From laying down the region's biggest cycling and walking tracks to motivating residents mentally and physically, Dubai aims to set an example for the world in encouraging its people to give high importance to physical activity and sports.

The government gives top priority to the health of residents and provides choicest options in terms of facilities to them to go outdoors and improve their health by cycling, strolling, jogging or even just relaxing in the best possible manner.

Among a number of initiatives, the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has laid down the Dubai Bicycle Masterplan which is a 500km-long cycling track to be built around the city by 2021.

Of this, a 32km-long cycling and running tracks project covering three residential districts will be ready by November, announced officials this week.

With this new project, the city's growing network of cycling tracks will be expanded to 250km, which is among the biggest in the region. The Dh67-million project will cover residential districts of Mushrif, Mirdiff and Al Khawaneej.

Mattar Al Tayer, Director-General and Chairman of RTA's Board of Directors, said: "Construction of dedicated cycling and running tracks in Dubai is implementation of instructions of Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of the Dubai Sports Council, to provide suitable options for encouraging residents to practise exercises and cycling."

Over last couple of years, the RTA had constructed biking lanes extending up to 218 kilometres while around 234km-long tracks are also planned to be built from 2018-2021. "Our aim is to provide an infrastructure at residential districts that encourages residents to practise sport, in view of its immense health benefits to people," said Al Tayer.

The RTA's plan is to provide dedicated cycling and running tracks that can also be used as environment-friendly mobility means for cycling enthusiasts.

"Advanced countries and communities pay much attention to raising the proportion of trips made by walking and cycling," he said.

On Monday, Sheikh Hamdan announced the '30 minute x 30 days' Dubai Fitness Challenge to motivate residents to take up physical activity. It is aimed at making Dubai the most active city in the world.

Dubai residents have been asked to champion a fitness movement and commit to 30 minutes of daily activity for 30 days. Running from October 20 to November 18, the challenge is the emirate's only multi-activity, city-wide fitness movement to date.

"We are very keen to spread a culture of fitness since we strongly believe that making physical activity and sports a part of their daily routines will help people significantly improve the quality of their lives," he said.

No need to pay to clubs for good health

While the RTA is providing infrastructure to people, the Dubai Health Authority (DHA) is giving medical advice to residents on how they can improve their lifestyle.

In 2013, the DHA started a campaign 'Do More' to give health advice. Nutritionists from the authority visited parks in Dubai to carry out health checks such as doing lipid profiles, blood pressure checks and giving tips on how to change their lifestyle.

"We noticed that although some of our patients were regular with exercise, they were following incorrect practices such as not consuming water during exercise, consuming unnatural protein sources etc," said Dr Wafa Ayesh, director of clinical nutrition at DHA.

"We then realised that it is important to educate people who exercise about correct nutrition especially before and after exercise so that they can see positive results of exercising and be healthy and that's how we started this campaign." This campaign was rolled out at walking tracks across several parks in Dubai.

Wafa said that over the past three years, the DHA reached around 6,000 people under this campaign.

Referring to the Dubai Fitness Challenge, she said: "We want to tell people that you don't have to pay extra to clubs to maintain good health, use the parks and walking tracks to achieve the same goal." The authority is planning to launch a similar campaign in between January to April in 2018.

500km cycling tracks by 2021

You have 250km to cycle on now

> A 32km-long cycling and running tracks project covering three residential districts of Dubai - Mushrif, Mirdif and Al Khawaneej - will be ready by November

> The project will expand the city's growing network of cycling tracks to 250km, one of the biggest in the region

> Built at a cost of Dh67 million, the project covers cycling tracks extending 32km at Mushrif, Midriff and Al Khawaneej along with two bridges for combined use of cyclists and pedestrians

> Over last couple of years, the RTA had constructed biking lanes extending 218km covering Seih Assalam/Bab Al Shams/Al Qudra Street, Dubai Water Canal, Jumeirah Street, King Salman Bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud Street and Al Mankhool Street.

Not enough? You will get 234km more!

> More cycling tracks covering 234km are planned from 2018-2021

> These lanes will pass through areas including Al Warqaa, Jumeirah Beach, Nad Al Sheba, Expo 2020 site, Downtown, Jebel Ali, Al Quoz, Al Karama, Oud Metha, Hor Al Anz, Al Qusais and Al Barsha

Not a fan of cycling? Walk then!

> In 2014, the RTA opened the 14-kilometre Jumeirah Corniche good for a long walk

> It's the longest corniche in the city, running next to six residential communities including JBR and Marina.

What 30 minutes of exercise can do for you

Research shows that as little as 30 minutes of exercise per day can boost our general health and well-being.

1) Heart health-Stroke, cardiovascular disease, metabolic syndrome, diabetes - minimise your risk with a half-hour exercise session.

2) Weight loss-Even half an hour of exercise per day can help you to prevent excess weight gain or maintain weight loss.

3) Reduce stress-Exercise increases the amount of norepinephrine in your body - the chemical that can moderate our brain's response to stress and stressful situations.

4) Mood booster-Physical activity stimulates chemicals in your brain to leave you feeling happier and more relaxed.

5) Energy burst-When your energy levels are at zero, that half hour of exercise can give you the boost you're looking for.

6) Improve memory-If you're looking to boost your powers of recollection, take a half hour trek around the neighbourhood.

7) Increase productivity-Taking a half-hour walk during your lunch break could be the difference between a 2pm slump and a productive afternoon.

8) Tap into creativity-Refreshing and recharging with some outdoor exercise could be your ticket to creative heaven.

9) Improve self confidence-Half an hour of exercise could be the difference between a self-pity sob session and a well-deserved hit of self-confidence, so get sweaty.

'We're ready for the fitness challenge'

"We are getting the ball rolling for the upcoming Dubai Fitness Challenge," said Issam Kazim, CEO of Dubai Tourism and Commerce Department (DTCM) while talking to Khaleej Times.

"We want more and more individuals to get engaged in this healthy activity."

He said that according to health experts, 30 minutes of daily physical activity was enough for people to either pick up a good habit or drop a bad one.

"This community movement is taking people outdoors, giving them an opportunity to connect with family and friends," he said.

Issam said that the challenge was open to people from all walks of life and age groups. "We do not want to put any restrictions and we want people to change their lifestyles for the better," he said.

He also said that companies should be flexible and allow workers to leave 30 minutes earlier so that they can catch up on this challenge.

Encompassing all forms of activity - from walking, team sports, intense fitness regimes, paddle-boarding and aerobics to football, yoga, cycling and everything in between - the challenge will be an action-packed month of self-discovery, social interaction and enjoyment for everyone of all ages, abilities and fitness levels.

The challenge will also give participants the opportunity to experiment with new and exciting ways to improve their fitness levels, and experience the wide range of sports and exercise programmes that will be showcased across the city that they may not have tried before.

Helal Saeed Almarri, director-general of the DTCM, said: "With the launch of the Dubai Fitness Challenge, we aim to become the most active city in the world, motivating everyone across all ages and fitness levels, to start with small steps that will benefit them and their families."

"We are confident that the people of Dubai will get behind this movement wholeheartedly, he said.

Source: Khaleej Times