Try and do what you can to clock up the extra miles
Today, World Osteoporosis Day, will highlight the reality that, in this country, one in two women over 50 will suffer a fracture caused by fragile bones.
Despite its 'silent' nature, osteoporosis is not a disease to be ignored. Unless the disease is treated, the skeleton becomes progressively weaker and more fragile.
The makers of BioCalth, a patented calcium supplement scientifically proven to improve bone density, is supporting the National Osteoporosis Society's '25,000 Mile Walk' charity initiative.
The Society is looking to raise much-needed research funds in its 25th anniversary year, and thus far, has received pledges worth around £11,000, although there are still many thousands of miles to go.
So BioCalth has come up with various weird and wonderful ways to clock up those extra miles. These activities can be pledged to the National Osteoporosis Society for as much or as little as you can afford, with every penny raised helping toward a fracture-free future.
1. Play swap shop – pass by your regular shop or takeaway and pledge the extra distance you walk, over a week or month.
2. Ditch the lift – instead of taking the lift, use the stairs and convert those vertical steps into pledge distances.
3. The kitchen triangle – cooks clock up quite a distance every mealtime, walking between fridge, stove and sink, the culinary triangle.
4. A school crocodile – get the neighbouring kids to walk to school in a crocodile, with parents pledging the joint mileage.
5. Stop too soon – get off the bus one stop sooner and pledge the extra distance you have to walk to work, school or home.
6. Snub the tube – sometimes walking between underground stations is quicker than taking the tube, so check out the map.
7. Supermarket stakes – count every stride as you walk around the supermarket on the weekly shop and keep a running total.
8. Baby’s first steps – celebrate those magical first steps by making a pledge, one baby yard is worth a mile surely.
9. Park the car – and walk to the shops, office or friend’s house instead, just a mile or so will do, then back again.
10. A country walk – it’s pleasurable, you see the countryside and get to show off at work the next day, and all for charity.
11. Doorstep deliveries – if you’re a postie, milkman or newspaper deliverer, pledge all those door-to-door steps.
12. Herd those cows – if you’re a farmer or stockman, park the quad bike and herd the cows or sheep on foot.
13. Stately round the house – if you’re visiting a stately home, then pledge these yards you walk around the house and grounds.
14. Follow that dog – when walking the dog, follow it closely, especially when it’s fetching sticks, to go the extra yard.
15. Prison yard workout – if you’re ‘inside’, convert the distance exercising in the prison yard and ask visitors to pledge.
16. Jump from a plane – turn vertical into horizontal distance, by adding up the flight and drifting miles, plus the jump.
17. Fetch the papers – instead of getting the dog or newsboy/newsgirl to deliver, fetch the dailies or Sundays yourself.
18. Round the garden – walkie round the garden like a teddy bear and the distance soon mounts up.
19. Try some wheelies – if you’re wheelchair-bound or use a mobility scooter, wheelie miles count just as much as walking.
20. Climb every mountain – well perhaps a hill, a Monroe or single mountain, with extra credit for steepness and difficulty.
21. Closer to home – walk around and around the house, indoors and out, and you’ll be surprised how the metres mount up.
22. Shop walkers – as your feet will tell you, retail and factory workers rack up amazing mileages each week, just on the job.
23. Walking in water – swimming is like walking, except it’s wetter and more strenuous, so award extra for lengths or widths.
24. Tables two step – waiting and bar staff can pledge those many miles spent tending tables and collecting empties.
25. There’s always fibbing – you don’t have to actually walk the walk, as long as you pledge the pledge, so be generous.
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