how many steps do you do a day?

[hareclive]

on average? Mac mum and minimum etc?

I am interested because I have a chronic illness which affects my mobility and causes fatigue but I try and walk, for all the usual reasons. I know that 10,000 is what everyone is supposed to aim for but I'm trying to gauge what is normal/average. I used to aim for 6000 a day but it has declined over the last year especially and my daily average is just over 2000 a day. this includes 2 or 3 days a week when I stay in bed mostly and do 200/300 steps....so some days I am still walking 6000

just interested in comparing, if anyone doesn't mind sharing?

I think a lot of people just walk far more slowly than they realise and agree with @faerietales we've really normalised small amounts of exercise as being 'the norm.'

Charring Cross to Westminster (where I work) is 1.2 miles. Doing that twice a day is already 2.4 miles. But, I see people get off my train in the morning and head down to the tube at Embankment. I also then see many of them getting off at Westminster - by the time they have waited for the tube, and gone up/down, it's no faster than walking. I even work with people who admit to doing it. But it is lazy so, being honest, it's no wonder we have such an obesity crisis in this country.

When I go into the office, I still do at least 15K steps a day between walking to/from the station both ends, dog walking and routine movement. I have an incredibly sedentary job and it's amazing how quickly steps add up. The fact that some people think 3K steps is a lot is mind boggling to me.

I’m on a long streak of 12.5k min steps a day. I work, have kids and a dog. I go out early with the dog so most days out 6-7am before work. Also run 3x a week, and have a sit stand desk for work. I will walk whilst listening to a podcast. My parents are both in their 80s and believe in a walk every day. Honestly it really is use or lose it. Walking is such and easy cheap form of exercise do it whilst you can.

I'm retired so it varies between about 2k if I'm just watching a good series on the telly and 30k if we go for a very long walk. I try to go for a short walk most days though even if it's only to the retail park just over a mile away, the low days are usually when it's bad weather

That level of inactivity is incredibly bad for your long term health. Now obviously if you swim or cycle most days that would be different.

It probably is, however I work 50+ hours a week and care for a child with significant complex needs the rest of the time.

I don’t have 2hrs a day to swim, walk or cycle, and even if I did - I’d use them for something like else because that time is so limited that I’d rather use it for something I enjoy!

I try to walk quite fast when I walking around town, at least 4 miles an hour, the Apple Watch seem to register it as exercise then, occasionally it mistakes my walk for a run if I forget to start it so I must be going a reasonable pace. Though this does seem to be my pace now for all walks and I find myself leaving poor DH behind sometimes and hard to go slower unless there is a big hill.

10k steps for me is about 4.5 miles (I’m fairly short). It can vary a lot depending on stride length and height. School run and back is 1.3 miles so that twice a day is 2.6 miles already and 4k steps or so if I do absolutely nothing else. Then the other steps are just from stuff like walking to shop instead of driving, walking with DD2 to activities, taking her to nursery and back, the under-desk walking pad when I am working, just choosing to walk to the gym for exercises classes or to my volunteer roles in evenings instead of taking the car wherever possible. Plus the incidental couple of thousand just from moving around normally. We’ve changed lifestyle a lot to incorporate walking, anywhere local we will always walk, kids included.

It doesn’t even take that much longer with some stuff. The school run for example, it takes 10-15 mins on way there, 10 on way back (I’m faster solo!). By the time I’ve got DD1 into car, strapped in, driven for a few mins, found a space when it’s full of school drop-off traffic, parked, got her out again and taken her to the playground, I could have just about walked in the same time anyway.

Working hard to keep my yearly average at 10,000. Some days I may only do 7 to 8 but then others I do 13 to 14. I’m a bit obsessed so will go out for a walk in the evening if I’ve had a low number during the day

why are you being rude?

If I did just move from bed to sofa to desk, I would hit less than 1000 steps. I know because I've done it some days. It takes effort to rack up another 4000. There's no way you're hitting 8000 on your evening walk. So you probably don't do more than 5000 either.

Just checked my watch app - over the last month I've averaged 9k steps a day

On working days probably less than 1000. Yes, I know it's bad and I need to change unless I want to die an early ajd painful death. Planning to change any day now.. 😊

There have been some studies recently thst show yhst you get maximum health benefit around 8000 steps (especially if you are unfit like me) and then thr benefits trail off. 8000 is still hard if you've got a sedentary job and are a lazy, disorganised git.

@SalmonDreams It really is hard if you're got a job sitting on your ass like me. I have to force myself out for walks at lunchtime and in the evening, when I really don't want to. But then, once I've done it I feel a lot better about myself.

@DancingLions I never said I was doing 8,000 on an evening walk. I try to do 7,000 on a working day. It can vary as i don't always do the school run but 2,000 is school run, I do about another 2,000 just moving around the house generally and I'll do a 40-60 min walk in the evening - which will be between 4,000-6,000. If I need to go out to the shops at lunch, they'll be more added on there. At the weekend, I'll do 'walks' of 2-3 hours on top of general activity.

I know I do more than 5,000 a day @DancingLions as I track it so it's a weird thing for you to come at me about. Yes, it's an 'effort' there's nothing wrong with that? I make the effort to walk as two weeks ago I did the London Moonwalk, and it's hard to do 26 miles if you've not regularly active.

I do an average of 12k a day but I track on my phone so it doesnt include steps taken indoors (and I do my cardio indoors as well so doesnt track my mini stepper or exercise bike!).
This is less then I used to do simply because my dogs have all gotten old and dont walk as far any more, Id def be up for more walking and usually take myself out for a walk without them once a day.

I grew up in a household where you walked everywhere and I dont drive so walk literally everywhere. Its easy to fit your steps in if its the only way to get to work or the shops to buy chocolate!😁

I also gave a chronic illness. Some days are better than others but I aim to do an average of 5000 steps each week. January and February were bad months for me health wise and so my average step count for the year is down but I’m hoping to make up the difference this summer.

An average of 12017 a day in the last 30 days. It is the only exercise I do. I use Pacer to track my steps.

Surely it depends how long the walk is. Sometimes i walk for 90 minutes in the evening which is around 10000 steps for me

That's what I thought. Sometimes I walk for 20 minutes, sometimes I do 2 hours. Depends of what else is going on.