Still Stepping: 10,000 Steps A Day
Ingelore Clason
Throughout January and February, I made a few half-hearted attempts to complete my 10,000-step goal, at times questioning how my friend had found himself so dedicated to the daily exercise. It was one thing to go for a daily walk, but to walk for the hours needed to meet the number, especially after a day of working from my couch, seemed impossibly daunting.
In August, however, two things changed: I saw my friend for the first time in months, at which point I witnessed their 50-pound weight loss in person, and I stepped on the scale for the first time in a year.
While it may be superficial to acknowledge that my motivation was one ignited by the changes to my appearance as a result of more than a year in various states of lockdown, it was the push I needed to change my lifestyle.
According to a 2011 study on the associations between physical activity and mental health, exercising at any level is associated with better mental and physical health. Although I typically try to maintain a steady 3.2-mph speed, there are days I celebrate finishing my goal at all.
In addition to my improved mental health, walking has also had a noticeable impact on my appearance over the past five months, with my legs and arms noticeably slimmer, and the appearance of cellulite on my thighs lessened.
There have also been unseen changes to my physical health from walking, as it has become easy to complete my daily goal, and thousands of additional steps, without feeling physically strained. A walk up-hill that would have left me out of breath in July is now no more difficult than a stroll down 5th Ave.
According to previous research, the exercise also has the added benefit of improving my overall health, with a 2020 study finding that taking 8,000 to 12,000 steps a day is linked to a lower risk of dying of any cause.
However, while the common health and weight-loss theory suggests that we should be striving to take 10,000 steps a day, 10,000 is actually an arbitrary number believed to be chosen by a Japanese clock company in the 1960s to sell pedometers.
As to the 10k daily goal, I religiously strove to reach it every single day when I started with Fitbit (3 years ago), but I now tend to look at things from a weekly perspective. I try to reach about 80-100k on a weekly basis, with 2-3 days at 20k+ and sometimes days below 10k.
The only benefit I can think of by getting all your steps at once, would be having more active minutes, and getting your heart rate elevated for a longer period of time. In theory that will make your heart stronger, and lower your resting heart rate. You'd probably burn more calories, with the elevated heart rate.
I also work from home, I started this past November. Before that I could walk to work and while I had a sedentery job I could get up and walk around on my breaks. If I didn't stop for groceries and walked home I could average over 15k steps per day. Now it is much more difficult to get to 10k. I find myslef walking circles around my apartment at various points throughout the day, and if I need groceries I still walk to the grocery store. I really don't think it matters how you get your 10k steps in; I'm sure there are benefits to spreading them throughout your day but if you're getting 10k you're still getting the heart benefit.
yes to everything already written. I work from home two days a week and until I get to the gym, I barely make 2K steps. What I do notice is that I am much stiffer and achy when I work from home without getting up and walking for extended periods of time. I am also 110- so that might be a factor. I don't think it matters when you get the bulk of your steps in, I would just try to move periodically too.
Another vote of "it doesn't matter". Ten thousand steps is a benchmark and whether you get them by doing small jaunts that build up to 10,000 steps over the course of a day or go out for a five mile hike and get them all at once, your body will know you were active enough that day to get 10,000 steps. Think of it like going to the gym for an hour a day. You wouldn't go for 10 minutes, then do the laundry, another 10 minutes, then mow the yard, another ten minutes, etc. You'd go for an hour, work out and then do whatever with the rest of your day and count it as having your exercise in.
I work at home. It is a desk job. I made a standing desk. I spend part of the day standing and stepping while I work. After work, I get on my treadmill and walk until I get 10,000 steps in. It is working because I've lost 7 lbs in the last few weeks.
For my first 30 pounds of weight loss, getting my steps in smaller chunks worked fine for me. Of course, those were the days when getting up to find the TV remote would put me in Fat Burn territory, and a brisk walk to the mailbox qualified as cardio time. Over the last couple of weeks that casual approach to getting my steps and active minutes in has stalled. I realize that to get cardio now, I've got to be moving, briskly, for a few minutes to even hit cardio. So 10-12 minute walks at 18 - 20 min pace don't cut it for me anymore.
With summer just around the corner, living in south Florida means planning ahead anyway. I've recently started "5k every day," a 3.1 mile walk around the neighborhood right after coffee in the morning. My pace has to be under 17:00 miles or I drop down into Fat Burn. On a lazy morning I'll do the first mile in 18 or so, then step it up for the last two, finishing the last one around at around a 16:00 pace. If I'm feeling good I'll start out at a 16:00+ pace and spend the rest of the walk trying to break 15:00. That means 50 minutes or so to get the first 6,500 or so steps on my tracker in the morning. The rest of my daily goal slips away in normal activity.
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Once I was almost done with my work, I started a conversation with my manager knowing that it was a tea break. I wanted to know his newfound habit of walking on a hot summer noon. When I asked, he told me that he has bought a new fitness band. He added that he aimed to walk 10k steps every day. I have seen people taking part in 2K, 5K, 10k, and 25 k marathons, but walking 10 k steps every day seems to be different. So later that day, we talked more about how the fitness band works and its features. I was interested to know how much I walked every day. After all, I am a curious cat!!
But I still managed to cultivate the habit of walking 10,000 steps almost every day. I am not any fitness freak or a professional trainer but I am here to give a few tips that worked out well for me in cultivating the habit.
d) When you walk slowly like a casual walk-it will reduce stress level and improve your mood. Remember those long romantic walks that you have taken with your loved one? Now tell me, has it not made you feel wonderful after that walk? Yes, I am talking about the same
Firstly, you need to clearly define your goal. This goal should be more achievable in day to day life. Say, you have never actually considered walking for so long, start with 3000 steps, and only when you are able to achieve it easily without any trouble, set your next goal. But be more specific about your goal. Be realistic while setting your goal.
On average, for every minute you can walk 100 steps [brisk walking]. To be able to walk 10,000 steps a day, you need to walk for 100 minutes!! That is a big goal. Cut your goal into bits of pieces. Morning and evening is the time where you will either have less work or longing for a break. So, on both ends, you can add 20-30 minutes each of walking. Also, after every meal, you can walk another 10-15 minutes.
More importantly, whenever you want to buy milk or groceries from your nearest store, walk instead of pulling your bike out. This way, you will lose some more calories and contribute less to the carbon footprint. With petrol and diesel rate-hiking often, you will be able to save some fuel too.
Maintain a daily journal and add this to your daily goals. When you complete your 10,000 steps walk, cross mark in the journal. This sense of completion will bring positive vibes or a sense of accomplishment in you to help you achieve more. With days passing, you may increase the number of steps you would like to walk in a day which facilitates your body and mind to reach higher goals.
But I would like to add something important here. OBSTACLES! Yes, something that always keeps you away from getting into a habit. Here are few of such obstacles that you might come across just like me:
Yes, we find it very difficult to be committed to what is good for us. We all know that walking is good for health but, lazy you want to just lie down on your bed. How to be consistent? Here is my tip. Find suitable walking partners. Make sure that you motivate each other and share your daily achievements with each other so that each one of you contributes to keeping this habit consistent
Walking is not just a healthy habit but it also gives you ME time. Use this walking time to listen to your favorite music or to listen to an audible book or walk your lovely dog or take your loved ones for a walk to talk about something that you love. More importantly, associate your walking with something beautiful or that you love so that you look forward to it. And once that happens you will automatically fall in love with the process
I walk in place a lot! Plus side steps. It does count the steps, but when it shows miles walked, it shows less, because when I walk in place, I am not going forward. It's still ok though. Because if I didn't walk in place as much as I do, I would not be getting enough steps. I like to walk through the commercials. I also find when I am hand washing dishes, I can walk in place there too. And brushing my teeth, etc.
I certainly hope that walking in place isn't cheating! Every once in a while, I'll throw on a "Walk Away The Pounds" dvd. These indoor workout dvds are useful when it's 100 degrees in the shade here in TX.
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