Experts have suggested that for health benefits adults should be aiming to walk a minimum of 10 000 steps a day. This sounds unbelievably high, but you might surprise yourself how much you already walk. The easiest way to monitor your walking is to clip a pedometer to your waistband or belt. The pedometer measures movement and counts the number of steps you walk. Pedometers are relatively cheap (less than £10) and can be found in a range of shops including supermarkets, pharmacies and sports shops.

Regular walking can improve your:

• Confidence
• Stamina
• Energy
• Weight control
• Life expectancy

It can reduce the risk of:

• Coronary heart disease
• Strokes
• Diabetes
• High blood pressure
• Bowel cancer
• Alzheimer's disease
• Osteoporosis
• Arthritis
• Anxiety
• Stress

It's easy to get started:

• Almost anyone can do it
• You can do it anywhere at any time
• You don’t need special equipment
• It's free and easy

• You can start slowly and build up gently. If you can only walk for a couple of minutes and then you need to rest that's OK. Where you start from isn't important - it’s where you’re going that counts!

Walking can bring added benefits:

• Led walks are a chance to meet people and make friends - they can be fun
• It's a gentle exercise and its suitable if you are recovering from heart trouble, a stroke or other illness
• Walking schemes can help improve your local environment by clearing/maintaining local paths and increasing the number of safe areas to walk.

Any walking is better than none. Brisk walking is the best but, if you are unfit or have taken very little exercise recently, then gentle strolling is a good start. It is much better to start slowly and build up to walking faster rather than overdoing things at the beginning. Brisk walking is the goal because the heart reaches its natural "training zone" when it has to work a little harder than normal. You are walking briskly when:

• your heart beats faster than normal but is not racing
• your breathing is deeper than usual but conversation is still possible you experience a warm glowing feeling