CLEVELAND — Editor's note: Video in the player above was originally published in a previous story on May 10, 2021.
Get out and start walking today!
That’s the mission as NBC's TODAY show launches a new initiative known as the "Start TODAY Month-long Walking Plan" starting Wednesday morning.
It kicks off with Al Roker stepping outside of Studio 1A to “Walk the Rock" live during the broadcast. His goal is to get 5,000 steps to show the simple – yet transformative – power of a daily walk to encourage others to do the same.
Health and wellness expert Stephanie Mansour will also share segments throughout the month of June tied to the TODAY walking series with ways for NBC viewers across the country to socially engage.
In February 2021, Roker was also part of the “Take a walk with TODAY” challenge in which he took a stroll through Central Park to showcase the health benefits of walking – and it even got 3News' Betsy Kling involved as she unleashed a special surprise for Roker on live TV (watch that moment below):
"Walking, in my opinion, is probably the number one therapeutic intervention, or the number one recommendation that I can give to my patients that can do all of the above without any major side effects,” Dr. Roy Buchinsky of University Hospitals told 3News last year.
His suggestion? Start low and go slow, increasing your walking activity by about 10 percent each week.
"You don’t have to start walking for 30 minutes at one time," he explains. "In fact, you can divide it up. You can go for what I call a little 'snacks of walking' or 'snacks of exercise' where you go for a 5-10 minute walk, preferably, at a time."
So… What are you waiting for? Get outside and start walking!