Please note: this is an old article
It was published in March 2017, so the information may be out-of-date.
Goulburn Valley Water employees are taking steps towards better health by participating in the Greater Shepparton City Council Pedometer Challenge.
The challenge has been devised by council’s Activities in the Park program as a way of encouraging people to discover the benefits of exercise.
Goulburn Valley Water operations manager Steve Nash is pumped to start walking.
‘‘I use walking as part of my health routine on a daily basis,’’ he said.
Mr Nash said the challenge was a way of getting members of his team to work together on a project.
‘‘I think there’s a very strong chance that we’ll probably be the dominant team in Goulburn Valley Water,’’ he said.
‘‘It’ll be something we can all talk about and then compare how we’re going against other sides.’’
The pedometer challenge encourages businesses, sporting clubs, schools, community groups and individuals to take part.
Greater Shepparton City Council community director Kaye Thomson said the challenge was a great way for people to see how much physical activity they engaged in on a daily basis.
‘‘Each participant will receive a pedometer after they register and this will count their number of steps each day,’’ she said.
Ms Thomson said some participants may be surprised to find they were doing less than the recommended 30 minutes of moderate exercise or 10, 000 steps a day.
‘‘Especially people with office jobs, if they are not making an effort to include exercise in their day, can struggle to meet the goal of 10,000 steps,’’ she said.
‘‘But whether participants find they’re doing more or less than they expected, the challenge is to then see how much they can improve upon their regular amount.’’
Organisations and groups can enter as many teams as they like, with four to six people in each.
Prizes will be awarded to the highest steppers, with random draw prizes also up for grabs across the challenge.
- Registrations must be made before Monday by going to www.getmoovingshepparton.com.au/challenge
Pedometers can then be collected from Aquamoves during the centre’s opening hours between Thursday, March 30, and Sunday, April 2.
