Time to get more active

I’ve recently signed up to be a part of an exciting research project being conducted here at CQUniversity. The CQUniversity Walk 2.0 Research Project is being conducted with the objective of getting more adults active through walking and other moderate physical activities.

The project team conducting this research will be exploring whether or not social networks help people become more active. Participants in the study will be split into three groups, with one using the 10,000 steps program whereby people log their daily steps on the 10,000 steps website, the other group will use an online platform similar to Facebook where they can connect with other participants, log their steps and comment on their progress; and the final group will use a handwritten logbook to record their activity.

With more and more people now connecting online it will be interesting to see whether this trend can also have an impact on out physical activity levels.

As we all seem to get busier and busier, with work, keeping a house and raising a family exercise and physical well being is often the first thing to get left behind. I’ve certainly been guilty of it. It’s never too late to turn things around though as keeping healthy and looking after ourselves is the most critical aspect in being able to meet our work and family commitments.

Interestingly, what many people also don’t realise is that it only takes 30 minutes a day to meet the recommended minimum physical activity requirements for an adult. By meeting this requirement our overall wellbeing and health can be greatly improved. When you look at 30 minutes a day doesn’t seem like a lot of time to invest in our health, does it?

So rather than wait to make a New Year’s resolution to get more active (which I never keep anyway), I’m excited to get involved in this project right now and see what results I can achieve in both the short and long term. What’s more I’m also excited to be able to work with some really great researchers here at CQUniversity on an innovative study that should help people get more active and healthy.

If you live in the Rockhampton area and are interested in being a part of this research I encourage you to visit www.walk.org.au/recruit or contact the Project Manager on (07) 4930 6537.

When it's almost 40 degrees outside the CQUni pool 

is a great way to cool of and exercise