Day One: Gym exercises double
My athletics trainer handed me the 4-week training plan to get me ready for the Kampala-Mbale road safety walk. I shared a copy with my gym trainer Ken, who’s responsible for the aerobics part of the plan. Ken, the head of the Fitness at Sheraton Hotel has been helping me to get in shape. Very friendly. But now with a fixed training plan, the tone has changed. He assigned all his other responsibilities to other trainers and focused on me. My normal workout was tripled, okay it felt like that. Dude worked me and gave me tasks which I thought were...
The man taking on Uganda’s dangerous roads
By BBC When former journalist, Joseph Bayanga, witnessed the death of three generations of a family on a Kampala road - a mother, daughter and grandchild – he decided enough was enough. More people die on Uganda’s roads – 14 every day – than anywhere else in East Africa. Kampala’s Mulago National Referral Hospital even has a special ward just for the drivers of boda bodas who account for the highest number of deaths. Boda bodas are the motorbike taxis which weave precariously through the traffic at every junction with one, two or even three passengers on their backs. So Joe...
Choose your walking kit carefully
By Joe Walker Many have been asking how I ensured comfort and minimised risk of injuries all through the 340km Kampala to Bushenyi road safety walk. I think apart from good physical preparation, the other secret lies with the choice of tools aka weapons I invested in for the walk. As Benjamin Franklin said, “The best investment is in tools of one’s trade.” From the moment I shared my intentions for the Kampala to Bushenyi road safety walk, concerned friends, experienced runners, marathoners and ultra-runners all asked me about the kit. What shoes are you using? What are you putting on? The socks?...
Seven lessons from the Kampala 7 Hills 45km walk
By Joe Walker On Saturday, I had the pleasure to do a Kampala Seven Hills 45km walk with the ‘Crazy Summiters’. This awesome eight-hour walk covered some of the traditional hills of Kampala including Mengo, Rubaga, Namirembe, Makerere, Kololo, Nakasero, and much more. I set out with a childlike open heart and came back a rich man with life valuable lessons. Follow me step by step Take up every opportunity to challenge yourself and take your craft to another level. When a friend told me of a Seven Hills 45km walk, I thought about joining them and was excited but also a little scared and...
Walk your way to fitness
Know the benefits For many years, I perceived any physical activity done for fitness as rather complicated and too taxing. Then physical pain I experienced in the shoulder blade in 2021, due to some inflammations led me to a physiotherapist whose only prescription was: WALK. 1, 2, 3 steps, I walked away my pain. Those simple steps of a daily brisk walk birthed a whole fitness regime and now I live a healthier life. Here are some of the amazing benefits scientists say a regular brisk walk can do for you; Maintain a healthy weight and lose body fatPrevent or manage various conditions,...
Joe Walker at 2000km
On 29th September, 2021 I made the first step to walk to save my life. 365 days later, my “walkometer” has clocked 2,000km and I have been a part of several campaigns to save lives. One year ago I started walking exercises as recommended by an orthopedist as a remedy to persistent nagging pain in my shoulder blade. I apparently had a lot of potassium in my body and so exercise which caused me to perspire would enable me to sweat it out and reduce the pain. He advised me to do a brisk walk for at least for 30 minutes...
340km later, Joe still craves more walks
The plan was to walk 340km from Kampala to Bushenyi to create awareness on road safety. This involved months of preparation, in the boardroom, church and on the road. Joseph Beyanga, alias Joe Walker, the head of radio at Nation Media Group- Uganda, says he was ready to start the walk even on the Sunday leading up to Monday February 28, the day he was supposed to set off. He had a diet plan, a training that saw him walk specific distances to get his body ready, yet to the ordinary world, what he was yet to embark on was received...
Why Joe Walker will make a difference
The #JoeWalker challenge has stirred up certain memories I had decided to shove far away, as they remind me of a horrific time in my life. Being involved in an accident is one of those terrifying moments that bring you face to face with death. That fateful afternoon, I was on my way to a certain office where I was meant to pick up a document. Everything changed drastically, and while I was meant to have a beautiful lunch with my family, I found myself being hospitalised within 30 minutes. I never made it to my destination and my life has forever...
ROAD SAFETY: Joe Walker completes 320km trek from Kampala to Bushenyi
Joseph Beyanga has completed his three-hundred-and-twenty kilometre walk from Kampala to Bushenyi district in Western Uganda, marking the culmination of a campaign launched eleven days ago to highlight the dangers faced by pedestrians on roads across the country. Beyanga was on Thursday joined by his wife, Bushenyi residents, school children and some police officers before he concluded his journey with tree planting and thanksgiving at his village church in Ncucumo Church of Uganda in Rwentuha. He called on road users to be vigilant when using roads. Watch the video below; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHlXG1RnhZU ...
Road safety Campaign: Joe Walker 320KM walk nears the end
The head of Radio at NMG-U Mr Joseph Beyanga whom we now know as Joe Walker for his road safety campaign “Stay in Your Lane” Safe Roads Save lives” is nearing the finish line. Beyanga who on Feb 28th kicked off his 320km long trek from Kampala to Bushenyi is today expected to reach his final destination. He has spent the last 11 days walking along the Kampala-Masaka highway and yesterday he docked at Kabwohe in Sheema district. Along the journey, he painted zebra crossings at accident blackspots and engaged communities on road safety. This morning he is expected to walk the last leg...