Spent my glorious morning walking around the scenic Marina Bay Promenade for the Pledge Your Heart Walk 2016, organised by the Singapore Heart Foundation in conjunction with the Go Red for Women campaign in raising awareness for cardiovascular disease among women…or in layman terms, heart disease!
The distance covered the whole Marina Bay Promenade (but don’t take my word for it, I’m not Singaporean), which makes it up to 3.5km. It was an easy walk that helped me get my heart going, which I guess is what the whole walk was about – motivating physical activity and heart-healthy living.
I’m personally an active person, heading to the gym 5-6 times a week and opting to take the stairs instead on the lift/escalator on most occasions. And so I thought this walk is rather interesting, encouraging people from all walks of life to get together in a non-competitive environment and pretty much be active.
This was the starting line and also served as the finishing line. Gosh, just look at the view. Singapore is truly a concrete jungle where dreams are made of. (Keys, 2009)
Before the walk started, there were Fitness First instructors around to get all of us moving and into the groove with simple movements. Funny enough, I headed to Fitness First for a kick ass weights session after the walk.
Big smiles all around after completing the walk! I’m really glad this walk was organised, because honestly, how much do we actually know what’s going on in our bodies? Our health is something easily overlooked and despite what most people think, CVD is easily preventable. All we need is the right lifestyle choices and all these little steps amount to a lifesaving difference. And it’s not like we have to dedicate hours of working out to prevent this, all we need is about half an hour of physical activity a day, amounting to 2% of your day.
And so what if running really isn’t your cup of tea? There are plenty other choices, you just gotta find the one that suits you best. Or just make better health choices! Instead of that can of coke, grab a nice warm cup of tea instead. Take the straits instead of the lift once in awhile, or if you’re really feeling adventurous, get off the bus one stop earlier and walk to your destination (not recommended if you plan to be late for work). Every small step matters.
