To think that 10,000 steps is a lot?

[Bluebelliphant]

I have been feeling quite pleased with myself as I've been easily smashing the recommended step amount of 2,000.

However I've just found out it's in fact 10,000. That seems a lot?

Do others manage that every day?

I think it’s also worth remembering that all
Steps aren’t made equal. I have done 6000 so far today, 2000 of them where getting ready and dragging Ds to school. The next 4000 where a brisk walk to get jobs done so as someone lucky to be relatively fit really only the last 4000 will make any true impact.

However for someone who for whatever reason can’t do much then the “low level” steps would probably be more beneficial

It’s swings and roundabouts and not as simple as “10000 is the magic number”

This thread has been very interesting to compare!

I have been trying to hit 10,000 steps a day since last end of last year. I find it quite tricky!

I have an iWatch and iPhone that I carry in my pocket so I consider my step count to be pretty reliable.

Does anyone bother to read the thread?

I've posted twice to say that 10K steps= health is myth.

Can't be bothered to repeat it all, but there is no science behind it and the 10K came from Japan where it was the translation for a device measuring steps.

There are loads of articles online about this.

The important thing is to get active and semi breathless for some time each day.

Please look into the myth of the 10K steps. Google is your friend.

Posted to soon!

1,000 steps for 10mins waking seems pretty consistent. I am a fast walker and I get this on average. If I really go for it I can do around 4,000 steps in 35ish mins.

I really don't think those saying 10k steps is just an hour walking or that they can do 2k in 10mins are counting their steps accurately.

It is a shame people are so quick to share their massive step counts with little understanding that maybe, just maybe, their steps are not accurate!

However that aside whatever you use to count your steps if you look at what you have averaged over the last month and try to improve it that can only be good.
I hit 315,000 steps last month and was ecstatic lol

I don’t understand why people can’t just get out the house and in the fresh air and walk

because they live somewhere rural without pavements

because they live somewhere urban without a nice park to walk in

because they work in a 9-5 job "chained" to a desk

because for a lot of the year the evenings are dark so they don't feel safe going out alone

jingling I think (if you read the thread :-)) that lots of posters have said that even if there is no science behind it that it is an arbitary guide that helps them to gauge their exercise for the day. Which is absolutely fine and a good thing.

if people can't get out and walk then it doesn' matter! As long as you are doing something active for 30 mins a day that makes you breathless. I find walking easy and free as I live "somewhere rural with no pavements" so can cross a road and be on a footpath within about 3 minutes. Lots of posters here don't do 10000 steps but go to the gym instead.

I do think EVERYONE of sound body should at least try to do some exercise every day.

10k is 4miles for me.

Arbitrary nonsense like most fitness crap.

Haven't read the full thread but I've got a Fitbit and it seems pretty accurate (I check it compulsively). My walking pace is consistently 120 steps/minute and running is around 140 steps/minute.

Pram/trolley/lawnmower steps don't get picked up properly but I have to remember to take my Fitbit off when doing lots of stirring in cooking!

I aim for 12,000 steps per day as that challenges me but is generally do-able (longish walk on my commute + dropping off DC at school) but I don't think I've ever done under 3k unless ill in bed. That really would feel unbelievably sedentary.

I do find that knowing my activity level for the day makes me do more walking so I'll walk to the shops etc when previously I'd have driven. Depends how you use it and how motivating you find it. Comparisons with other people are pretty useless - the point is to increase your own movement.

I think Fitbit have created a deluded nation who have unrealistic ideas of their activity level. Not wanting to burst anyone’s bubble but I’ve worked out a table of steps/distance/time. If you run, you will cover the mile more quickly but the steps will be LESS. The poster claiming 23k steps is walking 9 miles which will take about 3 hours. Perfectly possible but not realistic for most people. The 10k step goal (4 miles) will take about 1 hour 20 of walking, so challenging in a desk based job. So, Fitbit users look away NOW...

I think it is more 2k steps = 1 mile looking back over my steps/miles for the last week.

The irony is that if OP does 2,500 steps today rather than her 2,000 steps yesterday the Fitbit is serving her far better and has a much better chance of improving her health than the many people who came on this thread to tell us all that their (probably inaccurate) Fitbit counter has made them feel smug about doing 'enough' steps just around the house and so they can just rest on their laurels.

Lozter I’m not sure why your table is alarming for Fitbit users? I would expect that much activity to reach 10,000 (which I aim for daily) and the only times I’ve been over 20 has been on holiday when you are literally walking around Paris or wherever for hours and hours at a time.

@lozster I can watch my steps go up in time with my steps on my Fitbit. What works for stride and speed is not going to works for someone else. Instead of trying to bash people and calling a nation of Fitbit users deluded why not just be happy that people are up and moving more!

I think it is more 2k steps = 1 mile looking back over my steps/miles for the last week

yes, and yes, I walk for at least an hour a day. Not alarming in the slightest!

Tunnocks - reading the thread, it seems to be Fitbit users particularly who claim high step counts when not seemingly moving very much (eg before leaving the house in the morning/watching box sets/when hungover or ill in the house). Fitbit users also seem to be the ones shocked at others NOT achieving high step counts. That’s my observation based on this thread and it tallies with my real life experience of speaking to colleagues doing similar jobs who report high step scores with seemingly little walking. Does it matter? Well, no if you use the steps counted as a performance measure relative to yourself and are generally seeking to do more. Where it can matter is if people think they have done ‘enough’ so don’t do anymore or judge others as lazy based on a comparison to their own inflated step count.

@JinglingHellsBells it's been mentioned over and over on this thread, it doesn't matter! If it gets people moving and gives them a goal to work towards - who cares where it came from!

There was a study, details escape me right now, that debunked the 10000 steps and said much more beneficial was just 20 mins of heart rate raising exercise (spin bike, hit, even a brisk/fast walk). But of course, 10000 steps is better than 5000 and 2000 better than none. Its all relative. There was a study, details escape me right now, that debunked the 10000 steps and said much more beneficial was just 20 mins of heart rate raising exercise (spin bike, hit, even a brisk/fast walk). But of course, 10000 steps is better than 5000 and 2000 better than none. Its all relative.

Rather than chasing after steps (pun intended), I do short hiit workouts at home. There are loads of YouTube videos but these guys are consistently good:
www.fitnessblender.com/

People short of time could try the seven minute scientific workout. This is often the only way I can work some more exercise in to my day. I get up at 6 for work, drive 45 minutes, often get no lunch and frequently sit for long periods. I leave at 4.30, drive another 45 minutes, do a school pick up, homework and bedtime. DH gets back at 7, by which point I am starving need to eat, do a few things and I’m in bed knackered at 10. I fit a hiit in whilst my DS watches 20 min or half an hour of telly before he goes to bed. It’s the best I can do at the moment.

When I checked this morning phone was 1300 and fit bit was 1900 which makes sense since I don't always carry my phone around before going out the door and once i got to work I put it away and did a few bits before checking both.

I don't think it's much. If you break it down into smaller amounts throughout the day its very doable. Add a walk to the shop or around the park a couple of times a day and when you're at home do lots of separate activities that involve movement ie take one item upstairs at a time.

But of course, 10000 steps is better than 5000 and 2000 better than none

Exactly.

And we know that a sedentary lifestyle is unhealthy.

Add a walk to the shop or around the park a couple of times a day

1. Why?

1. What about people who are at work most of the day?

No on a day I don’t walk anywhere I do 8,000 but usually over 10,000 without really walking far.

“No on a day I don’t walk anywhere I do 8,000“

Rubbish.