Walk the walk on exercise: WalkingTown DC tours and others make it fun

Every time Cultural Tourism DC presents its annual smorgasbord of free walking tours all over the city, I try to figure out how many I can manage to pack into just two days.

But this year I don’t have to do that — because the WalkingTown DC/BikingTown DC program expanded from a single weekend to nine days. It started this past weekend and continues through Sunday, presenting nearly 200 chances to take a scholarly stroll (or roll, in the case of the dozen bike tour options) through all eight of Washington’s wards. To keep numbers manageable, some popular walks require advance reservations, but most of them are open to anyone who shows up. For every tour, the schedule lists fitness level, which is calculated based on the distance and terrain. Options range from a few blocks to several miles.

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Vicky Hallett

Writes for the MisFits column.

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With so many more days to take tours, my mileage, and hopefully yours, too, is sure to go up. But it won’t feel exhausting, says coordinator Helen Gineris, because tourgoers get distracted by stuff such as Federal Triangle’s sordid past as a red-light district and the stunning lily ponds of Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens. “If you’re at the treadmill watching TV or reading, you want to use your mind while you’re working out. Why not learn about the culture of the city around you?” she says. “D.C. becomes your gym for the duration of the tour.”

That’s especially true with a new tour this year, Fitness Walk of D.C.’s Circles and Squares (Friday at 6 p.m. and Sunday at 8:30 a.m.). Led by personal trainer George Kassouf, it’s based on a route he developed for a client purely as a path to fitness. “But then I thought this would be more interesting if I knew what I was looking at,” says Kassouf, who hit the history books to find out.

In addition to explaining how Franklin Square once had a stream running through it and pointing out where Alexander Graham Bell lived, he’ll encourage participants to keep up the pace throughout the four-mile trek. And he’ll offer suggestions for drills to make it an even better workout. Speed demons are encouraged to go ahead of the group. “If we’re meeting at a statue, pretend you’re sharks and circle the statue until we arrive,” he says. Or, if there’s a step or bench, spend your waiting time doing step-ups.

On any tour, you can try this trick for a block: “Focus on pulling your navel in without sticking your rib cage or butt out.” It’s Kassouf’s way of giving clients a taste of Pilates.

But even if you’re just putting one foot in front of the other, a little tour can go a long way toward your health.

Make your move

The first steps we need to take to reverse the world’s ballooning rates of diabetes, heart disease and obesity? They’re the ones right outside our door. That’s because if everyone walked just 30 minutes a day, we’d all have stronger hearts, bones and muscles, brighter moods and a much reduced risk for developing the health conditions that plague our society.

This became clear to George Halvorson, chairman and chief executive of Kaiser Permanente, five years ago. “A heart attack tends to be focusing,” grimly jokes Halvorson, who saw firsthand what a lack of physical activity can do to the human body. “I knew if I wanted to avoid the next heart attack, I should be walking.”