How Many Steps You Need in a Day

While it’s great to work out 30-60 minutes per day, studies continue to show it’s really, REALLY important what you do the other 23 hours of your day, too. And trust me, I feel you.

The struggle can be SUPER real when it comes to getting enough steps each day, especially for those spending a lot of time at a desk or computer for work like I do these days!

 

A few biggies that help me get more steps:

• Walking around between lift sets: I average ~3k steps per workout session
• Tiny treadmill: I try to walk on it while doing computer work, scrolling social media, or even sometimes while watching movies or playing video games
• Centrally located living: whenever we’re hunting for a place to live, it’s a priority to find a place that is centrally located and super walkable. Being walking distance to coffee, grocery stores, etc makes such a big difference in comparison to having to drive everywhere!
• We got a dog: hahaha. I won’t drag myself out for a walk if it’s cold or rainy, but I sure will to take out our German Shepherd (:

 

2022 Study: Reducing Risk of Chronic Diseases Via Walking

A super cool study was published in the fall of 2022 by the US National Institute of Health’s All of Us research program. The study took place over 4 years time and participants were given Fitbit wristbands to track their step count and activity.

It was a super unique study, due to the use of electronic wearable devices – hooray for more reliable data collection and higher quality data to study!

Previous research has studied how higher step counts can greatly reduce the risk of diabetes, high blood pressure, and obesity. This 2022 study by NIH’s also found links that getting more steps may lower a person’s risk for acid reflux, depression, and sleep apnea!

 

8,200 Steps a Day May Keep The Doctors (& Weight) Away?

For years, “10K/Day” (aka 10,000 steps per day) was touted as the ~mAgIcAL~ step goal… but it didn’t really have any scientific backing or research to support it.

According to the CDC, most Americans average 3,000-4,000 steps per day. Walking less than 5,000 steps daily is considered sedentary. This means most Americans are unfortunately falling short of getting enough steps to positively benefit their health in a major way.

The NIH study suggested that getting ~8,200 steps (between 8,000-9,000 daily) may be the sweet spot for majorly reducing your risk of diabetes, high blood pressure, acid reflux, sleep apnea, depression, and obesity.

*Bonus fact: according to experts at Harvard, walking at least 20-30 minutes a day can reduce your risk of heart disease by about 30%!

 

How to Track Your Steps & Easily Increase Step Count

• Wear a Smartwatch (Apple, Garmin, Fitbit, etc)
• Rock a Pedometer ($15-$20 on Amazon)
• Carry Your Phone (note: has to be “on” you to track your steps )

 

Tips on Getting More Steps:

• Go for a 5-10 min walk after each meal
• Walk your dog for 10-30 min, 2-3x/day
• Walk to check the mail daily
• Park farther away in parking lots
• Take the stairs (rather than the elevator)
• Treadmill for 5-10 min before/after workouts
• Walk around between lift sets
• Get a mini treadmill for under your desk
• Listen to a podcast while you walk

 

TLDR (Too Long Didn’t Read)

• It’s great to spend 30-60 min working out, but how you spend the other 23 hours of each day is really important, too. Most Americans average ~3000-4000 steps per day
• Getting ~8,200 steps daily may greatly reduce your risk of diabetes, high blood pressure, depression, acid reflux, sleep apnea, and obesity. Walking and moving more throughout the day may also improve your mood, digestion, productivity, and ability to concentrate
• Find ways to move more during your day so that they become part of your daily routine and you don’t really have to think about it
• If your step count is low right now, maybe don’t try to go from 0 to eleventy billion. Increase the average by 1,000 steps. Once you master that, another +1,000. And so on.

 

Where To Go From Here

I’m always posting educational content regarding nutrition, fitness, and sharing what I’m up to on my Instagram.

You can also follow us on the Paragon Training Methods Instagram for tons of free workouts and more tips to help you look and feel your best!