Recruit members

To start a walking group, start by spreading the word. Talk up your walking group among your family members, friends and neighbors. Use your social media accounts to reach out to interested friends and friends of friends. You might be surprised to find that you're surrounded by people who are ready to start walking and hold each other accountable for regular exercise.

Maybe you'd prefer to recruit colleagues. Ask your employer about having a friendly workplace competition. Challenge those in your work group to an activity tracker contest, for example. Maybe the group that achieves the most steps takes home a simple prize. Or, keep track of the number of minutes of activity for the group and see who comes out at the top each week.

Each of you should be getting at least 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity a week. That's enough to make you breathe hard, but not enough to make you out of breath. Aim for about 30 minutes of moderate aerobic activity a day. But even small amounts of physical activity are helpful, such as short breaks for walks during the day.