5 Ways to Keep Your Community Active

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Despite the many benefits of physical activity, nearly 80% of adults and adolescents do not get the recommended amount of weekly exercise. A sedentary lifestyle increases the risk of developing chronic conditions such as heart disease, diabetes, and obesity. To make matters worse, 55% of the world’s population lives in urban areas, where walkable neighborhoods and safe public spaces are often lacking. Increasing physical activity in the community is a complex issue, but there are a few evidence-based strategies that can make a difference. 

Create Safe Places to Be Active

Building safe and accessible places for people to be active is a key component of encouraging healthy living within our communities. Whether it’s creating more paths for walking and biking or adding well-lit public parks and playgrounds, these kinds of spaces create opportunities for everyone to get out and get moving. 

Easy access to physical activity, will help people engage in the important habit of exercise on a regular basis. If you’re looking to improve your community’s health and fitness level, consider using some of your time, energy, and resources to enhance its outdoor spaces and create rich, fulfilling environments where everyone can be healthy and happy.

Launch a Community Health Challenge

This could involve setting up a fitness class for people across town, hosting an online fitness challenge, or simply asking residents to track their steps or log their workouts on social media. Promoting healthy behaviors and encouraging your neighbors to get moving can help create a stronger and more vibrant community.

Engaging local organizations and businesses in the challenge, you can create a sense of camaraderie and team spirit that will help keep people engaged over the long term. 

Increase Access to Affordable Programs and Facilities 

Increasing access to affordable programs and facilities is essential for encouraging greater physical activity in our communities. This can be achieved in a number of ways, including funding more community centers and parks, providing subsidies for membership fees at gyms, and offering incentives to participate in local sporting leagues. Making exercise more accessible and affordable will empower people across all demographics to get out and get active, thereby promoting a healthier, more active population overall.

Not only will increased access lead to greater participation in physical activities, but it can also help to reduce rates of chronic disease throughout our communities. This is because regular exercise has been shown to lower the risk of obesity, heart disease, diabetes, and many other diseases. Therefore, supporting programs that make healthy lifestyle choices more attainable for all members of our communities can play an important role in helping people live happier and healthier lives. And in turn, this not only benefits individuals themselves, it also reduces healthcare costs at the government and corporate levels by helping to prevent costly chronic conditions.

Become a Fitness Coach

As a fitness coach, you have the unique opportunity to connect with your community on a personal level and help them achieve their health and wellness goals. Whether you teach group fitness classes at the local gym or provide one-on-one personalized training sessions, your expertise and passion can serve as powerful motivators for your clients.

If you want to make a difference by empowering others to live happier, healthier lives through regular exercise, become a fitness coach. Whether you are starting out with zero experience or are already a seasoned pro, there are opportunities for everyone in this exciting and rewarding field. You can even get fitness jobs through Lensa.

You could work to provide opportunities for exercise in parks and public spaces, or you could create programs that encourage people to get moving by organizing fitness classes or setting up walking groups. Putting these kinds of efforts into place, you can help to bring more exercise opportunities to your neighborhood and help to get your community more active and healthier overall.

Install a Community Playground

Installing a community playground is a great way to encourage people in your community to get more exercise. Playing on the jungle gym, climbing the slides, and swinging on the swings are all fun and active activities that let kids and adults work their muscles and stay fit. What’s more, having a community playground can actually benefit the health of everyone in your neighborhood. 

Spending time outside in nature helps breathe fresh air and get some much-needed vitamin D from sun exposure. Additionally, engaging in physical activity together makes members of your community build stronger social connections and feel happier and more fulfilled in their daily lives. If you’re looking for an effective way to help your neighbors stay healthy and build connections within the local community, installing a community playground just might be the perfect solution.

Taking simple steps to promote exercise and physical activity can have a huge impact on the health of your community. These are just a few evidence-based strategies that communities can use to increase physical activity levels and improve population health outcomes. Although increasing physical activity is a complex issue, taking small steps to make it easier for people to be active can have a big impact.