Triad Tuesday Walks step up Camp Zama activity

By Wendy Brown, U.S. Army Garrison Japan Public AffairsAugust 7, 2019

Triad Tuesday Walks step up Camp Zama activity
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Triad Tuesday Walks step up Camp Zama activity
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CAMP ZAMA, Japan (Aug. 7, 2019) -- The Triad Tuesday Walks with the Camp Zama Army Wellness Center are just one of the healthy changes Stephen Harmon has made in the last six months, but they have definitely helped.

"I've noticed a lot more energy. I've lost a lot of weight. I just feel better about life," Harmon said before the start of a walk here Aug. 6. "I feel better about myself and I've enjoyed this whole process that I've gone on along with the Army Wellness Center."

The center hosts the walks every Tuesday from 11:40 a.m. to 12:15 p.m., and participants meet at the torii gate across the street from the Camp Zama Chapel, said Lauren Williams, the center's director.

Although there are Army Wellness Centers at installations throughout the world, and many of their offerings are the same, Camp Zama is the only place she knows of that hosts Triad Tuesday Walks, Williams said.

She heard about the walks when she arrived at Camp Zama, and liked the idea, so she revived them, Williams said.

"I thought, 'That's such a creative activity to get the community involved in something fun where you can socialize and meet people at the same time and just have this place you can go to once a week,'" Williams said.

The "triad" in Triad Tuesday refers to the performance triad of sleep, nutrition and activity, Williams said, and the walks focus on the activity portion of the triad.

Army Wellness Centers recommend people get 10,000 steps a day, Williams said, and the walks can help members of the community reach that goal.

The walks could be particularly beneficial to Camp Zama employees who spend most of the day seated at desks, Williams said.

There's a saying that "sitting is the new smoking," Williams said.

It is detrimental for people to sit for long periods of time, and bouts of exercise don't necessarily undo the damage, but getting up and walking or participating in other activities throughout the day can help, Williams said.

"Walking just is the easiest mechanism to break up sedentary time, and then hopefully [people are] still participating in some kind of physical fitness on their own for at least or about 30 minutes," Williams said.

Shannon Vo, a health educator at the center, said staff members vary the route to keep it interesting and provide challenges, such as going up hills.

"We walk about as far as we can get in a 30-minute time frame," Vo said.

Crescenda Iriarte, a health promotion technician at the center, said she participates because she enjoys walking, but added that the walks help on a professional level as well.

The walks are a good way to connect with clients and get to know them better, Iriarte said.

Harmon, a retired Army musician, said he is at Camp Zama with his wife, Sgt. 1st Class Heather Harmon, assigned to the U.S. Army Japan Band, and he has been an avid follower of Army Wellness Centers for several years.

He learned about the walks when he contacted the center at Camp Zama when they arrived, Harmon said.

Harmon said he started going on the walks around January, and he enjoys the extra activity he receives during the walks and the conversations with the center's staff members.

"The staff are fantastic," Harmon said. "They're great, enthusiastic people who love helping people meet their goals."

The Camp Zama Army Wellness Center offers a host of services aimed at improving health, including classes, fitness testing, nutritional advice and more. For more information, contact the center at 046-407-4073 or DSN 315-263-4073. To learn more about the performance triad, visit https://p3.amedd.army.mil.