Welcome to the Wing Walker Project!

Welcome to Winging It, a walking project designed to motivate the Wing Walkers, a seriously addled group from deep inside the North Wing Asylum. The Asylum we love has wonderful facilities and endless space, but they try to medicate us if we bounce around too much or make a mess, so we've set up a hidden space here at the back of the grounds where we can have our meetings and bounce as we please. My name is Sarah, and I've got the whistle, so that makes me Coach. Anyone calling me Coach Cupcake will drop & give me a tag before resuming the program. Respect my author-it-tie! Sorry, I forgot to warn you all that I channel Cartman when I'm under stress. Pay no attention, please. We will have a theme each week, with goals and set activities. There will be five daily assignments per week, and bonus points for those who do weekend activites. The theme for the first week is Getting Ready. We'll discuss proper shoes, and set some goals. We'll also begin the walking program with learning to stretch, learning to warm up & cool down, and take some short walks. There will be surprises & a lot of fun along the way, so dig out some comfy walking clothes and I'll see you all here Monday for the first meeting!

Monday

Meeting 1- Monday


Each week we will have a theme. This week the theme is Getting Ready. We'll be doing some short walks, but mostly we'll be getting our equipment organized and our goals set. Today we're going to have a very short lecture on equipment, but first I'd like you all to fill out a short questionaire for me so that I can tailor this to meet our specific needs.

Please post your answers by number in a reply in the comments section at the bottom of this post

1a. Do you have sidewalks near your home to walk on?

1b. Are you urban (city) or rural (country)?

2. Do you have a covered area to walk in should the weather be bad, such as an indoor gym or a shopping mall?

3. Do you have a portable music player, such as an I-pod?

4. Do you know how to take your own pulse?

5. Do you have diabetes? (important!!)

6. Do you smoke?

7. Do you drive or have someone to drive you?
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Shoes are your most important piece of walking equipment. The right fit and the right style can make the difference between loving or hating every minute of your walking program. You absolutely do not need to rush out & buy expensive cross-trainers. All that really matters are these two things:

1) NO HEELS! Not even tiny ones! The center (ball) of your shoe should be flat, or rounded outward, there should be no rise in the center. This will enable you to walk properly, bearing your weight in the center (ball) of your foot. This is important not only for your feet, but also for you body alignment. One of the side benefits of starting a walking program is that you will see an improvement in your posture, too. Wearing flat shoes will also prevent ankle injuries that can be sustained when the foot slips side to side, as it naturally does when you wear heels.

2) GOOD FIT: the shoes you walk in should be loose enough to let you wear really thick, bulky socks. You're probably not going to be wearing bulky socks for walking, it's just the best way to gauge if your shoes have enough room in them. Even on short walks our feet will swell slightly, and the right fit will keep your feet cooler as well as cut down on the chance of blisters.

Socks are important, too. I know some of us have sock issues, not pointing any fingers, (cough, cough, uh TYGER!) but fashion isn't what matters here. Plain white socks, preferably cotton or a breathable athletic blend, are best. Fabric dyes can irritate hot feet and even cause blisters. If it's killing you to wear plain white socks, stitch on an embroidered skully patch or something to liven them up, but make sure that all decoration is above the shoeline.

Lecture over, see, it was painless, wasn't it?

So now let's just chat a bit about stretching & warming up. Recent studies indicate that warming up may not only be unnecessary, it might actually be counter-productive. So we're going to skip warmup routines, and just talk about stretching. Gently stretching the muscles can go a long way towards preventing cramping and even injury, so here is today's challenge, and the very first measurement I'd like everyone to take. First, grab a tape measure, ruler, yardstick, whatever you have to measure a straight line with. Stand comfortably, with your feet apart. Now bend over and reach for your toes. Don't over-extend or stretch past your comfort zone, just see how close you can COMFORTABLY get to touching your toes. Measure the distance between the floor and the tips of your fingers. If you're a gymnast or a stripper and can touch China, don't brag, just make a note of it.

Now, a tougher one. You've all seen runners doing it, let's see if we can: from a standing position, bend a leg and see if you can reach back and grab that ankle. No? Well, you will be able to soon, I promise. The long muscles in the front & back of your thighs will become leaner & stronger over the course, which will not only make you healthier, it will make your legs LOOK better, too, and you'll gain a lot in the way of balance, too.
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Each day there will be an info section or a little lecture, and then the challenge for the day, followed by a question or two for you to answer. Today your challenge is to get your shoes & socks ready and then take a short walk near your home. We're not measuring distance today; I'd like you to walk for thirty minutes on a level surface without stopping. Walk at a comfortable rate, but keep it above a stroll, please.

Recap: check your shoes & socks
try the stretches & do the measurement
post your questionaire in the comments section of this post
30 minute continuous walk, comfortable pace


Tomorrow, after I have your completed questionaires, we'll set some goals. Let's go for a walk, see you tomorrow!

10 comments:

  1. Sarah's questionaire

    1a. No sidewalks here, just a gravel road.
    1b. Rural. Very, very rural. Moo. Baaaaa
    2. If it rains, I'll be walking in the rain.
    3. I have an Ipod
    4. I'm learning, and you will too!
    5. No, but I have asthma which I'm hoping will get better from walking.
    6. Can I lie? Yes, I'm a smoker.
    7. I drive

    ReplyDelete
  2. Leave me and my socks out of it! I have new trainers that I got for Zumba, proper fitness type ones, so CHECK! I will brave the plain socks.. just for you!!

    Done my walking earlier I walked home from doctors, it only takes 15 mins, but I took a detour as it was sunny! So I'm good for 30 mins.

    1a. Yes

    1b. Urban girl

    2. Hmm.. yeah i could go to mall.. who needs encouragement to do that!

    3. Yes.. my new ipod also has a pedometer function.. result!

    4. Yes

    5. no

    6. only the odd sneaked one when drinking

    7. no drivers in the house

    I Can't do the leg behind thing anymore.. i try every week at Zumba! For the floor measurement I got 6 inches

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  3. Awesome! I wasn't being mean to your gorgeous soxies, sweets, I didn't own a single pair of white ones and had to go buy some for this little adventure! Oh, I forgot, in my reply, to mention that I can touch the floor but I can't grab my ankle from behind, either, not even on the second attempt, when I supported myself with the other hand so I wouldn't fall on my face like I did when I tried the first time. I've also done my walking, bundled up because it was raining lightly. Now it's coming down by the bucketful, so I'm glad I got it done!

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  4. 1a. Do you have sidewalks near your home to walk on? yes

    1b. Are you urban (city) or rural (country)?
    chamblee, ga has areas with sidewalks and areas without ..a real hodgepoge.. the subdivision i live in does NOT.
    2. Do you have a covered area to walk in should the weather be bad, such as an indoor gym or a shopping mall? yes

    3. Do you have a portable music player, such as an I-pod? NO

    4. Do you know how to take your own pulse? yes

    5. Do you have diabetes? (important!!)no

    6. Do you smoke? yes

    7. Do you drive or have someone to drive you?

    ReplyDelete
  5. I know I am a little late with this...but Monday ( here ) I forgot to post lol...and so far today I have been out.Anyway heres the answers

    1a. Do you have sidewalks near your home to walk on? Yes

    1b. Are you urban (city) or rural (country)?
    I can be both

    2. Do you have a covered area to walk in should the weather be bad, such as an indoor gym or a shopping mall? nope just the house lol

    3. Do you have a portable music player, such as an I-pod? Nope

    4. Do you know how to take your own pulse? yes

    5. Do you have diabetes? (important!!) Nope

    6. Do you smoke? very very occasionally

    7. Do you drive or have someone to drive you?
    I can drive

    I have done the walking... but took me longer than 30 mins, as I have slight Angina! I can touch my toes very easily. Got the shoes and socks.
    Think thats everything covered... wait for next bit now lol.

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  6. oops forgot...I can touch my ankle too lol

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  7. 1a. Do you have sidewalks near your home to walk on? yes plenty of side walks

    1b. Are you urban (city) or rural (country)? live in the city,but have access to a park

    2. Do you have a covered area to walk in should the weather be bad, such as an indoor gym or a shopping mall? yes I can get to a mall if need be

    3. Do you have a portable music player, such as an I-pod? I have a cd/cassette player,but I like to be aware when I'm walking

    4. Do you know how to take your own pulse? I use to but refresh me please

    5. Do you have diabetes? (important!!)No

    6. Do you smoke? yes

    7. Do you drive or have someone to drive you? yes if need be i can get a ride
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    Sorry I'm late with this,but I did walk yesterday...walk my grand daughter to school and from school...it's about five long blocks away. We both get some exercise...
    I have easy spirit walkers.... I know about getting the muscle ready for walking...I always strat out walking slow cause I'm fat,but it will pick up as I go along...
    also since I spent part of my week with my sister...and they have dail up I'll tried my best to get in here each day....so I guess I'm ready

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  8. oh yeah , I can't touch my toes,but I can touch my ankles...lol

    ReplyDelete
  9. 1a. No

    1b. Not City Not Country

    2. Mall

    3. No

    4. Not really

    5. No

    6. Yes alot

    7. Ride with SIL

    ReplyDelete
  10. oh Coach I have sneakers and socks just never wear them but I will start K.

    ReplyDelete