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Physical Activity
Physical activity events
 It is important to pick activities you enjoy so that you will continue to do them. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention developed a campaign called "Ready, Set, It's Everywhere You Go: CDC's Guide to Promoting Moderate Physical Activity." Some of the ideas listed here for events in parks, zoos, aquariums and other places come from that campaign. Here you will find local resources that can help in carrying out these events.
There are many wonderful places to go bicycling in King County, and there are great trail systems. See below for how to get a map of the places to go biking in King County and Seattle.
 You can increase your physical activity and help your community at the same time. You can also help others to increase their levels of physical activity by organizing volunteer events. Not only will participants beautify their surroundings and strengthen their communities, but they will also participate in activities that will boost their energy levels and build moderate physical activity skills with friends and family.
Ideas for activities:
- Organize a community cleanup day. Participants could help clean parks, trails, streams, or roads (for example, adopt a highway or street).
- Conduct school or home cleanup, repair and painting events.
- Conduct a community car wash. The proceeds raised could be allotted for school or community recreational equipment.
 People might not realize that gardening provides opportunities for physical activity. Gardening can be done individually, with the family or with a group. Often overlooked as a way to engage in physical activity, gardening offers persons of all ages an outlet for being active.
Ideas for activities:
- Conduct gardening workshops to introduce people to flower or vegetable gardening.
- Sponsor individual or group plots in a community garden. Workshop attendees could receive rebates on the plots or win plots in a raffle, or availability could be limited to a first come, first served basis. See below for information about Seattle's Peapatch program.
- To heighten interest, you could hold a contest for the plot with the best flowers, most vegetables, or for the best individual or group plot. Winners could receive rebates on gardening supplies.
- Contact farms to gauge interest in holding "glean" days (see U-Pick Farms in King County below). Gleaning involves collecting the fruits and vegetables that were not harvested (for example, apples that fell off the trees) and donating them to food banks. Whoever collects the most can come back to pick his or her own at a reduced rate.
Local resources:
Indoor facilities like schools, malls, health clubs and community centers may already offer physical activity opportunities. Many are ideal places to host a workshop or event. Indoor facilities make weather considerations less of a concern, and most are safe places to hold events.
Ideas for activities:
- Host a physically active back-to-school night.
- Work with a mall or shopping center to begin an early morning walking program.
- Partner with a health club or community center to host a physical activity fair that includes opportunities to try different types of physical activity, clinics on physical activity safety, and displays from activity groups (like bowling and softball leagues or hiking clubs).
- Hold a series of workshops that teach members of the target audience how to use dancing to help reach their physical activity goals. It might be country western dancing one week and salsa the next.
- Host a weekly family skate in the evening at an ice or roller rink.
- Start a beginner's volleyball league or host a family volleyball tournament.
- Offer a workshop designed to encourage planning for physical activity and bolster self-confidence. The workshop might explain how to fit physical activity into a busy lifestyle and the benefits of engaging in physical activity with friends or family, while providing demonstrations and opportunities to try new forms of physical activity.
 For those who prefer to stay physically active by taking advantage of the wonderful hiking trails in King County and its surroundings, the following sites can provide great ideas.
Park and recreation events
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 Municipal parks and recreation facilities are excellent sites for physical activity events. They are open to the public, entrance is usually free or low cost, and they are identified with the promotion of wellness, leisure, and family and group activities. Many physical activity events can be planned and implemented in conjunction with park and recreation organizations.
Ideas for activities:
- Start a before work, lunch, or after hours walking group at a park near businesses.
- Conduct "getting started" workshops to introduce people to new activities, and do not be afraid to "think out of box". How about hosting an outdoor dancing lesson or a power-walking seminar?
- Sponsor a walk in a local park. The event could be conducted as a fundraiser for recreational equipment or as part of a park cleanup.
- Hold a weekend event during which members of the community can play a pickup game of basketball, volleyball, tennis or softball.
- Sponsor a kite festival at the park. Encourage families to come to the event and to take some walks along the trails during the day.
Local resources:
Zoos and aquariums provide opportunities for families and friends to spend time together while engaging in physical activity. These locations frequently come to mind when families plan outings.
Ideas for activities:
- Hold a "Walk with the Animals" event that combines walking for physical activity with a family day at the zoo. Form a partnership with your local zoo, which could, for example, reduce entry fees during the event. At an information booth near the zoo's entrance, participants can receive a map highlighting places in the zoo where they can pick up information on physical activity, samples of orange juice or bottled water (free or at a reduced price), and tickets redeemable for zoo merchandise. For example, a station positioned near a particularly active kind of animal could illustrate the importance of keeping active. At the monkey house, visitors could receive information on activities around their house or for their families. At each station, participants can estimate the distance they have traveled.
- Host an aquarium event that emphasizes walking and water sports as a fun way to engage in physical activity. Set up stations around the aquarium that provides ideas for fitting physical activity into daily life.
- Conduct an event that encourages participants to search for particular animals located specific distances away from each other and the entrance. People who find a certain number of animals could receive a rebate on zoo merchandise or rebates from other event partners.
- At any of these events, use distance markers or provide maps or pedometers so that participants can track how far they have walked.
Walking is the easiest physical activity to begin. It requires no special equipment, can be done almost any time of day, and is free. It is no wonder that it is such a popular exercise. You will be more likely to walk if you walk with a friend, set a particular time and day to walk, and set a goal that you can reach. It would be great if you could walk for at least 30 minutes a day. If you are just getting started or have a chronic disease or other physical disability, a smaller goal of 10 minutes or even less may be better for you. Below are some websites that may be helpful.
> Click here to view walking maps
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