enough for some. Communities with plenty of parks and playgrounds, sports leagues for all and safe, walkable neighborhoods have a leg up and tend to measure better on the ACSM American Fitness Index.

The "Law and Order" Principle

Crime shows tell us the perpetrator needs motive, means and opportunity. Same for exercise: We need to tell our diverse communities why they should be physically active; provide a variety of ways for them to enjoy activity, and help them fit it into daily life. If a personal trainer is too costly, let's offer free or low-cost classes at community centers. When it's too cold to jog, open a skating rink. Those who aren't up to running the mini-marathon can do the 5K family walk.

When the community's health is a priority, people find ways to encourage healthy lifestyles. The challenge is for each of us - government, businesses, nonprofits and community groups of every stripe - to find what works for us and then make it happen.

What can you do to foster active lifestyles in your community?

Contributed by Dr. David Geier

May is National Physical Activity Month and what better way to celebrate being active than to walk your dog. He'll appreciate it just as much as you will. Obviously strenuous exercise, such as running and other forms of cardiovascular exercise, and sports are are excellent ways to achieve health and meet the activity standards established by the Department of Health and Human Services. But finding simple ways for children and adults to integrate activity into their normal activities might be the best way to get people moving.

A new study published in the March issue of the Journal of Physical Activity and Health suggests a potentially great idea for all Americans to become more active. The study, presented by Matthew J. Reeves et al., looks at whether owning a dog and walking the dog are associated with increased physical activity. They gathered data from the 2005 Michigan Behavioral Risk Factor Survey to try to determine if a relationship existed between owning a dog and physical activity.

The authors found that people who own a dog are more active overall and walk more. Dog owners who take their dogs for walks on average walk about one hour more per week than the one-third of dog owners who don't walk their dogs. Interestingly they also found that younger Americans and the elderly walked their dogs the most and that people with large dogs (weighing over 45 pounds) walked longer than owners of smaller dogs. Finally the study seems to suggest that the benefits of owning a dog, as it pertains to physical activity, may actually be more than just the actual walking, as dog owners seem to be more physically active than non-dog owners in general.

When I heard about this study, I was not terribly surprised. I always like to find easy ideas to stimulate physical activity. For instance, I think it is helpful to take the stairs instead of an elevator when possible. Also, parking at the end of the parking lot away from stores and businesses forces people to walk a little bit more with their normal activities. Owning a dog and walking it are more examples of easy changes to implement.

What this study does not address, but most dog owners will tell you, is that the benefits of having a dog are not just seen with physical activity. Most of my friends who have a dog point out the happiness that comes when their dogs greet them when they get home from work or school. They also love taking their dogs to the park and the beach. So to everyone out there who owns a dog - get outside and walk with your four-legged friend. It just might improve your health too.

What are some other ways to get more active with your four-legged friend?