Here, two walking experts explain how to sneakily incorporate more steps into your routine and the benefits you’ll get from doing so. They also share tips for setting a realistic step goal (Spoiler: it’s not necessarily 10,000). Lace up and read on. Turns out, this common guideline was likely born in 1965 when a Japanese company created a device named Manpo-kei, which translates to“10,000 steps meter.” “The name was a marketing tool,” I-Min Lee, M.D., associate epidemiologist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, and a researcher on physical activity said. Today, 10,000 is commonly used as the default goal on wearables and smartphones. Marketing tactics aside, 10,000 steps is still a good goal to work towards, says Michele Stanten, certified group fitness instructor and author of The Walking Solution. It’s not a one-size-fits all, however, and “you get benefits every time you move more,” Katy Bowman, M.S., biomechanist, and author of Movement Matters and Move Your DNA explains. Then, once you know your baseline, incrementally build from there. Say, for example, your starting daily average is 2,000 steps. Aim for 4,000 steps each day the next week, 7,000 the week after that, and 10,000 steps (or more; or less!) from there. That said, you don’t need to track your steps. “I don’t really think in terms of a ‘daily step count,’” says Bowman. “More of a whole body, moving as much as I can.” Walking for errands may seem to take more time, but it adds movement to your day as well as other worthy health benefits (like being in nature, for example). Even if you can’t leave your desk, you can still stand up, march in place, and stretch your arms overhead, says Stanten. Another idea: Whenever you take a phone call, stand up and step in place, she says. Walking more is also associated with a decreased mortality rate. A 2019 study by Lee of 16,741 older women found that those who took 4,400 steps a day over the course of a week had a 41% lower risk of dying than those who took 2,700 steps a day2 during the same period. The death rate progressively declined until about 7,500 steps a day, when the benefit leveled off. The findings suggest that even moderate increases in movement are associated with significant benefits. In other words, don’t feel discouraged if you’re not yet hitting 10,000 steps, because every step counts. Another plus: Walking can serve as active recovery from higher-intensity activities like running and CrossFit, says Stanten. It’s a great way to still get some cardio into your day, while being gentle on your joints.
