The 10,000 Steps a Day Challenge

Everyone who wants to stay healthy, get healthy or lose weight, has probably heard about the challenge to walk 10,000 steps per day. It seems simple and it doesn't take a huge investment in time or money. Just a good pair of shoes, time & an accurate pedometer. If you live in a walkable city it may be something you are already doing on most days. For someone who tends to drive more places than they walk, getting those steps to add up can seem like an unattainable goal after trying for a few days. Pushing yourself from couch potato to walking machine may leave you feeling disenchanted and extremely sore.

The only way to change your habits is to decide you are going to change and then make a plan that is reasonable. No one will be able to be successful if they just slap on the pedometer and expect to jump right up to 10,000 steps immediately. If it were that easy, it would not be a challenge and it would not effect your health in a positive way. So if you find you can do 10,000 steps daily with ease, set a higher goal for yourself. For those of us who can't, I suggest starting slow.

The first step towards reaching your goal is getting a reliable pedometer. Most will require you to measure your stride length then adjust the settings to ensure that the pedometer is gauging your steps accurately. Read the instructions that came with your pedometer to find out how to do this. Also be sure to see where you should place your pedometer to get an accurate reading. Some need to be placed at your waist others are okay if placed in a pocket. Each model has its own features that will make it different from others. The basic feature you will need is that it can count steps, but there are other bells and whistles that can be fun. Distance, calories, 7 day totals all can be tracked but the added features will tend to add cost, so figure out what you want to track to motivate you. Occasionally you may be able to fine a free one, but you may get what you pay for in those cases. You should be able to get a reliable pedometer at a reasonable price fairly easy in most stores or online.

Next suppress the desire to jump right in! This can be one of the hardest things about the program for some people. Obviously you are dedicated if you have decided to start a program and everyone wants to excel, but it is in your best interest to hold back for a couple of days. Just wear the pedometer as you go about your typical, even lazy, day. This will give you a good base line benchmark to go from. Be it 7,000 steps or 500 steps this average of the 3-4 days will let you know how you have been doing. Remember the ultimate goal here is improving your health, not just reaching that seemingly magical 10,000 number.

After you realize what you typically walk in a day, add 500 steps to that number. If you find you average is around 3,000 steps, go for 3,500. Sure you might not make it everyday, but you should strive to make it most days. If you don't find yourself achieving the goal set, perhaps try for a weekly goal. If you were to achieve your goal of 3,500 steps per day everyday for a week, you would have walked around 24,500 steps. Step this for your goal. Keep track of your steps daily in a log. Post this in a place where you will see it everyday as a reminder. Then keep up with how many steps you are getting each day. If you find you are too busy one day to get in the 3,500, make sure you set aside extra time the next day to make up the steps needed. This will get your body used to the exercise while still allowing you to be flexible in your day to day activities.

Once you find you can achieve your goal successfully for a few weeks, up the ante. Add on more steps. Little by little you will find yourself getting closer and closer to getting 10,000 step per day. Also you will probably find that your body will feel different if you don't get the steps in each day. Your will get more energy and feel like doing more. If you find yourself slipping or even miss a week, don't despair. Each day is a new chance to get our bodies in shape. Your health and feeling good is worth the effort. Think of the saying, "Fall down 7 times, stand up 8." and set a goal you can reach with some effort. Start the process as many times as it takes to get there. The end result, better health, is what matters most.

Get support for your goal. There are sites online that can encourage you and give support for reaching your daily goal. Walkertracker.com claims to be the website for pedometer enthusiast. About.com has a virtual walk across America program which can be motivating. Just a calendar or spreadsheet online are both great ways to log your steps. Even better if you can get a friend or family member involved who is competitive and you can encourage each other to see who can get to their own goal faster. Get creative in how you get in your steps daily. Sure getting to the gym and logging on an hour on the treadmill might not fit your lifestyle but you can always find new ways to get in steps. March while watching your favorite shows on television. Enjoy a stroll at a park or mall. Park at the far away side of the lot from where you are going. Even marching in place while cooking dinner can help add up those steps. Walk from one end of the store to the other several times before checking out. Carry one thing at a time from the laundry room to the bedroom or whatever you can think of. The key is making it work for you. You don't need a track or an expensive gym membership. All you need is motivation and determination. Even a rainy day shouldn't stop you from getting in your steps. The possibilities are endless. You might feel a little silly, but the end result is worth it.

There is some debate on whether or not its healthy to do the steps in ways that are not aerobic walking. One person might say its not worth doing it if you aren't setting aside time to get in the steps in a way that gets your heart rate up and the sweat going. After a while of getting in the steps, you will find that you want to get in the exercise at a faster pace. Let's face it - getting 10,000 steps in a 24 hours period can be a real challenging if you aren't doing at least a few at faster than normal walking pace. There are 86,400 seconds in a day. Of course you want to sleep at some point, so lets take off 8 hours of the day for that. This leaves 57,600 seconds to do the steps. Seems like plenty of time to get them in. If it took you a second per step, you would still have 47,600 seconds to live your life however you want. This translates to about 2 hours and 45 minutes used walking to get the 10,000 steps. (That is IF you were taking a step a second. I bet you can fit more than one into that second easily!) This can be done while you walk to the restroom, to your car, etc. Just less than 3 hours a day, while doing other activities if you want, will help you be healthier. Course if you do decide to power walk for 30 minutes you will find that those steps add up quicker and you are left with more time to spend however you choose....even laying in a recliner watching a movie. Sooner or later you get to where you want to do at least some of the steps at a faster pace. So by starting out slow you may end up doing the athletic activities you never thought you would desire to do. Seems a winning plan to me.

The entire goal of the program should always be to get you moving more. Your health is the most valuable thing you can have. Without it nothing else matters. Think you don't have time? Think again. If you don't do something for your health, you may find you have a lot less time than you thought you had. So take the challenge! Start counting and improving the number of steps you take each day. Who knows where it might lead you.