Healthy hearts: Rather than adopting a punishing regime in a stuffy gym, a few short walks in the fresh air each week could be just what the doctor ordered, writes Sylvia Thompson
Walking is the most popular form of exercise among 47 per cent of Irish people, according to market research. And for those of us who find walking the easiest way to exercise, the recent assertion that half an hour's moderate walking three times a week can deliver much of the benefit of an hour's intensive exercise seven days a week is welcome news.
Speaking about current research at the Cardiovascular Health Unit in Trinity College Dublin, Christopher Bell, professor of physiology at TCD, says: "We have some very nice evidence that if people undertake some low-key exercise, you can have very dramatic changes in the way the cardiovascular system responds to stresses."
This message of walking your way to a healthy heart is central to the Slí na Sláinte walking routes. First launched in 1996 as an Irish Heart Foundation initiative, there are now more than 100 routes throughout the State, including a 60-kilometre continuous route from Howth Head to Shankill, Co Dublin. Every route has its own map and leaflet with useful healthy walking tips.
Kay Carroll was instrumental in setting up the Slí route at the Hill of Tara, Co Meath.
"It's a 4.5-kilometre looped route, so you can complete it in about three-quarters of an hour. Some people do half of it because you'd need to be fit for the steep section up Tara Hill," says Carroll, who also set up the Tara Walking and Social club once the Slí route was in place.
"Apart from our walking club, which uses the route every Sunday at 10 a.m., I see people walking it all the time. And tourists use it, which is really wonderful. People are very interested in the distance they have walked, so the signs placed at kilometre intervals really help," adds Carroll.
Mary Coghlan is another walking group leader who trained with the Irish Heart Foundation. Her group is based in Tallaght, Dublin.
"The key for people who are taking up fitness walking is to start off with a slow programme," she says. "A lot of people have bad posture and it's important to keep the head up, the shoulders back and have a good forward and back swing of the arms when you are walking for exercise. Do 10 or 15 minutes walking twice a week to begin with.
"Walking is a sociable activity too, but sometimes I have to ask people to cut back on the talk and concentrate on their walking if they are getting out of breath."
The Slí na Sláinte concept - complete with identical signage - has been exported to 12 countries, including Switzerland, where there is a seven-kilometre route from the World Health Organisation offices into Geneva city centre.
A FORMER chief executive of the Irish Heart Foundation, Paddy Murphy, now works as the executive director of Slí na Sláinte. "The great advantage to Slí is that you can start walking anywhere and the majority of the Slí routes are close to where people live," he says."Research has shown that 66 per cent of walkers are likely to increase the distance they walk due to the Slí signs."
Murphy's current project is the development of Slí II, which involves motivational signs to encourage people to incorporate walking into their everyday activities. These include signs for office corridors, encouraging workers to use the stairs rather than the lift.
Other signs indicate the distance in kilometres to nearby landmarks. In Dublin, these are currently in place in Arnotts department store, Henry Street; Liberty Hall; the Irish College of General Practitioners' offices; Lincoln Place, and the RTÉ studios in Donnybrook. "We are also hoping to launch our Slí slogans on parking meters," says Murphy.
Quirky quotes such as "Drive Less, Stroll Away the Stress" are planned to entice motorists to walk more.
To set up a Slí na Sláinte route, install indoor signs in offices or train as a Slí walking leader, contact the Slí office at 01-6685001.
