In an effort to be more active + healthy, one day I woke up and decided I should start walking 10,000+ steps a day. You always hear it’s “the magic number” of daily steps to aim for but I never really knew why beyond the obvious: increased activity + exercise, more calories burned, etc. If you’re curious, it can also help to lower blood pressure, combat depression + anxiety, improve blood sugar and more.
A screenshot from my recent Fitbit activity.
My goals are to be healthier, more active and to trim + tone things up! PS— I talk more on that in my End of Summer Health + Fitness Goals post here. Walking seemed like an obtainable goal, something more doable to me than “let’s go to the gym everyday” when I don’t even go to begin with. While in a perfect world I would love to do that too, something I’ve figured out this year is the power of starting small. It’s normal to want the “end result” but small, consistent action and building habits is how you get there.
Initially my goal was to walk 10K every day for a week. After completing that, I kept at it and yesterday marked my three week streak. Here’s how it's been going!
After consistently sticking with it, I can say that 10,000 steps a day is definitely a doable challenge. The average person walks roughly 5,000 steps per day so while it didn’t seem too difficult of a goal in the beginning, it has definitely been both a mental and physical test daily. Doing this challenge has made me realize I've been walking less during the day than I expected. I'm pretty active during the day but also spend a lot of time at my desk so most days I have 5,000-6,000 steps in when I leave work. Although I never wore my Fitbit much before doing this, I think it’s a safe assumption that on average I would probably have ended my day with around 7,000 steps or less.
What I also noticed was that challenging myself to start with a one week goal + wearing my Fitbit have been a huge part of my accountability. I know I’m physically capable of walking 10,000 steps, I just had to mentally prepare myself in the beginning. Wearing my Fitbit has also created a constant reminder throughout the day of my goal + helps me to keep tracking my progress! Because I know I have to get my steps in, I've noticed that I challenge myself to move more and do more tasks that require activity.
Since I leave work most days with the 5,000-6,000 steps, I've also had to add in a lot of walking late at night. This is where it can get challenging-- once it's dark out and I'm tired, the last thing I really want to do is walk around my neighborhood to get my steps in. I usually expect that I'll have to do it so I'm already mentally prepared for it, however it also pushes me to get as many steps in throughout the day as I can. I also try to keep my mindset on my goal + why I'm doing it. It's something I chose to do + only helps me so if I quit or skip, I'll be the one who is disappointed and missing out!
While it's been a challenge, I also feel extremely proud for accomplishing my goal and continuing on with it. I feel better about increasing my activity level but also more confident in following through and being disciplined. If you're wanting to walk 10,000 steps a day or increase your overall activity, I think making a step goal is a great way to go about it. Here are some tips that I've found to be a huge help to me!
- A fitness tracker is an (obvious) must-have. I think it's super important to be able to track your starting point in the beginning (know how many steps you have been walking before making a goal) + being able to track your progress throughout the day
- Start small! If you normally only walk 1,000 steps a day, then slowly build up to your ideal step goal. Because I already walked close to 7,000 steps per day, it was manageable for me to push myself to 10,000. If I normally walked a lot less than that, I would've likely started with a smaller goal of maybe 2,500 or 5,000 steps.
- Wear comfy walking shoes + socks
- Stay hydrated!
- Walk early in the day or later at night when weather conditions are more ideal for walking
- Pace yourself + try to get as many steps throughout the day as possible
I also forgot to mention that you'll likely feel the burn + some soreness! My legs + feet have definitely been feeling the aftermath of the increased activity. Hopefully over time that will turn into stronger, more toned muscles. Until then, my epsom salt is coming in handy!
Do you track your steps daily?
I love sharing my goals + fitness updates with you all! Should you click on or make a purchase through the links in this post, I'll earn some money to keep on shopping! Pretty cool, huh? :)
