10,000 Steps really??????
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10 000 steps is 300 calories more I get to eat.
I thought it was a lot but realized I walk 5000 steps already part of my normal day. Another 5000 is going for a walk at lunch. It racks up pretty easily. 2 -
When I'm NOT at the gym, I am literally the laziest POS I know. I am always on my *kitten*, at the computer or watching tv. I take naps all day. This held true even throughout my bikini competition prep, and I took 6th place (one spot away from a trophy).
So no, 10,000 steps is not the end-all of how fit you are. Not even close. This is why I think activity trackers without HRMs are a waste. They don't really give the big picture. I guess they're ok for people just starting out, though. If it helps you, then keep it around.2 -
http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-33154510
Some excerpts...the concept of 10,000 steps originated in Japan in the run-up to the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, says Catrine Tudor-Locke, an associate professor at the Pennington Biomedical Research Centre at Louisiana State University.
Pedometers became all the rage in the country as Olympic fever swept through Japanese society. One company came out with a device called a manpo-kei, which means 10,000 step meter.
"It was a business slogan, like 'Just Do It' for Nike, but it resonated with people," Tudor-Locke says.
Since then 10,000 steps has become a commonly-acknowledged goal for daily fitness across the world.The target appears to be a relatively arbitrary figure. Human, another iOS app, inspires users to be active for 30 minutes a day instead. But the 10,000-steps-a-day goal does have some basis in scientific advice.
Also, 10,000 steps is "a nice, round number" - much like Malcolm Gladwell's much-lauded promise that 10,000 hours of practice in any field is sufficient to make you an expert - even if the reality is much more nuanced.
It "latches onto people better than the vague 7,000 to 8,000 number", says Laura Williams, a diet and fitness expert. As well as being easily digestible, it's challenging while also realistic.
"For most people, 150 minutes of exercise a week sounds like an awful lot," she adds.
But the 10,000 steps figure need not be taken too literally. For one thing, not all steps are equal.
Don't get too hung up on it...it's a decent target, but it's right up there with drink 8 glasses of water, etc...it's rather arbitrary and not really meant to be a "must" do.
I rarely get in 10,000 steps or more save for maybe the weekend...but I spend about 3 hours per week lifting and anywhere from about 6-10 hours per week on my bike plus walking about three miles or so a few days per week...I'm not too hung up on the actual steps, I'm pretty fit without obsessing about that arbitrary number.1 -
Some days I don't even pass 2000 and I'm still losing lmao.1
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Its a means to an end. Its not an end. There are lots of other means to get to that "end." (Fitness, being the "end" here, which interestingly enough, is not a state of being, but both a way of living and a non-static status.) Too much philosophy here. Sorry.1
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Sorry for the multiple responses, but its not even a highly effective means to get to a state of fitness. Its good at getting couch potatoes off the couch, but if you want to get fit, walking 10,000 steps a day is not going to do it.0
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Here I am actually embarrassed or ashamed that I changed my daily goal to 7K because I felt that was more realistic for me than 10K. I have to really stretch myself after work to do that. I have a desk job as well. I walk down the hallway when I can.0
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Here I am actually embarrassed or ashamed that I changed my daily goal to 7K because I felt that was more realistic for me than 10K. I have to really stretch myself after work to do that. I have a desk job as well. I walk down the hallway when I can.
Well the good news is that you don't have to get too hung up on it...it's just some arbitrary recommendation that came out of a marketing gimmick.3 -
endlessfall16 wrote: »Christine_72 wrote: »Nony_Mouse wrote: »Christine_72 wrote: »If you want to be entertained, check out the forums on the fitbit site, especially the multiple-year threads titled "How Can Anyone Do [50,000, 80,000, some other random number] Steps In A Day?????" And people who join contests on the internet with people who may or may not exist, and complain that people are cheating.
Hhmmm I had a few of those in my last challenge. I swear some of them put their fitbits in the tumble dryer or something to get 50+k steps 7 days a damn week!
50k+ a day all week??? OMG having done 50k once and wanting to die I can't imagine doing that every day. Admittedly I didn't take enough decent rest breaks that day and was battling high winds (which is tiring as hell) but still...I am planning to do a 55k day over my summer break to get that badge but I will be planning it really carefully and you can bet the next day will be a rest day.
Yep! I asked one of them how they did it, and they replied "walks around the neighborhood in the morning and evening ". I felt like asking if they lived in the middle of Africa lol
I bet that takes a form of obsession (with fitness), patience and a ton of free time. I walk 3 rounds around my workplace parking lot and it completes 10k. I don't feel tired but feel time standing still.
The difficulty with alot of exercises isn't in the physical act itself. Sometimes the physical "exhaustion" can even be addictive (that's why people drop dead from overexhaustion without being aware, which is something I always dread when I push my limit) It's the mind and other mental conditioning that put up the blockage.
I agree completely. It's very very very difficult for me to walk on a treadmill. Almost impossible for any length of time. I feel like a hamster on a wheel. Around my neighborhood, it's interesting to see peoples' gardens change - this time of year there's nothing but pansies and kale, but things start coming up in the spring and change until the frosts come. Get me on a trail and I can do 15 miles in a day, then stay up late going through the pictures. I don't understand indoor cycling but you should see how much of the map I've covered on my road bike.3 -
MeanderingMammal wrote: »Christine_72 wrote: »Yep! I asked one of them how they did it, and they replied "walks around the neighborhood in the morning and evening ". I felt like asking if they lived in the middle of Africa lol
On my last marahon I did 51k steps, my last Ultra was 74k steps.
There is no way people are sustaining that kind of mileage unless they're training for something.
Or they're hiking.
Anish hiked the Pacific Crest Trail a few years ago, it's 2,650 miles long, from Mexico to Canada. She spent 60 days doing it. That's about 45 miles per day, on average, with about 5,000 feet of elevation gain, again per day.
Here's what she says about there being no way a person can walk much, day after day:
“I was inactive at that time, I was overweight and didn’t exercise and didn’t really know anything about hiking. I started going to weight rooms and running and reading anything I could find.”
“When I first did the Appalachian Trail there were no other thru-hikers around because I had such a late start. I didn’t have a lot of information about the trail or about thru-hiking beforehand, so I had no concept of what an average hiking day was. To me, in my head, I thought, ‘I guess somewhere between 20 and 30 miles a day sounds reasonable.’ So I’m doing 20-30 miles a day and I’m blowing past everyone and they’re saying ‘What are you doing? Nobody does that! We all do about 15-20!’ So I responded, ‘Why do you guys only do that much?’ I didn’t have this artificial limitation on myself.”
Now, I haven't done such a long hike, but I've been out up to a week at a time. When you've got nothing to do but explore a beautiful place, it's amazing how much you can walk, day after lovely day.
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NorthCascades wrote: »MeanderingMammal wrote: »Christine_72 wrote: »Yep! I asked one of them how they did it, and they replied "walks around the neighborhood in the morning and evening ". I felt like asking if they lived in the middle of Africa lol
On my last marahon I did 51k steps, my last Ultra was 74k steps.
There is no way people are sustaining that kind of mileage unless they're training for something.
Or they're hiking.
So not onwalks around the neighbourhood
Whilst i wouldn't disagree in principle I wouldn't imagine there are many, and they're unlikely to be frequenting the FitBit forums getting worked up about winning challenges.3 -
I used to work for a Wellness company and we used 7,000 which is the CDC recommendation. It's what MFP uses as well. The 10,000 came from Weight Watchers.0
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Tacklewasher wrote: »
When I log into my MFP app it says 7,000 up at the top. Plus if I reach 7K it tells me I met my step goals for the day.0 -
MeanderingMammal wrote: »NorthCascades wrote: »MeanderingMammal wrote: »Christine_72 wrote: »Yep! I asked one of them how they did it, and they replied "walks around the neighborhood in the morning and evening ". I felt like asking if they lived in the middle of Africa lol
On my last marahon I did 51k steps, my last Ultra was 74k steps.
There is no way people are sustaining that kind of mileage unless they're training for something.
Or they're hiking.
So not onwalks around the neighbourhood
Whilst i wouldn't disagree in principle I wouldn't imagine there are many, and they're unlikely to be frequenting the FitBit forums getting worked up about winning challenges.
Often when I'm in a challenge and the weather allows I go to Big Basin and hike all day on my days off just so I can bump up my numbers and win.2 -
Tacklewasher wrote: »
When I log into my MFP app it says 7,000 up at the top. Plus if I reach 7K it tells me I met my step goals for the day.
iPhone or Android? I'm on Android and it shows 10,000. Not sure it tells me if I exceed that.0 -
Tacklewasher wrote: »Tacklewasher wrote: »
When I log into my MFP app it says 7,000 up at the top. Plus if I reach 7K it tells me I met my step goals for the day.
iPhone or Android? I'm on Android and it shows 10,000. Not sure it tells me if I exceed that.
On the iPhone app. It's also connected to my Health settings on the iPhone as that's what I use for my step tracker.0 -
Tacklewasher wrote: »Tacklewasher wrote: »
When I log into my MFP app it says 7,000 up at the top. Plus if I reach 7K it tells me I met my step goals for the day.
iPhone or Android? I'm on Android and it shows 10,000. Not sure it tells me if I exceed that.
I figured it out. I have it set to 7,000 as my daily step goal. In the app under 'more' then 'steps' and it's set to track from my iPhone and my iPhone Daily Step goal is set to 7,000.0 -
Ahh. So it's because it is linked to you iPhone app. My setup doesn't work that way is all. Was hoping it was some setting I was missing, but oh well.1
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MeanderingMammal wrote: »NorthCascades wrote: »MeanderingMammal wrote: »Christine_72 wrote: »Yep! I asked one of them how they did it, and they replied "walks around the neighborhood in the morning and evening ". I felt like asking if they lived in the middle of Africa lol
On my last marahon I did 51k steps, my last Ultra was 74k steps.
There is no way people are sustaining that kind of mileage unless they're training for something.
Or they're hiking.
So not onwalks around the neighbourhood
Whilst i wouldn't disagree in principle I wouldn't imagine there are many, and they're unlikely to be frequenting the FitBit forums getting worked up about winning challenges.
Often when I'm in a challenge and the weather allows I go to Big Basin and hike all day on my days off just so I can bump up my numbers and win.
/*hijack
San Francisco Bay Area? Me too - Big Basin is my favorite place to hike!
end hijack*/2
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