10k steps per day for better health

This post was originally published in 2007. It’s an oldie but a goodie! Do you know how many steps you are taking per day?

Do you know how many steps you take each day? I didn’t really think much of it until I came across this article. Research now indicates that walking at least 10,000 steps per day will cut your risk of developing certain diseases/conditions. I’ve always been more of a runner but after having a baby and then knee surgery, I decided to spend more time on low impact activities. When I heard about the 10k steps per day guideline I saw it as kind of a challenge. (I’ve always been a numbers nerd!) I thought to myself, I won’t just get 10k steps per day, I’ll get 15k! I purchased a nifty pedometer (like the Omron Digital Pedometer ), clicked it on my waist and discovered that taking 10k steps per day is a lot more challenging than I thought!

Now, I’m a pretty active person and spend a lot of time chasing a toddler around the house all day long. In addition to that, I try to walk my dog at least one time per day and take a long walk by myself at night. Even with all of this, I was barely hitting my 10k mark! No wonder it is so hard for the average person to meet this goal. In a study by the American Institute for Cancer Research, middle aged women had an average step count of less than 5000 per day! This is just the average—imagine how few steps most sedentary woman are getting?

So where do you rank?

Your first step (no pun intended!) is to get yourself a pedometer. Chart your daily steps for at least three days and then challenge yourself to increase your steps each day. Keep a notebook or a running tally of what your steps are for the week so you can make sure that you at least average 10k per day.

Here are my numbers for the past 3 days:

Tuesday: 6588 (need to get in another walk tonight!)
Monday: 12788 (yay!)
Sunday: 7892

As you can see, I didn’t meet my goal on Sunday, so therefore I am going to make sure to exceed my goal today, even if that means hopping on the treadmill tonight after the kids go to sleep.

Here are some ideas to help you increase your daily steps:

• park your car in the farthest corner of the parking lot
• if possible, leave your car at home and walk to work or the store
• skip the elevator or escalator and take the steps whenever possible
• don’t use the remote control, get up and change the channel instead
• walk the dog at least once a day. Not only is it good for you, it’s good for the dog too!
• find a walking buddy and make a date to walk each day
• if the weather is bad, go for a walk at your local mall. Just don’t get distracted by all the sales!

These are just some of my ideas, do you have any to add?

Challenge yourself and your friends to get 10,000 steps per day!

What are you waiting for? Put those shoes on and get walking!

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Tagged as: 10k steps per day, exercise, omron pedometer, pedometer, walking, workout mommy