Humans are born to stroll

Posted on May 4, 2012 by ben

“If people want to be healthier and prolong their life span, all they really need to do is go for a walk. It’s the single easiest thing anyone can do.”

- Gretchen Reynolds, Author of The First 20 Minutes: Surprising Science Reveals How We Can: Exercise Better, Train Smarter, Live Longer

“Two-thirds of Americans get no exercise at all. If one of those people gets up and moves around for 20 minutes, they are going to get a huge number of health benefits, and everything beyond that 20 minutes is, to some degree, gravy.”

While weight-loss is certainly an important aspect of an exercise program, she stresses that it should by far not be the only consideration:

“If someone starts an exercise program and improves his fitness, even if he doesn’t lose an ounce, he will generally have a longer life and a much healthier life. It would be nice if people would look at exercise as a way to make themselves feel better and live longer and not necessarily as a way to make themselves skinnier.”

Regarding being sedentary (ie: an office job) , she has this to say:

“I really do stand up at least every 20 minutes now, because I was spending five or six hours unmoving in my chair. The science is really clear that that is very unhealthy, and that it promotes all sorts of disease. All you have to do to ameliorate that is to stand up. You don’t even have to move. I’m standing up right now as I talk on the phone. I stand during most of my interviews now.”

Read the rest of the interview at the ever-great ‘Well’ blog at the NYT:

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/05/04/the-surprising-shortcut-to-better-health/

Another reason to move more: the American workplace!

Posted on March 12, 2012 by taylor

How many of you are making an extra effort to exercise daily?

If you can honestly answer “me!”, then great job! For most people this is not the case. After much media attention, most Americans understand that we have an obesity problem. Usually, poor eating habits and a sedentary lifestyle are the first to be blamed but new research adds another contributing factor: the workplace.

Because of changes in the labor force over the past 50 years, we are burning 120 to 140 calories less every day.

Ready to take that mid-day walk yet?

In the last half-century, we have seen a huge decline in physically demanding jobs. Since 1960, the amount of jobs requiring moderate physical activity has dropped from 50 percent to a minimal 20 percent today.

How about now, willing to trade in 30 minutes of your lunch break for a stroll?

So what about the other 80 percent of jobs today? Sedentary, or require little activity. This could account for the estimated one in three Americans who are obese. As physically active jobs are on the decline the rate of obesity is rising. While it is only a piece of the pie, it is an important factor.

If you’re still not convinced that you need to make exercise a priority, check out the full article here: http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/05/25/less-active-at-work-americans-have-packed-on-pounds/

Hiring: Support person for Walker Tracker

Posted on February 10, 2012 by ben

Walker Tracker is growing, and we’re looking for somebody to grow with us. We have an immediate need for a customer support person in Portland, Oregon who can jump into our programs and hit the ground running. This position is half analytical brain, half writer. If you have a good understanding of web applications, the ability to return astoundingly-clear emails within twenty-four hours, and have an analytical, puzzle-solver mind, send us a resume and cover letter and let’s talk.

This is a part-time, sometimes-work-from-home, contract position to start. We’re flexible, easy-going, and fun to work for. A couple of items that would be great pluses:

you love tinkering with software
you have a basic familiarity with HTML/other web technologies
you have a sense of humor
you write a mean cover letter
an interest in walking/fitness, neighborhood walkability, or you regularly read the Health and Wellness blog at the New York Times are also pluses

Send a resume and cover letter to: work@walkertracker.com

Step it up America! Disconnect and get moving!

Posted on January 16, 2012 by taylor

In the time it takes you to watch another sitcom re-run, surf the Internet, or play Angry Birds on your phone you could get your daily dose of exercise in. Instead of plugging in or tuning out, take a 30-minute walk! You’ll feel great and improve your health.

Based on a study published in The Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, Americans only took 5,117 steps a day! Compared to Australia (9,695 steps), Switzerland (9,650 steps) and Japan (7,168 steps) we have some work to do. This difference in steps is only 30 to 40 minutes of walking each day. Something so simple as a 30-minute walk each day could make all the difference in our health. Countries that reported having higher daily step averages have much lower obesity rates (from 3% to 16%). A sedentary lifestyle has led America to an unhealthy 35% obesity rate.

Now, disconnect from your TV, laptop or smart phone and get moving!

Announcing a new website – more to come!

Posted on January 12, 2012 by ben

In 2011 we contracted with the design firm Morange Design to help us build a world-class new brand and User Interface. Today we’re very excited to unveil the first part of that work, our new corporate website. We couldn’t be happier with it.

In the hopper and still in development is an entirely new User Interface for our walking program as well. Woo Hoo! We’ll have more on that as it comes.

Please, let us know what you think.

The single best thing we can do for our health

Posted on December 21, 2011 by taylor

I will give you a few hints:

It only takes 30 minutes a day.

It reduces the risk of heart disease, diabetes, obesity, arthritis, and the list goes on…

It lowers anxiety and depression.

It improves your mood and fights fatigue.

It gives us the biggest return on investment, both time and money.

It improves your quality of life!

What is this miracle I speak of? Check out the video:

Exercise. Especially WALKING!

Walker Tracker profiled on Oregonlive

Posted on December 12, 2011 by ben

On Oregonlive, there’s a nice story on us:

Walker Tracker, a Northeast Portland software start-up, measures its considerable progress

(yikes, and a picture of -most- of our team!). The article was written by Rebecca Koffman who came and interviewed us.

Thanks Rebecca!

Siri, please update my step entry

Posted on December 8, 2011 by ben

Text message integration with Walker Tracker comes standard in all of our walking programs, and is a ‘pro’ feature in our community program. It’s a fantastic feature for logging your steps while you’re on the go, or getting a quick read on your stats.

And it just got a whole lot niftier on the iPhone 4S.

Just add Walker Tracker’s phone number to your address book, and Siri will cheerfully help you update your step blog.

(view how to set up text-message integration with Walker Tracker in your preferences)

Going the Distance

Posted on December 5, 2011 by taylor

We like to share with you when one of our walking programs does something outstanding. Recently a program in Freetown, Sierra Leone went above and beyond to improve the experience for their walkers. They drove the route from Conakry, Guinea to Freetown to snap pictures first hand. We then used these photos in map pins for their walking competition.

Another great idea from this program was the promotion of incentives through these pins. One of the prizes for this walking competition is a hammock from Conakry, as seen in the picture. Very cool!

What have you done to improve your walking program? We would love to hear your ideas!