Steps a day Confusion.
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SeanD2407
Posts: 139 Member
So experts recommend that you take 10,000 steps a day. Whether that be a stairmaster or actual stairs at the office, it seems a bit excessive? I know the empire state building has roughly 1400 actual steps so does that mean they want you to walk up and down equivalent to 5 empire state buildings a day?
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Replies
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10,000 steps. like walking (normal walking). NOT stairs as in walking up and down.
and 10,000 is just a random benchmark. track what you do now and strive to improve a bit weekly.7 -
I started a lot lower than that and am now up to 10,000 - 15,000 per day. Don't try to start at the goal. Work your way up. It's total daily steps. We all walk daily even when we aren't exercising on purpose. When I was sedentary I was still walking about 2000 per day.0
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It is actually not as hard as you think because a lot of it is just daily movement. For me to check my mail it is ~450 steps round trip. I have 10k as a goal to push myself into moving more but I don't hit it that often. I do get over 8k steps now on a fairly regular basis though.0
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OP, they don't mean steps as in stairs, they mean steps as in take a step forward, walking.
10,000 steps is an arbitrary goal, just focusing on being more active than you are now would probably be a great idea.4 -
Like most arbitrary number based goals, there's no science behind 10,000 steps. Being more active is always good, but there is no evidence that 10,000 is a special number for health. Most health benefits are achieved from a lower level of steps.4
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Like most arbitrary number based goals, there's no science behind 10,000 steps. Being more active is always good, but there is no evidence that 10,000 is a special number for health. Most health benefits are achieved from a lower level of steps.
This. The only reason to get to 10k steps on a regular basis is so that you can then aim for 12k steps.
I look at it as reprogramming me from a sedentary mindset. Instead of asking my wife to get something while she is up I get up and go get it. Those little choices have increased my NEAT to a point where I actually started losing weight too fast recently and I am adjusting my calories to compensate.7 -
DanSanthomes wrote: »
FIFY.
To check my mail is probably about 600 steps. Rural living, down a long driveway with the mailbox out at the road.4 -
quiksylver296 wrote: »DanSanthomes wrote: »
FIFY.
To check my mail is probably about 600 steps. Rural living, down a long driveway with the mailbox out at the road.
You just had to top me, didn't you?
You win this round.4 -
quiksylver296 wrote: »DanSanthomes wrote: »
FIFY.
To check my mail is probably about 600 steps. Rural living, down a long driveway with the mailbox out at the road.
You just had to top me, didn't you?
You win this round.
It was more the idea that we had "long hallways". Not everyone lives in an apartment. :huh:
But I do live in BFE. And I had to walk uphill to school, both ways, in knee-deep snow. :bigsmile:
At OP, I get my steps in by taking walks on my morning, lunch, and afternoon breaks from my desk job. This usually gets me ~12,000 steps per day.2 -
Lol, my mailbox is 1 1/2 miles from my front door, and down a steep hill. I only check it once a week. I still manage to get an average of 10,000 steps per day. But that's an average, I don't get that many every day.3
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I rarely get 10,000 steps on normal days. I typically end up anywhere between 4,000 and 8,000 on an average day. On run days (three per week), especially my long runs, I'll be around 15,000 to 20,000. 10,000 is just an arbitrary goal. If you're getting there, good for you, but it's not necessary0
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So experts recommend that you take 10,000 steps a day. Whether that be a stairmaster or actual stairs at the office, it seems a bit excessive? I know the empire state building has roughly 1400 actual steps so does that mean they want you to walk up and down equivalent to 5 empire state buildings a day?
1. It's steps as in walking, not steps as in stairs.
2. It's an arbitrary guideline that comes from a marketing ploy in Japan to sell pedometers that were called 10,000 steps...this was back in the 60s or 70s or something. There's not actual science behind it, but it's a good enough guideline for general activity. Moving more is always a good thing.
3. You have to consider your other activities and exercise. I work in an office and rarely get 10,000 steps...usually more like 6-8K depending. But I also do purposeful exercise, mostly cycling and it is done at a much more vigorous effort than walking and taking steps. I could get 10,000 steps if I skipped my ride and went for a walk instead...but what is more advantageous for my cardiovascular fitness? I would say making sure I got out on my ride is way more important than getting in an arbitrary number of steps.2 -
I can reach my mailbox from my front door, probably. The mailman has to come on my front porch to access the mailbox. ;-)
On the other hand, even on a day when I don't run, I will get 10K or more steps easily just by walking to my L stop, from my work stop to my work, walking around at work and perhaps walking across downtown to go somewhere I need to go, and then taking the L home and walking from my stop, maybe going to the store on the way home. If I mow my tiny lawn or do some gardening, that will get me more. If I want to increase steps I'll walk to a stop closer to my house/farther from work before getting on the L on the way home. I also sometimes pace on the platform if I have a longer wait (I used to feel a little weird doing this, now I don't care).2
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