National Walk to Work Day is an event that takes place annually. It was created in 2004 as a way to spread awareness the healthy benefits of walking, is sponsored by Prevention magazine, and is officially endorsed by the Department of Health. It’s a great time to help others understand how their lifestyle decisions impact their long term health, and there are a few great gifts for coworkers that can facilitate your efforts.
One of the best gifts for coworkers celebrating national walk to work day is a pedometer. They’ve been shown to help people lose weight from walking. If you can get a few coworkers on board, you can even extend the practice of walking to and from work far beyond April 5th.
Get a few coworkers together and have everyone pitch in with five or ten dollars. Hold a monthly competition, using your pedometers to track how many steps you take each day. At the end of the month, the person who has logged the most steps wins the prize.
There are a number of books about walking that also make perfect gifts for coworkers. Some can teach your coworkers how to use walking as a part of a heart-healthy lifestyle, while others show how to walk to gain mental clarity and reduced levels of stress.
For instance, Casey Meyer’s Walking: A Complete Guide to the Complete Exercise, shares the program the author used after being diagnosed at a high risk for having a stroke. It’s appropriate for anyone at any age level, and can help your coworkers go from a completely sedentary lifestyle to one that involves moderate levels of physical activity.
Theresa Inkonian takes it up a notch with her book, Fitness Walking. It includes 60 different workouts, all based on walking. They range techniques designed for short walks around the neighborhood to speed walks on nature trails. There’s also a complete guide to developing a complete personal fitness plan designed entirely around creating a walking schedule.
Thom Hartman has written the amazing Walk Your Blues Away – it shares insights and studies that show how walking can help improve mental health and emotional well-being by combining the physical aspects with guided mental exercises perfectly suited for short walks. It isn’t just a bunch of new-age mumbo-jumbo, either – recent studies have shown that walking can help eliminate and treat depression.
An iPod mini makes a great gift for coworkers, especially if they don’t like reading. To make it extra special, load it up with tracks that you know they’ll appreciate before giving it to them. They’ll be able to pump their favorite jams while strolling through the park or power walking to work. It’s a gift that will provide a lot more entertainment than anything else mentioned on this list, too, so it provides the most bang for your buck.
Picking the right gift for National Walk to Work Day can be tough, but with these suggestions you should be able to come up with a few ideas that has everyone participating.
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