10,000 steps

[Amethyst]

Two thousand steps is about a mile for me, and takes about 15 minutes. So 10,000 steps would take an hour and 15 minutes, rather a lot of time when I already hit the gym for a couple of hours four days a week. I think 6,000 steps are plenty, especially on the beach. Walking on sand can be a workout in itself.

 

[aaronc879]

Time to get a bike or take up swimming like my DW?

I did get an exercise bike for free from my Grandma who is in a wheelchair now. It is too small for me but I use it a couple days a week for 15 minutes. It's too cold for 6+ months of the year to ride a bike outside but I do plan to spend $100-200 to fully tune-up my bike(it's been sitting for 3 years) this Spring and start using that as often as my leg can tolerate. For now I just walk around my house for 15 straight minutes or use the bike for 15 minutes most days.

 

[Rianne]

The singer in one of my bands moves to the music during rehearsals (while standing in one spot) and his step app records thousands of step. He's moving but he's not working out.

This is key. Dancing in front of the TV to a video or any music, careful with the knees and hips. Movement, any kind of movement, vacuuming, gardening is aerobic and beneficial. I'm trying to figure out ways not to sit. Where I used to work, standing desks were becoming common.



https://www.startstanding.org/sitting-new-smoking/#

"Sitting is more dangerous than smoking, kills more people than HIV, and is more treacherous than parachuting. We are sitting ourselves to death," says James Levine, a professor of medicine at the Mayo Clinic, in an interview with the LA Times. "The chair is out to kill us."

 

[zinger1457]

Here’s what Golf Digest says https://www.golfdigest.com/story/kaspriske-fitness-column-2009-10.

I played Friday, with a cart, paths only and did about 4400 steps. It can vary considerably depending on course length and distance between holes, but Golf Digest says walking with no cart is about 12,000 steps.

That's very close to what I see with my Garmin Vivoactive 3, walking my home course works out to about 6.3 miles/12.5K steps.

 

[fh2000]

We go to a local in-door mall to walk 10,000 steps most days, for it is not too cold, not too hot there.

It takes about 90 minutes to walk 10,000 steps, and the distance is about 4 to 5 miles.

 

[MRG]

Try to walk outside or hit the gym 3x weekly for an hour. My phone is the only step counter I have a don't always take it so I'm not sure how many steps I get.

I've posted this before but you asked about weight management. Back in 2015 DW and I dropped a bunch of weight, 110 pounds combined. I tracked a 20 pound loss of my weight. It was a very consistent part of my loss where all the numbers were really spot on. Out of that 20 pounds the calculator suggests 16 pounds were due to a calorie deficit, 4 pounds for walking 3 miles daily.

 

[Teacher Terry]

I walk the dogs but they can only go a mile. They are tiny. If I don’t have enough steps by evening I march in place while watching tv.

 

[aja8888]

I walk my dog about 5 times per day. DW can't help here due to her COPD. I also walk with friends two days per week. I am 76 and had my right hip replaced 5 weeks ago.

I walk outdoors and have a Fitbit Versa 2 wrist device. 10K steps is roughly my average for the last 12 months. I lost about 20 pounds since I started the program. No running due to two implants in my hips.

I eat normally and my blood work is great. No pills other than one for prostate (urination).

Hope this helps.

My dog probably walks 40K steps per day with me (he's a small little guy). He's in great shape too!

 

[Chuckanut]

I don't count steps but I do jog/run on the treadmill and lift weights. I usually workout in the morning so that leaves the rest of the day. My routine is short and sweet (20 or so minutes) and I alternate running and lifting. A sample:

Day 1 - run/jog
Day 2 - lift upper body
Day 3 - run/jog
Day 4 - lift lower body

I find that 20 or so minutes is more than enough to be effective and since it's a short workout it's a lot easier to get motivated. I don't think I could workout for an hour or more.

+1 on keeping it short and sweet.

There are people who get a thrill out of a good workout. They post message on social media such as "Just finished a great workout at the gym. I threw a 120 pound kettle balls threw the gym walls and out into the parking lot. Dead lifted 322 pounds. Did 100 pushups in one minute. And rode the stationary bike at 60 mph for half an hour."

I get no such thrill. I just got some resistance bands from Santa so I can do a quick workout at home. Works for me.

FWIW, a new study shows that 7500 steps is the sweet spot for older women. I guess we guys have to tag along and hope for the best.

https://time.com/5597557/do-you-need-10000-steps-a-day/

After adjusting for overall health status and lifestyle habits, the study found that daily step count was strongly associated with mortality risk. Women taking roughly 4,400 steps per day had a 41% lower risk of premature death than the least-active women, who took about 2,700 steps per day, according to the study. Benefits continued accumulating more modestly from there, before plateauing at around 7,500 daily steps, the researchers found.

 

[USGrant1962]

+1 on keeping it short and sweet.

...

FWIW, a new study shows that 7500 steps is the sweet spot for older women. I guess we guys have to tag along and hope for the best.

https://time.com/5597557/do-you-need-10000-steps-a-day/

FWIW, the 10,000 steps number was a marketing tool for a Japanese pedometer company in 1964 and has no actual basis (other than selling cheap pedometers and expensive smart watches). Since then some studies have shown that walking/moving more is better than less - who knew?

The magic number “10,000” dates back to a marketing campaign conducted shortly before the start of the 1964 Tokyo Olympic Games. A company began selling a pedometer called the Manpo-kei: “man” meaning 10,000, “po” meaning steps and “kei” meaning meter. It was hugely successful and the number seems to have stuck.

https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20190723-10000-steps-a-day-the-right-amount

As Chuckanut says, something like 7,000-8,000 seems to be the sweet spot based on a few studies, but there is nothing wrong with shooting for 10K.

 

[savory]

Most of us live in locations where our destination is 5 or less miles. If you are going to a store, meeting friends for coffee, even going to the gym walk or bicycle. It is an easy approach to health and fitness that most folks don’t consider. In studies in The UK where they have good data from the NHS, those people who practice active transportation are healthier.

If you elect to try this but do not know how to get started, visit a bike store and/or a local advocacy group. PM me if you have questions if you like. Just remember muscles before motors.

 

[jollystomper]

If I do at least one of these items in a day, I have no problem hitting 10,000 steps:


- Hour workout at gym (about half of that is on an elliptical, the other half walking between weight equipment stations and other step-related exercises)
- Walk for at least an hour (I aim for at least 3.5 miles in a hour)
- Walk a round of golf (8000-10000 steps per 9 holes, depending on the accuracy of my shots and wandering around looking for balls)
- At least an hour of yardwork (push mowing, raking/blowing, leaves, gathering fallen limbs/branching, etc.).
- Any other sporting activity done for at least and hour

If any one of these these does not put me over the 10000 step range, my other activities added to it will - going shopping (not parking too close and walking around the store, watching sports (I get up and go do something during the commercials), or working on some house project (can usually involve multiple trips up and down 3 levels of the house and outside).

 

[BeachOrCity]

Get a medium to large dog and exercise him or her appropriately. 2 twenty minute walks a day plus a long outing in the afternoon will easily get you there

 

[BeachOrCity]

A round of golf... even just playing 18 with a cart... is way more than 10,000 steps.

My last 5 golf with cart days were 14k, 15k, 14k, 15k and 14k.

My average on the 5 days prior to those golf days was ~7.5k so it looks like 18 holes with a cart is good for about 7k steps or about 3 1/2 miles.

How that is is a mystery to me.

A big mystery.... a round of golf walking including bad shots and back and forth is say 8000 yards which is less than five miles so about 10-15k steps. And that is walking.

Sometimes I wonder if these trackers inflate the numbers to sell more of them. Or maybe it is the swinging of clubs that makes it overcount?

Here is an article on accuracy that talks about body movements

https://wearablezone.com/news/how-accurate-is-fitbit/

 

[Music Lover]

This is key. Dancing in front of the TV to a video or any music, careful with the knees and hips. Movement, any kind of movement, vacuuming, gardening is aerobic and beneficial. I'm trying to figure out ways not to sit. Where I used to work, standing desks were becoming common.



https://www.startstanding.org/sitting-new-smoking/#

"Sitting is more dangerous than smoking, kills more people than HIV, and is more treacherous than parachuting. We are sitting ourselves to death," says James Levine, a professor of medicine at the Mayo Clinic, in an interview with the LA Times. "The chair is out to kill us."

Movement is good, but in the case of our singer who is very obese, I think he's fooling himself into thinking that he's really working out (getting his 10,000 steps) when he really isn't doing as much as he thinks.

 

[Music Lover]

A big mystery.... a round of golf walking including bad shots and back and forth is say 8000 yards which is less than five miles so about 10-15k steps. And that is walking.

Sometimes I wonder if these trackers inflate the numbers to sell more of them. Or maybe it is the swinging of clubs that makes it overcount?

Here is an article on accuracy that talks about body movements

https://wearablezone.com/news/how-accurate-is-fitbit/

My golf watch records the actual distance covered, not steps. My rounds come in between 8 - 10k.

 

[zinger1457]

A big mystery.... a round of golf walking including bad shots and back and forth is say 8000 yards which is less than five miles so about 10-15k steps. And that is walking.

Sometimes I wonder if these trackers inflate the numbers to sell more of them. Or maybe it is the swinging of clubs that makes it overcount?

I think you're light with the 8000 yards, the typical course is ~7000 yards (straight line) tee to middle of green, then you add in all the walking from green to tee, searching for balls, crooked shots, pacing around the green, etc., it can easily get close to 12000 yards. My Garmin tracks both steps and uses GPS to track distance walked. It varies a little but always in the same ballpark, a little over 6 miles and 12K steps at my course.

 

[Exit 2024]

Just looked at my Fitbit, I average 17.8k steps per day in 2019 so far. But I never targeted steps itself, rather I am trying to get my calories spent to cross 2000, or better be above 2300 per day, that includes both passive and active ones.

 

[Amethyst]

For sure, exercising a dog as much as that dog truly needs and wants, will keep the owner in shape. A dog is a lot of responsibility, though, if all you want is an exercise gadget

Get a medium to large dog and exercise him or her appropriately. 2 twenty minute walks a day plus a long outing in the afternoon will easily get you there

 

[RunningBum]

Pretty sure I did about 200,000 steps in one 24 hour period, just over 3 years ago.

It was during a 100 mile race that took me just over 23.5 hours. My running watch measures cadence, not steps. For the first 8 hours, I averaged 165 steps/minute. I borrowed another watch that doesn't show cadence for the next 9 hours, and got mine back for the final 6.5 hours. I averaged 136 in the last part, because I was walking a lot more. The middle section pace was in between, so 150 is a reasonable guess for it, and the entire race. I'm not sure whether the watch factors in non-moving time or not. I had it in race mode so it shows the actual time, but I'm not sure about cadence. Let's assume it doesn't. I figure I was moving between 22 and 23 hours. I only sat to change socks and shoes, and a couple potty stops, so even at the aid station stops I was still walking around a little bit, and a little bit of walking before or after the race with the watch off, to fill out the 24 hours.

150 steps/min * 60 min/hr * 22 hours = 198,000 steps
150 steps/min * 60 min/hr * 23 hours = 207,000 steps.

That 165 cadence is pretty typical for runners. I have pretty short legs so I tend to be on the high side for my pace. Just saying, what the watch is telling me is probably accurate.

I remember estimating before my other 100 miler that I would be landing on each foot about 100,000 times. That one took me about 26.5 hours, more than a day.

 

[Ronstar]

Pretty sure I did about 200,000 steps in one 24 hour period, just over 3 years ago.

It was during a 100 mile race that took me just over 23.5 hours. ...

Sounds about right. I had 45,000 on a marathon day. And at 6’ tall, my stride is probably longer than yours. So you probably easily passed 200,000.


One of my biggest steps days was a tree planting day. BIL and I planted more than 700 bare root trees and bushes in a day. The foot stomping of earth around the tree trunks amounted to more than 35,000 steps. Even though I probably didn’t walk a mile.

 

[H2ODude]

I don't really pay attention to the steps, more the active calories on the A watch. It's pretty stingy on the calorie count compared to exercise bike or elliptical at the gym. I try to "close the red ring' which I've set for 700 active about 4-5 days a week. I'm always disappointed when I trail bike and see the calories and average heart rate; I've learned you just can't burn calories dodging trees, rocks, and curves the way you can on the stationary bike. The Y has a couple of Expresso bikes that I enjoy, the video takes my mind off the boredom. Much prefer walking or biking in the woods. Highly recommend finding more than a single pursuit; mix it up. Oh, and my 8 yo Bassett Hound has decided unless I take her to the woods she ain't walking more than 7-8 blocks! In the woods I can get a mile and a half out of her, used to get 2-3.

 

[jpeter1093]

Live in NYC...way more than 10k/day then.

 

[Katsmeow]

10k isn't that much when you get down to it, if you're even reasonably active. It's pretty hard to do less than 4k unless you just putter around the house for the day.

I am at home most days. My house is one story about 2300 SF. If I just knock around the house I will average maybe 2000 steps. If I go to the gym then I get closer to 4k. To get to 7k takes me making a determined effort to get there. It means walking on the treadmill even though I have already been to the gym, that kind of thing. Some days I pace through my house if I am bored with the treadmill. But if I don't go to the gym then it is definitely hard to get to 4k, let alone 10k.

FWIW, a new study shows that 7500 steps is the sweet spot for older women. I guess we guys have to tag along and hope for the best.

https://time.com/5597557/do-you-need-10000-steps-a-day/

I read that as well. And for many people 10k is just too many. My knees start hurting when I do that for too many days in a row.

 

[Ronstar]

I did 6000 on the treadmill yesterday morning and ended up at 9,000 total yesterday. Today will not be good. Too busy to spend time on the treadmill or get outside hiking