A walking group to improve residents' fitness has just celebrated its first anniversary.
The group was created last November by members of the Peaks to Prairies Primary Care Network (PPPCN).
"As an exercise specialist with the Primary Care Network, my goal is to get people up and moving and getting them more active. So starting a walking group was one of the easiest ways to get people out there and getting more activity," says Greg Stopanski, an exercise specialist with the PPPCN.
The group walks every Wednesday at the indoor track in the Community Learning Campus Fitness Centre. Participants are also encouraged to come in and do laps at other times when they can as well.
"Indoor activity is easier throughout the winter so here at the CLC Fitness Centre, it makes it more accommodating and it's a warm, inviting atmosphere," Stopanski says. "Plus it's very accessible for anybody who needs facilities for supports."
Stopanski and a couple of other PPPCN employees discussed the idea and managed to get doctors to provide some referrals ñ patients who could benefit from the exercise.
They started out with about three or four people. Now there are about 35 people in the walking group, although an average of about 10 attend in any given week.
Members range in age from 25 to 90.
They participate for many reasons.
"There's a variety. They're not all the same," Stopanski says. "Some of them are just looking to increase their physical activity. Some of them are looking to decrease their blood sugars, making sure they're managing diabetes and then others are helping out with mobility. So it's just a wide variety of people who are coming in."
He says walking can help participants deal with a variety of ailments.
"It can help out with any chronic disease, so with diabetes, hypertension, cholesterol, weight management -- just things like that that we want to make sure that we keep under control," he says.
"(For) anybody who's looking for support with knee or hip surgeries or injuries, urban pole walking has actually helped out with stability, proper posture and takes a lot of weight-bearing off your joints."
Participants are monitored carefully.
"The track is 200 metres (long) so we kind of gauge from the first time they get here. They try how many laps they can do and over time. If they can increase it, that's one of our goals that we can kind of see," Stopanski says.
"We kind of encourage them to do 10 laps, so two kilometres. But if they are less than that, then we just encourage them to start where they're at and then increase as much as they can."
He's seen some pretty dramatic improvement.
"We found some people decreasing (their) pain just because they are getting a little more mobile."
Stopanski has also seen some participants who were dependent on mobility devices in order to walk "going from a walker to maybe some urban pole walking sticks to nothing."
"We've had some of them who have come out and started with six laps instead of the two-K (kilometres) and now they're up to 10 or 15. And we have others who started at 10, 20 laps and now they're up to 45," he adds.
"So it can actually increase, depending on how often they come out and walk and what fitness level that they're at."
Stopanski and other PPPCN employees are very grateful for all the assistance they've received from the CLC Fitness Centre.
"Starting a walking group was one of the easiest ways to get people out there and getting more activity."GREG STOPANSKIEXERCISE SPECIALIST PEAKS TO PRAIRIES PRIMARY CARE NETWORK
