EXERCISING OUTDOORS
PEOPLECARE Check out nature, HAPPENS HERE but do it safely By Mark Woolsey
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MAY 2020 | AtlantaSeniorLife.com
Stir-crazy walkers and runners -- including plenty of seniors – are heading outside for a breath of fresh air and a brief break from sheltering in place as coronavirus pandemic has widened and deepened. They’re on metro Atlanta sidewalks, running tracks at schools and on park and nature trails, sometimes clogging them. Local naturalists say May is a wonderful time to get up-close and personal with Georgia’s outdoors. Resultant health benefits will pile up, but experts Jerry Hightower also stress keeping health concerns and safe practices in mind during the COVID-19 crisis. As they say on construction projects, “safety first.” And do a little homework before setting out. National Park Service Ranger and environmental educator Jerry Hightower said people headed out of their homes should check on where they can and can’t go. Hightower said trails in the Chattahoochee National Recreation Area were closed because walkers weren’t observing social-distancing Avril Loy James guidelines. Some local jurisdictions have blocked park entrances too. Avril Loy James follows those distancing guidelines closely. She’s a certified health education specialist and a Piedmont Women’s Heart Care coordinator. She advises staying a minimum of six feet from others and recommends wearing a mask when outside. She adds that if you’re out on a trail or street and it looks like someone is heading right for you, step out of the way safely, if you can. Coronavirus concerns aside, James is a huge proponent of walking regularly. In addition to the cardiovascular benefits, hitting the pavement has been shown to have positive impacts on weight and stress management as well as immune system function. She said that seniors wanting to begin putting one foot in front of the other should aim for time, not distance. “If you have, say, obesity or joint issues you might want to start out saying, ‘I’ll walk for 10 minutes, the second week 15, and the third week 20,’ “she said. Hightower has his own yardstick. “If you’re walking and get to the point where you can’t carry on a conversation, then you’re overdoing it,” he said. “Also take a break now and then because when you are still, that’s when you’re going to catch a glimpse of wildlife. And don’t overestimate. You can say, ‘I‘ve hiked this trail before,’ but it may have been 20 years ago.” Both have some advice on where to go to catch the springtime display of flora and fauna. Hightower said among his favorite places to get outside are the Chattahoochee National Forest in North Georgia, reachable in a 45-minute drive up Ga. 400. Closer in, there’s Sawnee Mountain and its several miles of trails in Forsyth County and Cochran Mill Park in South Fulton. James said her she prefers to stay away from concrete, as trails are easier on the knees. One of her preferred treks is around the base of Kennesaw Mountain, for example. And come springtime, she said, “I like seeing all of the seedlings and saplings, all of the blooms.” Hightower said springs is a good time to check out Georgia’s outdoors. “The trilliums (wildflowers) will be going great guns, “he said. “The native azaleas as well and the ferns. “He said that no state has more trillium varieties than Georgia. Naturalist Charles Seabrook, who writes the Wild Georgia column for
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