Remember that the greatest benefits of walking come with time – soon you will be fitter and healthier than you have been in years.

To help keep you motivated, you could keep a diary which logs the dates and distances of your walks, or the scenery that you took in during your walk.

Some people enjoy the extra kick of motivation that a pedometer gives them. Research shows that any tools to help boost motivation, such as the pedometer, can increase the likelihood of sticking to an exercise programme.

That’s why I recommend some of my clients to buy and use a pedometer on a regular basis. It is a continual reminder of how well you are doing and how many steps you have to build up to each week to reach your own, personal target.

For good health it is recommended that we take 10,000 steps each day, however many of us are currently well below that level – it is common for many of my clients to be taking only 3,000 steps a day before they come to see me for their pedometer. Then, within just a few weeks, they are motivated when they see how easy it is to build up to the 10,000 steps.

Contact the Irish Heart Foundation (Tel: 01 668 5001) or your local sports shop to purchase a pedometer and to go about recording your results.

Route of the Month: Ballinastoe Slí na Sláinte

(in Roundwood, Wicklow)

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Slí na Sláinte is a unique walking initiative developed by the Irish Heart Foundation charity to encourage walking among all ages by providing clearly marked routes of achievable distances all over the country.

We have chosen the Cruagh Wood Slí na Sláinte, in Stepaside, for this issue of the Newsletter. The route is 4km in length and can be walked in either direction. It starts at the barrier beside the car park and follows the forest road through larch trees. Walking the loop in a clockwise direction, the road then passes through Sitka spruce. The road then climbs gradually uphill on past the first km mark. As one approaches the top of the hill, there is young Sitka spruce and wonderful views of the Tibradden Mountain. At the 2km mark, one passes the Cruagh Mountain Access Route bog bridge, providing access to the open mountain. Here there are fantastic views of Dublin city, Dollymount Strand and Howth Head. The forest road gradually descends through the spruce forest and then through the larch forest back to the car park.

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