Whether it’s a brisk daily walk or high-intensity aerobic exercise, exercise is important for maintaining weight, sleeping better, and boosting your mental health. You may have been told that walking 10,000 steps is the key to achieving your fitness goals, but the meaning of step count is more nuanced.
between fitness tracker The number 10,000 is thrown around a lot among users. For example, try to walk a total of 10,000 steps (about 5 miles) each day, including all your normal daily activities. And yes, the small everyday things you do to move your body every day are important. For example, choosing to walk to work, parking further away, or taking the stairs counts as an activity. It’s great that our technology can help confirm that.
This story is part of Health in numbersCNET takes a deep dive into how to quantify your health.
But are there any real health benefits to achieving 10,000 steps every day? Or do you how Do you see that they are more important? What about other workouts that don’t increase your step count? Here’s what the science and experts say.
Exercise is not a panacea
Since everyone is different and has their own lifestyle, activity level, and goals, it makes sense that not everyone needs the same amount of exercise every day to stay healthy. Part of this comes down to each person’s individual goals and health concerns. But for the average person, are 10,000 steps a day really enough to be considered active and healthy? Ask Professor Paul Gordon, an exercise physiologist and chair of Baylor University’s School of Health, Human Performance, and Recreation. That’s a great goal and a good starting point, according to the authors.
“The average person takes 3,000 to 6,000 steps in a day, such as commuting to work or shopping. If you add in 30 minutes of exercise (about 3,000 steps), that adds up to about 10,000 steps,” Gordan said. say. He also added that when it comes to walking, more is better for your health.
So if you’re not just walking for exercise (or aren’t tracking your steps at all), how much exercise do you really need? To the Ministry of Health and Welfareyou need at least 150 minutes of moderate aerobic exercise (such as a brisk walk or swimming) or 75 minutes of vigorous exercise (such as a running or dance cardio class) each week. DHHS also recommends doing strength training (such as weightlifting or bodyweight exercises) twice a week.
If your goal is to achieve other specific fitness or aesthetic goals, maybe you need to exercise more It takes longer than the standard 150 minutes to reach your goal.
Where did 10,000 steps a day come from?
The 10,000 step recommendation has been mainstream for a while, but have you ever wondered where it came from in the first place? You might expect this recommendation to come from a medical source or government health agency. Well, actually, that’s not the case at all.
Speaking at fitness industry event KS, sports medicine doctor Dr. Jordan Metzl criticized the 10,000 step number as arbitrary. numbers have roots that it can be traced back to a Japanese walking club that adopted the term as part of its marketing slogan.
a JAMA Internal Medicine article It also points out that there is “limited scientific evidence” to support the claim that 10,000 steps a day is necessary for good health. However, the study found that participants who took more steps per day (over a four-year period) had lower mortality rates than those who took fewer steps.
The best way to track daily activity
If you have fit bit, apple watch Or if you use any other smartwatch, you know that these devices can track much more than just your steps. Tracking your total daily steps and distance walked is helpful, but is there a more effective way to measure activity using other factors? According to Gordan, step count is the best measure of physical activity. Not a value. “It does not take into account the intensity of the activity and has no effect on non-weight bearing activities (such as cycling).”
Since step count alone doesn’t account for intensity level, Gordin also recommends: heart rate monitor Helps measure the intensity of your exercise. After all, it’s technically possible to get 10,000 steps a day without actually getting your heart rate up or keeping it up for long. “We encourage you to participate in weekly activities. increase heart rate “Over a sustained period of time,” he said, a balanced exercise habit may be similar to exercising. Activities that get your heart rate up I go to yoga classes 4 days a week and 2 days a week to build strength and flexibility (such as brisk walking or running).
Apple Watch doesn’t just measure your steps; it also looks at your daily travel time.
What better goal than 10,000 steps a day?
If 10,000 steps a day seems like an arbitrary goal, what’s a good goal to work towards when it comes to activity? It’s time to spend. “Research shows that sitting for long periods of time is unhealthy, even if you do some activity every day. So interspersing activity throughout the day can be very beneficial. ”
The Mayo Clinic recommends that even if you’re getting the recommended amount of exercise each day, you should aim to replace your sedentary time with activity each day. Sitting too much increases your risk of metabolic problems, which can affect your health.
Even further away, recent research Researchers found that people who sit for more than 13.5 hours a day have very low overall activity levels compared to the amount of time they spend sitting, so an hour of exercise may not provide some of the health benefits. I discovered that it is not possible.
