How March Into May Turns Small Walks Into Big Wins

Ready to turn small walks into steady wins? We’re welcoming our new health educator, Cody, and mapping out March Into May—a light, practical step challenge built around daily movement, simple tracking, and community energy. Over six weeks, we show how to pair effortless habits with the outdoors so wellness feels easy, social, and fun.

We break down how to log steps in WellSteps, when to sync your Apple Watch or Fitbit, and how to spot-check your data so your streak stays intact. Then we share no-fuss ways to add motion to your day: park a little farther, choose the stairs, walk during calls, take five-minute office laps, stroll between TV segments, and turn chores into tidy walks. The mindset shift is everything—ditch all-or-nothing for all or something. A quick after-meal walk can calm stress, steady blood sugar, and build momentum without a gym bag.

For those craving fresh air and connection, we spotlight a full lineup of guided walks and hikes with USU Extension, from family- and dog-friendly routes at Wheeler Park and Little Confluence to scenic evenings around Oquirrh (Daybreak) Lake and crowd favorites like Bells Canyon and Bear Canyon Suspension Bridge. There’s even an Earth Day cleanup at International Peace Gardens—purpose, community, and movement in one. You don’t need to visit a national park to join the theme; share photos from local paths and neighborhood trails, and we’ll feature your stories in our weekly lineups. Visual inspiration is powerful—seeing peers outside can be the nudge to lace up.

If you’re looking for a gentle on-ramp to fitness, this is your season. Track a little, walk a little, invite a friend, and let nature do the rest. Subscribe for more wellness guidance, share this episode with a teammate who needs a boost, and leave a quick review to help others find the show. What small step will you take today?

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:27

Welcome back to the Employee Wellness Wellcast, a podcast where we break down health information and our employee wellness programs clear enough so you don't miss a beat. My name is Jane, and today I'm joined with one of our new health educators, Cody. Cody, can you give our listeners a hello and introduce yourself?

SPEAKER_00 0:46

Hi everyone, I'm Cody. As Jane said, I'm a new health educator here at Salt Lake County, and I'm excited to get to know and work with you all.

March Into May Overview

How Step Tracking Works

Wearables And Sync Tips

Beyond Steps: Building Community

Simple Ways To Add Movement

SPEAKER_01 0:54

Yay, Cody, thanks. We're honestly so excited to have you on the team, and we can't wait to have your energy and kindness and love for health and life inspire all of us. Today's episode is one you won't want to miss. With March and to May just a few weeks away, we've got to break down some ways to increase your step count, get outside, and of course, have some fun. So here's a little March and to May refresh. The program begins on Monday, March 16th. The program will run, or should I say, walk, until April 26th. During the program, you will manually input your daily step count into your Well Steps account. Well Steps will track not only your personal step count progress, but the progress of your entire team. The Employee Wellness team will do all of the assembling of your team on the back end, so all you have to do is open up your Well Steps account and input your daily steps. If you are wearing a wearable technology tracker, such as an Apple Watch or Fitbit, you can sync this technology into your Well Steps account so you don't even have to manually input your daily steps. That being said, you may want to check occasionally that your wearable tech and your well steps are talking to each other. If not, you can always go back and manually input your steps later. The goal of this program is so much more than just improving our physical wellness through increasing our steps each day. This program fosters community, team bonding, time and green space, and so much more.

Mindset: Make Movement A Game

SPEAKER_00 2:32

There are so many ways in our everyday life to add a few more minutes of movement into our routine. We've heard them before, but that's because they work. We just need to be reminded that we can park a little further away. Add two or three extra minutes to our time to run errands. Um take a longer ride instead. Um bathroom on the other side of the building. Excellent. Um stairs over the elevator. Even one or two flights count to count to boost our heart health too. Um walking during phone calls. Um good ways to sneak in, hundreds of steps fast. And five minute movement check. Walk every hour or two, take a quick lap around the office or the house. Five minutes, um six times, that's around two thousand steps. Um at the end of the day. At home, we can increase our steps by walking during TV time. Marshall and play during commercials, or do laps during a quick episode. After our meal walks, we can take ten minutes or uh fifteen minutes even just to after we can increase our digestion, lower blood sugars, and increase our steps. Win-win. Uh tidy walks, put things away one thing at a time instead of carrying everything at once. Sounds silly, but it's definitely something that works to help boost our steps. And just playing with our our family, playing with our kids, playing with the pets. Um play tag, go on a little stroller walk, a park trip. Um steps without feeling like a workout. And it helps to connect you to the people and and the fur babies that we love most. We also want to provide opportunities for you to increase your step count and have a sense of connection network. So definitely join us for a step into Monday. If you missed last week, it was on goals and maintaining our motivation for New Year's resolutions. Um, I presented it, so feel free to reach out to me if you missed it or want the highlights.

Walks And Hikes With Partners

Spring Event Lineup Highlights

SPEAKER_01 4:31

Cody, these reminders are so wonderful, and I'm already thinking of ways that I can increase my daily movement. I feel like so much of this is just in our mindset. If we look at it creatively, almost like a game, rather than a punishment or just one more thing to do on our to-do list, we're going to be so much more successful. In addition to walking Wednesdays held every second Wednesday of the month, Employee Wellness partners with USU Extension for walks and hikes each spring, summer, and fall. If you've never participated in these, my only question to you is why not? Families, friends, doggies, and more are invited to join in the fun. And believe me, they are so fun. Moving your body outside in some of Utah's most gorgeous scenery is one of the best ways I have found to reduce my own feelings of stress. These hikes and walks are happening all during March into May. So let's highlight them right now, and then you can sign them, sign up for them on our website or on our weekly lineups. So the first walk that they're going to be doing is in Wheeler Park, and it's a guided walk on Friday, March 20th at 5.30 p.m. Wheeler Park is so fun because dogs and kids can come as well as you can see the cute little farm animals. Little Confluence Trail Walk is on April 1st, that is Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. It's an easy to moderate walk that's partially dirt and gravel, and it's a three-mile loop. The next one's on Friday, April 10th at 6 p.m. It's at Oker Lake, which is also known as the Daybreak Lake. It's paved, it's beautiful scenery, and it's so fun for a spring evening out. Bells Canyon Reservoir Hike. This is a fan favorite. It's so fun, it's so beautiful. It's on Friday, April 17th at 6 p.m. This is a moderate hike with a 2.4 mile loop on rocky terrain. You take your time, you just pace yourself up the hill. It's absolutely beautiful, and seriously, everyone loves it. They're hosting a Earth Day cleanup at the International Peace Gardens on April 22nd at 6 p.m. What better way to give back to Mother Nature than to spend time outside showing her love through cleaning up all the garbage that's left out and leave no trace and make it better than you found it. And last but not least, Bear Canyon Suspension Bridge hike, which is on Wednesday, April 29th at 6 p.m. And this hike really is so fun. It's challenging, but you will be surprised at what you get what you can accomplish just by being motivated to see the beautiful views of the Salt Lake Valley. So we really hope that we see you at one of our hikes and walks with USU Extension during the March into May program.

Share Your Parks And Local Moves

SPEAKER_00 7:44

Yes, we want to see you at our hikes and walks. So the March into May program this year is highlighting the uh beauty of our national parks and forests. This doesn't necessarily mean that you have to visit one to get in order to get credit for the program. However, if you decide to travel to one of our national parks or forests, uh please share with photos with us and be featured on our weekly lineups during the program. Um and that goes for those of you who not do not travel as well. Um please share us the ways that you're moving your body right here in our own communities, and we'd love to be a part of that with you.

Photos That Spark Motivation

Closing: All Or Something

SPEAKER_01 8:18

Yes, I'm so glad you highlighted that, Cody. We would love to see your faces and share what you're doing to up your step count and your endorsements. Studies show that when you look at a photo of someone getting physical activity outside, it can support the viewer's motivation to participate in physical activity. And I feel like that is always true for me. Cody, thank you for being here with me today on this Wellcast episode. We're stoked to have you on the team and to learn from you. Listeners, we leave you with this one last message. Daily movement doesn't have to be perfect. Stitch the all-or-nothing outlook and adopt the all or something mentality. This March into May, find ways to get outside, move more, and invite others to join you. It's so much better when you have a support system cheering you on. And if you don't feel like you have a support system, well, you look no further because you have your March into May team. Be that person to lift others up and encourage them along the way. You guys rock. Happy stepping.

SPEAKER_00 9:23

We'll catch you next time.

SPEAKER_01 9:25

Bye. Bye.