Mayor Gavin Newsom: Take the Fitness Challenge

While most of us understand that eating right and exercising is a good idea, many of us find it difficult to put these good intentions into practice.

If you're not exercising because you can't fit a fitness class into your schedule, can't afford to join a gym, or don't like to exercise alone, here's the solution to your excuses: Take the Shape Up San Francisco Challenge beginning Oct. 4.

Walk the Coast of California in 12 Weeks
The Shape Up San Francisco Walking Challenge asks a team of 20 to 30 people to take weekly walks together - and for individual team members to walk on their own - with a goal of accumulating enough miles to walk 1,016 miles over the 12 weeks from Oct. 4 to Dec. 27. This amounts to the mileage along the California coast from the Mexican border to the Oregon border.

Teams are forming now at recreation centers, after-school programs, community centers and businesses. Please consider starting a team at your work or school, or joining a neighborhood team at one of 11 recreation centers around the City.

An interactive Web site has been set up for teams to track their progress on-line and to see how they are doing compared to other teams. It is: www.shapeupsf.org. There is no cost to join a team. Everyone who completes the challenge will be invited to a "challenge completed" celebration in January. The great thing about the walking challenge is that you don't need to buy expensive equipment or join a gym to get started. Walking has tremendous benefits:

• Walking regularly can build aerobic fitness, balance and strength, which reduces the risk of chronic diseases, such as heart problems and diabetes, and also reduces the risk of falls and fractures;

• Regular exercise, such as walking, improves one's mood and relieves depression and stress;

• Walking with other people builds community and social support for physical activity;

• Foot traffic brings business to local stores and creates a feeling of safety in a neighborhood;

• Walking improves the environment by reducing dependency on cars;

• Walking is free! More to the Challenge The Shape Up San Francisco Walking Challenge is the one activity of a larger Shape Up SF Initiative.

Created by a partnership of city departments and community-based organizations, Shape Up creates environments that support healthy eating and active living in San Francisco by providing fun, motivating and creating accessible opportunities for people who live and work in San Francisco to get physically active. Keep checking www.shapeupsf.org for more Shape Up challenges throughout the year.

The Shape Up Walking Challenge is coordinated by the SF Department of Children, Youth and Their Families working with the Office of Mayor, SF Recreation and Park Department, SF Department of Human Services, SF Police Department and the SF Department of Public Health in partnership with many community-based organizations.

For more information about the Shape Up SF Walking Challenge and a list of recreation centers forming teams, please visit www.shapeupsf.org. Gavin Newsom is the mayor of San Francisco.