An easy piece of advice to burn calories, lose weight, and improve fitness is to walk more. Health experts recommend a daily goal of ten thousand steps, which works out to around five miles. They believe this number helps reduce many health conditions like high blood pressure and heart disease. This count is also the same as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention CDC’s recommendation of at least one hundred and fifty minutes of moderate exercise per week.
But if you are pinned to a desk during the week, reaching your step goal can be a challenge. The CDC states that less than 50% of Americans reach ten thousand-steps. However, there are several approaches you can follow to incorporate more walking into your day. Read on to discover some ways to increase your daily step count.
Use an activity tracker
A wearable fitness tracker can be your walking companion and your motivational tool. You can use a pedometer, fitness band, or phone application for a real-time check on how much you are moving throughout the day. Research has shown that people who track their steps walk more frequently because of higher awareness and reinforcement of the goal set.
Moreover, many fitness devices encompass reminders to get up and walk around. A method for beginners is to gradually increase the target goal by around two thousand steps per day to reach the required level.
Go exploring
Even if only around the neighborhood, it is possible to increase your steps by taking the time to explore your landscape in a new way and finding new routes or trails you have not explored before.
If you live in a busy city, fitness professionals recommend you start completing your errands on foot. For example, instead of ordering groceries online, head on over to the market to grab the essentials, choose places that are farther than the most convenient shops and get those extra steps crossed off the list.
Get competitive
Organize a step challenge with your family, friends, and colleagues, and turn your challenge into a motivational team effort.
A study has found that people were more effective at increasing physical activity when collaborating with peers for a collective goal or through competing against one another.
In addition, competing with others boosted step counts for several months after the initial intervention had ended.
Get active at work
You can stroll back and forth near your desk when taking personal calls even if your business calls force you to stay seated. There are several options for standing desks and walking pads, and in certain cases, business owners or insurance organizations will cover the cost!
Going down the hallway to get more coffee, going to the copier, or even using the restroom? Choose the restrooms or coffee shop that is farthest from your workstation. You will be able to log in additional steps a couple of times per day.
It’s even better if you can include your staircase – on average, you can add around three hundred steps to your day with each minute spent climbing stairs, and even going down the stairs adds to your steps and burns calories.
At the top of every hour, aim to steal 5 minutes away from your desk to get some extra steps in.
Walk the dog
Take the dog for a walk. If you do not own a dog, you can volunteer to walk dogs at an animal shelter or join a friend to walk their dog. Or if you’re looking for an extra incentive, you can sign up on any of the popular dog walking Apps and get paid to walk other peoples’ dogs – all while getting some exercise for yourself.
One study shows that a person of average weight can burn around two hundred calories per hour of walking a dog at a comfortable pace.
Meeting your step count each day requires commitment to put your health first, so remind yourself that it is a choice you are taking regardless of whether you feel motivated or not; once you start moving and the blood starts flowing, motivation will kick in!
Do you have trouble getting started? Do not hesitate to reach out for assistance.
Our team at The Silhouette Clinic is ready to work directly with you and create a plan tailored to your individual needs; we are here to assist you in your journey towards achieving your body your way.
Sources:
https://www.eatthis.com/secrets-surpassing-daily-step-goal/
https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/fitness/in-depth/10000-steps/art-20317391
https://www.everydayhealth.com/fitness/how-to-fit-in-more-steps-every-day/
https://www.healthline.com/health/how-many-steps-a-day#How-to-stay-motivated