By Rebekah Hall
U of A System Division of Agriculture
LITTLE ROCK — For Arkansans looking to achieve their fitness goals or develop new healthy habits this spring, Walk Across Arkansas offers an eight-week, group-based exercise program that helps get people moving.
HEALTHY MOVEMENT — Walk Across Arkansas, supported by the Cooperative Extension Service, is a free, eight-week, group-based exercise program where participants work as teams to log daily minutes of physical activity. (Division of Agriculture graphic.)
The free program is offered each spring and fall by the Cooperative Extension Service, the outreach arm of the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture. Participants can sign up in teams of up to 30 people, and they log their total number of minutes spent being physically active each day.
“We encourage participants to get creative with the types of exercise they engaged in, not just walking,” said Heather Wingo, extension health program associate for the Division of Agriculture. “If you’ve been curious about yoga, strength training, or taking a Zumba class, this is a great time to try that out. Any moderate to vigorous physical activity counts, as long as you get your heart rate up.”
Individuals can participate in the program alone, but Wingo encourages Arkansans to participate alongside their peers.
“This program is free and encourages friendly competition between groups of friends, family members, co-workers or church members,” she said. “Anyone who wants to work together towards their physical activity goals would benefit from Walk Across Arkansas.”
Registration for the spring 2025 session opens Feb. 24. Participants can register and log exercise minutes at walk.uada.edu/walk/. The competition starts March 10 and ends May 4.
Health benefits
During the fall 2024 Walk Across Arkansas session, 160 teams of 1,757 individuals from 39 counties reported more than 1.9 million minutes of physical activity.
Wingo said past participants have reported that through Walk Across Arkansas, they had more energy, slept better, strengthened their relationships and lost weight or inches. They also reported lower stress levels and improved their blood pressure and blood panels.
Anyone can participate in Walk Across Arkansas. Division of Agriculture employees must use a personal email address, not their work email address, to register. Visit walk.uada.edu/walk/ to learn more and register or contact your local county extension agent.
To learn about extension programs in Arkansas, contact your local Cooperative Extension Service agent or visit www.uaex.uada.edu. Follow us on X and Instagram at @AR_Extension. To learn more about Division of Agriculture research, visit the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station website: https://aaes.uada.edu. Follow on X at @ArkAgResearch. To learn more about the Division of Agriculture, visit https://uada.edu/. Follow us on X at @AgInArk.
