13.23 Personal Safety When Active Outdoors

Regardless of your current fitness level and where you are active, we hope you’ll practice measures that prioritize your own personal safety while being physically active. Consider the following personal safety measures while being active outdoors:

• Go with another person when possible
• If exercising by yourself, tell someone where you’re going, your route, and approximately how long you’ll be gone
• Stay in well-lit and populated areas
• Wear reflective clothing or lights at night
• Wear or bring some form of identification
• Add an ICE number—an in case of emergency number—to your cell phone’s lock screen and carry it with you
• If you’re not carrying a cell phone with an ICE number, carry contact information of a friend or family member in case of emergency
• Make sure you can still hear what’s going on around you if you are listening to music, a book, or podcast while exercising
• Follow traffic signals and laws to avoid injury
• Always pay attention to your surroundings

For some, taking a self-defense course or workshop might provide an additional sense of security. Self defense courses can improve your self-confidence, sense of awareness, sense of safety, and self-discipline, and provide an additional outlet for physical activity.