Ideas For How to Get in Your 10,000 Steps
Walking is one of the best exercises you can do for physical fitness, especially if you don’t have motivation to go to the gym every day. There are ways to walk throughout the day to get the Don’t Diet or Exercise recommended 10,000 steps a day, even without having to spend an hour walking.
Split Up Your Steps into Different Parts of the Day
One way you can get in your 10,000 steps is to think about the different times of the day when you are available to get more walking in, instead of just looking at that large number and becoming overwhelmed.
You don’t want to reach the end of the day and have to go for a 2-hour walk every night because you didn’t walk enough during the day. Think about the number of hours you are up and split that day up, such as knowing you are available for walking for 12 hours a day, so you would try to get in 833 steps about every hour.
Another way is to think about times of the day when you can have your longer walks, such as in the morning before work, during your breaks or when going shopping, before dinner, and in the evenings.
Always Take the Stairs
This is a very simple way to get in more steps during the day, no matter where you are. If you are on a business trip and your hotel room is on the third floor, take the stairs every time you go anywhere, since that is two full flights of stairs coming and going.
At work, go up the stairs, and when shopping in the mall, skip the elevator or escalator. These are small things you can do that increase your steps and give you a good workout at the same time.
Find the Long Route
You can also increase your steps and get closer to your 10,000 step goal by finding the long route to different places. Perhaps after you drop your son off in his kindergarten classroom, you walk the other way around the building to get to the parking lot. You know that way takes twice as long, or you walk all the way around the office building after parking further away instead of taking the shortcut you know about. Think about the many different ways you have to do a little more walking.
Take More Trips
Stop trying to carry two stacked laundry baskets on top of each other or bringing in 15 grocery bags at one time. These small tasks give you the opportunity to get a few more steps in. Bring just a few grocery bags in at a time so you have to keep going out to the car to get more. Carry just a single load of laundry at a time so you have to do more walking back and forth in your home.
Once you start breaking your steps down you can see that it’s not that difficult to get in your 10,000 steps each day. Before you know it you will be going over that number!
We’re all told that in order to live a healthy life, we should eat right and engage in physical activity. But is diet and exercise enough? Anthony explains why you should take 10,000 steps a day to stay healthy.