The 10,000 steps!

wisdomfromyou wrote: »

given most people today have sedentary jobs, how is it even possible to squeeze in 10,000 steps a day? Even if I take the stairs when I go to work, even if i get some stuff done in the kitchen...the reality is that a good part of my day MUST be spent NOT taking steps, but reading, clicking and typing - or else, employer's work won't get done.

For sure.

If you drive to work, park at the far end of the lot. That obviously gets you more steps, and helps avoid dings in your paint too. Do that also any time you drive to the store, etc.

Get up every now and then and go to the bathroom. While you're at it, spend an extra 2 or 3 minutes walking in the hall, or around the building.

If coworkers call or email you with questions, offer to come to their desk and talk about it.

I spend my lunch break walking, and then eat at my desk. Not everybody can get away with that and I don't know if it's possible for you.

The point is that none of these things is like going for a 20 mile hike, it's all little things that add up. And on that note, since you don't have a pedometer at the moment, think about all the trips you're already making to the kitchen and bathroom and whatever else, those add up, too. On my most sedentary days at work, I still leave the office with about 2,000 steps.

Shadow2soul is right, you should start with a free smartphone app instead of spending money on a pedometer. If you find it valuable you might still want to buy one so you don't have to be attached to your phone all the time, but until then, try an app to get a better idea how much you're moving now.

I get between 20,000-25,000 steps a day, but i can only achieve this because I work part time from home, so I've got plenty of time . I would probably struggle to get 10,000 steps if i had a full time office job. I'd have to go for a huge walk/run after work and at lunch time.

I have a sedentary job and easily get to 10,000 steps per day without trying to get steps in at work or counting my exercise steps. At work, I pretty much sit at my desk the whole time. Aside from getting up to go to the bathroom (right by my office), get coffee from the kitchen, or buy lunch if I didn't bring it (usually no more than a 2 block walk) I'm either sitting at my desk or sitting in a meeting. But, I am generally active outside of work. I live in a city and walk everywhere. I walk to work, the grocery store, exercise classes, etc.

If you're doing cardio during your exercise don't worry about the 10k step myth. work more on getting your heart rate up during exercise.

http://www.cdc.gov/physicalactivity/basics/adults/index.htm

I have an office job and get up to 30,000 steps per day. Not every day, obviously, but still.

I used to walk to work (about 3 miles roundtrip) but recently moved about 4 miles from my office. I still involve walking in my commute - instead of driving, I walk to the train and then from the station to my office. That's about 5,000 steps roundtrip (it's about 1.3 miles one way from door to door) and then I don't have to deal with parking, spend less on gas, etc. I'm still near enough that occasionally I get up early enough to walk there on my non-running mornings too (turns my commute from half an hour into just over an hour, but it's a nice time to compose my thoughts, listen to a book, or whatever.) Obviously this isn't an option for everyone but if you can find a non-driving option it really helps get more activity in your day.

I walk at lunch a couple times a week (2,000-6,000 steps depending on how long I have time for) and I have a gym membership near my office too, so I can go for a quick run at lunch or even just walk on the treadmill if the weather's bad or whatever. It's way better than sitting in the lunchroom at work, I can read a bit, zone out, get away from the office, it's really nice. Usually at the gym at lunch I'll do another 3 miles or so (about 7,000 steps.)

Twice a week, I run before work, 6-8 miles depending on how long I have, which is about 15,000 steps by itself and how I get to 30,000 in a day.

I also often walk in the evening to grab a few groceries or whatever, and even a trip to Costco or whatever can get me another couple thousand steps easily. Sometimes I squeeze in a quick evening run too (no more than 3 miles) if I've got the energy and it's nice outside.

Steps aren't the most important thing but I feel better trying to involve a little activity in my day when I spend so much of it sitting on my butt in an office chair. I like walking and I love running so I enjoy it, and all I've really had to give up is sitting around with my coworkers at lunch and I now go to bed early enough to get up at 5 and run or walk at least half the week.

I have a desk job too, and I average 15K steps/day. Here's what I do:

I usually get up and walk for 45 min to an hour before work. That gets me anywhere from 6-8K steps.
Daily morning routine including up and down stairs at the house, getting kids ready, getting myself ready, maybe another 500 cals.
Taking kids to school/camp, then park myself in the back part of the parking lot at work and walking into my office - 1000 steps.

On a really good day I try to hit 10K steps before I even sit down at my desk at work.

While at work, I try to get up and walk around the building a couple of times - long way to the bathroom, walk to coworkers desks rather than email, just get up and circle the cubicles every once in a while.
I eat lunch at my desk and try to walk for 20-30 minutes outside afterwards.
I try to get out for a shorter 10 minute walk in the afternoon as well.

In the evening, same as the morning activities - by the time I get to my car, get the kids, run any errands, get home, get dinner on the table, I usually have 13-15K steps.

This summer we are trying to take evening walks, even if just around the block, as a family. That is usually another 1000-2000 steps.

On weekends, we try to walk to neighborhood restaurants, go hiking, walk to the park, etc.

I don't usually sit down, other than at work, driving, and at meal times, until the very end of the night when the kids are in bed. If I don't have my steps in I will often do laps around my basement till I do.

It's not that hard, but it does take effort. It was worth it to me, as through my efforts to increase my activity level (I've probably doubled my average steps in the last couple of years) I now have a TDEE of around 2200 which makes maintenance pretty awesome!

Oh look at that, time for a walk!

wisdomfromyou wrote: »

Waow. Weird how so many people with very sedentary jobs seem to get so many steps in.
Based on my estimations, I am nowhere close to 10,000 steps a day - in fact, very far.

I walk back and forth to the gym and to the nearby store every day and that will give me about 2 miles at the very most. The steps I take around the house or at work (when I am there) for the rest of the day will not amount to more than a mile. I understand "the parking far away" trick and other similar measures but few acknowledge that such measures take away time from other tasks that MUST be completed during the day and for which employers or children do not make amendments.

Parking far away also means allocating extra time before leaving. I must leave much earlier which I most of the time I cannot afford because I often go with back-to-back with my tasks between children, career and cooking.

As people's workloads increase, the time they can allocate to just freely step around naturally decreases.

I will need to buy a pedometer that will give me the total number of steps I take throughout the day just to learn how far I am from the 10,000.
But based on my estimation, I am very far.

You will probably be surprised how many steps you take from daily activity. When I first got my FitBit I realized that I get about 6K steps just from the day to day tasks related to household and child related activities. If you add in a 2 mile walk each day, that would be another 4,000 or so steps, depending on your stride length.

My parking in the back of the parking lot adds an extra 5 minutes before work and after, but probably an extra 1000 steps. I have a pretty flexible job, but I wouldn't say that me fitting in some extra steps here and there negatively impacts the work I do or that my employer needs to make amendments for.

Believe me I get the idea of being a busy working mother. But you asked how people get their steps in, and I'm telling you it can be done. I average 15K steps a day and I don't think either my employer nor my children feels they are being neglected.

Some easy ways that I get more steps in include going shopping, doing household chores, and walking my dog. Still, it is hard to get to 10,000 steps outside of exercise! I definitely wouldn't view it as minimum, though. I think that it's just a good goal number to keep in mind and you can feel really good about yourself if you do reach that goal!

I will be 65 in September.
20-25k/day.
Office job, long hours. 45 minute commute 1 way.
I go to the gym 1st thing in the morning (very early, before work) always have between 10-11K after the gym. (mostly elliptical, but sometimes treadmill)
I get between 5-6K during the time I am at work. I have a desk that raises and I stand a lot of the day.
Walk the dogs in the evening (even in the winter & I live in Minnesota and it gets very cold here).
When I first got my fit bit (2/2013) I struggled to get 10,000/day. If you want it bad enough, you can do it.

wisdomfromyou wrote: »

ScubaSteve1962 wrote: »

If you're doing cardio during your exercise don't worry about the 10k step myth. work more on getting your heart rate up during exercise.

http://www.cdc.gov/physicalactivity/basics/adults/index.htm

I hope you are right. Yes, I try to do both cardio and weights. I walk briskly (sometimes run with intervals) to the gym and once I get there I do some weights. Then I stop at the store nearby, pick up a few things and then walk back. That's usually my routine. There are about 0.7 miles to the gym and 0.7 back. So 1.4 miles walk and whatever happens to the gym where I do weights...but I must confess I don't exactly kill myself lifting.

I am a naturally low energy person. If left to my own devices, I would sit and read all day.
My idea of heaven is forever living in European coffee houses with coffee and croissants in front of me.
Most of my activity is cerebral, not physical. I could sit and read heavy books for hours on end but after an hour of exercise I feel like this is pretty much the most I can give in terms of physical exertion.

Unfortunately, I read that concentrating all of your physical activity in one hour of exercise a day doesn't make much of a difference and that you must be moving all the time throughout the day.
Whether some people have the type of jobs where they can constantly interrupt work to move around doesn't change the reality that in the 21st century, most jobs are sedentary and some require intense concentration that is not conducive to regular interruptions for healthy steps.

So I hope you are right that I can atone with 1 hour of exercise a day. :-(

I understand the bolded, and I felt the same way. But I found when I incorporated some movement, I was actually able to concentrate better. I would walk around my floor two or three times, and it would wake me up a little and increase my focus. I also came up with some really good teaching ideas while walking around a bit.

Again, don't overthink it.

wisdomfromyou wrote: »

I walk back and forth to the gym and to the nearby store every day and that will give me about 2 miles at the very most. The steps I take around the house or at work (when I am there) for the rest of the day will not amount to more than a mile. I understand "the parking far away" trick and other similar measures but few acknowledge that such measures take away time from other tasks that MUST be completed during the day and for which employers or children do not make amendments.

Parking far away also means allocating extra time before leaving. I must leave much earlier which I most of the time I cannot afford because I often go with back-to-back with my tasks between children, career and cooking.

As people's workloads increase, the time they can allocate to just freely step around naturally decreases.

I will need to buy a pedometer that will give me the total number of steps I take throughout the day just to learn how far I am from the 10,000.
But based on my estimation, I am very far.

Maybe you're not as far off as you think. My goal is 5 miles a day or 12,000 steps. I would encourage you to track your steps. It's very motivating and make those little things like parking further away seem worth it, even if it adds a few more seconds to your errands.

And if you have a job that requires a lot of concentration, I would think clearing your head every once in a while with a break might improve your productivity. Emmanuel Kant was a big walker. ;D