From maintaining a healthy weight to strengthening bones and muscles, walking is a powerful way to take care of your body. According to the CDC, walking is the most popular form of aerobic physical activity. Many of us have heard that we should aim for 10,000 steps a day to really see health benefits. We checked out the science behind the 10,000-step rule—and what we found might surprise you.
In this article, we’ll be diving deep into the concept of whether 10,000 steps a day is the magic number for health or not. We’ll share where this idea came from, whether it truly is the magic number, and how you can boost the number of steps you get in a day to improve your fitness.
Where did the 10,000 steps a day idea come from?
Whether you heard about the 10,000-step rule from a friend, or read about it on a fitness app, this message has been circling the health community for some time now. Oddly, there doesn’t appear to be any scientific data that 10,000 steps a day is the optimal goal for health. It's believed that the now-arbitrary goal was developed as a marketing tactic by a Japanese pedometer company in the 1960s.
Does that mean it should be thrown out? No, the 10,000 steps a day idea has started a renewed interest in being active, and that’s always a good thing.
How long does it take to walk 10,000 steps?
If you've decided that you're dedicated to hitting 10,000 steps per day, understanding the amount of time you'll need to get your steps in can be an important part of fitting your goal into your schedule. Depending on your pace, elevation changes as you're walking, and other factors, it'll take between one and two hours to walk 10,000 steps.
This doesn't mean that you need to block out two hours each day to walk, however. Small changes—like taking phone meetings while walking, going for a stroll after dinner, or making a point to move for a few minutes every hour—can seriously add up.
How many miles is 10,000 steps?
The number of miles you’ll cover with 10,000 steps can vary from person to person based on stride length. That said, for the average adult, 10,000 steps covers about 5 miles (8 kilometers).
Increasing movement is beneficial, whether you hit a 10,000 step goal or not. You'll receive the benefits of increased walking, including increased flexibility, increased blood flow, better heart health, improved balance and increased range of motion, as long as you're striving for that 10,000 mark, even if your daily distance coverage falls short of your 5-mile goal.
Keep in mind that 10,000 steps is a goal that works well for many people, but it’s not the best goal for every person. The benefits of walking more happen if you increase your energy expenditure, even if 10,000 steps a day is out of reach.
Is 10,000 steps really the magic number?
One study followed 2,110 adults with an average follow-up of 10.8 years. During this study, people taking at least 7,000 steps a day compared to those taking less than 7,000 steps a day had a 50% to 70% lower risk of mortality.
This doesn’t give any evidence that 10,000 steps is the magic number. But it does indicate that more exercise is better than less.
Amanda Paluch, a lead researcher studying the link between how many steps people take and cardiovascular disease, led a team that analyzed seven earlier studies that followed participants who wore step counters and tracked their cardiovascular health.
They brought all the studies together for a more diverse sample. They found that as the number of steps increased, the risk of cardiovascular disease decreased. Paluch explained that just increasing your steps incrementally could be helpful to your cardiovascular health. Rather than focusing on hitting an arbitrary number of steps each day, it may make more sense to work to increase your step goal by 5 or 10% each week until you get to a number that feels challenging-yet-beneficial for your fitness level.
How many steps a day should you be getting?
Taking less than 4,000 steps a day is considered a low level of physical activity. If you’re regularly walking less than that, and you aren’t limited by mobility or health conditions that prevent you from walking more, it might be a good idea to step up your step count—but that doesn’t mean you have to push for 10,000 each day.
The number of steps you should take each day depends on several factors.
Your age, health, current fitness levels, and fitness goals all play a role in determining the number of steps you should be taking each day.
The CDC’s recommendations for the amount of physical activity you should aim for are based on your current fitness level.
- Inactive - No extra physical activity taking place besides the basic movements required for daily life.
- Insufficiently active - Less than 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise per week, or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity exercise per week
- Active - 150 to 300 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise every week
- Highly active - More than 300 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise per week
What is moderate-intensity exercise?
Moderate-intensity exercise is anything that gets your heart pumping while increasing your respiratory rate (breathing). Brisk walking, biking, swimming, jogging, playing basketball, jumping rope, and playing volleyball all fall into the moderate-intensity category.
According to a study published in the medical journal The Lancet, people over the age of 60 who regularly walked about 7,000 steps per day cut their mortality rate in half. Younger people who walked about 8,000 steps a day saw a similar dip in mortality.
If you deal with certain health conditions, it's important to talk with your doctor before you begin a new exercise program.
How to add more steps to your day
Making small, sustainable changes that you can stick with over time can help you steadily increase your steps. Try these tips to add more movement to your day:
- Take the stairs. Taking the stairs whenever you can allows you to get your heart pumping without taking away from your normal daily routine.
- Walk with a dog or friend. Taking some time out of your day to walk your dog or to take a stroll with friends can be a great way to clear your head while also adding in more steps and getting your dog to exercise. If you work in an office, talk with your coworkers about heading out for a 10-to-15-minute stroll after you finish lunch to help add some movement to your day.
- Make parking decisions that help you move. Whether you’re taking a trip to the grocery store or meeting up at a friend's house, taking time to take those extra steps either by walking or parking further away from your destination might be a great way to add more steps into your daily routine.
- Listen while walking. Podcasts can be an engaging and fun way to get news, learn something new, or check out a great story. Saving your podcasts for when you're walking can help you add more movement and help you get more exercise.
- Walk while watching TV. If you’re in the habit of watching TV to unwind at the end of the day, consider adding some walking to your nightly routine. If you don't have a treadmill, consider looking into a walking pad—a small, foldable option that can help you increase your steps without shelling out for a major piece of gym equipment.
- Get up earlier. Getting up 15 minutes earlier to take a short walk before starting your day could add 1,000 to 2,000 steps to your daily routine, depending on how quickly you walk.
- Talk on the phone and walk. If you need to take a phone call, pop in your earbuds and walk the neighborhood while you talk.
If walking all of your steps at once feels daunting, break up your walks. Quick walks and workouts almost always feel less overwhelming than longer ones.
After looking for small places to add steps to your day, you may start noticing the benefits of increased activity. If you want more, consider these more detailed steps.
1. Get into a routine
A routine is the key to being more active. Once you’re in the habit of moving more, you’ll find it easier to get a higher step count each day.
Researchers at MIT found that the cue-routine-reward system is highly effective at building neurological connections that make something into a habit.
To do this, you need:
- Cue - A cue triggers your brain to get into workout mode. For instance, if you want to work out in the morning, your morning alarm could be your cue. Tie the activity into the cue regularly until it becomes a habit.
- Routine - Next, make it a routine. The routine is a habit or action that you do repeatedly, such as heading out for your walk.
- Reward - The reward is something tangible that makes you feel good about doing the activity. Sometimes, all you need is the endorphins your body makes. However, some people need a more tangible reward. At Evidation, we put your rewards on autopilot. After you hit a reward threshold, you'll be able to turn in your points for gift cards or cash rewards.
If you go through the cue-routine-reward cycle multiple times, you’re likely to build a habit. Soon, walking will be something you're so used to, you don't even think about it, and you're getting your steps in on a more regular basis.
Habit stacking can also work well. To do this, stack your walking habits with something you already do every day. Since the first item is already a routine, you'll be able to add the new one more easily.
For instance, if you listen to a certain playlist daily, grab some earbuds and listen while you walk. You’ll add steps more quickly and not have to add something new to your daily routine.
2. Start small and build
Choosing an overwhelming goal is one of the mistakes many people make when starting new exercise routines. Instead of taking on a large goal, start with increasing your steps in small increments each week, until you see yourself with a large jump in the number of steps you’re taking.
Start with adding an evening or morning walk, using the routine building system mentioned above. Once that’s a habit, add another walk at another time of day. Soon you’ll be closer to reaching your step goals by building a little at a time.
3. Build walking into your workday
Are there places in your workday where you can be active?
This doesn't necessarily have to look like taking a mile walk on your lunch break. Small changes add steps to your day and reduce the amount of time you spend sitting at your desk.
For instance, instead of sending an email to your coworker, walk across the office to talk in person. When you have a one-on-one meeting, if it doesn't require a computer, have the meeting while you and your coworkers take a walk.
4. Grab a friend
You’ll be more likely to stick with your walking goals if you do it with a friend. Having a friend will be an accountability piece, and you’ll find the walk more enjoyable as you socialize.
While the goal of getting more steps doesn't have anything to do with intensity, you might find that you walk faster and get more cardio in along with your steps, and you track more in a shorter period of time. Check out more ideas for increasing your cardiovascular health while you’re also working to increase your steps.
How many steps per day should I walk to achieve better health?
There’s no evidence or research that shows 10,000 steps is the optimal walking goal for health. In fact, the magic number of steps for one person may be different from another’s.
But that doesn’t change the fact that more steps could be better. What’s true is that walking more carries many health benefits.
If you’re getting 2,000 steps a day, increasing to 5,000 steps is going to improve your strength and cardiovascular health. If you add a beneficial yoga routine to your exercise routine, and get fewer steps, you’re still getting increased health benefits. The key is to get more active.
Whether that means you aim for 6,000 steps a day or 5,000, there’s no standard number that every single person should be aiming for. It changes based on several factors.
These factors include:
- Your current fitness and activity level
- Other activities you do to stay active
- Health conditions you might have
To determine the best step count to aim for, talk to your doctor, and then start walking!
Remember, the 10,000 step goal may be a bit of a health myth, but it has shed light on the fact that society lends itself toward sedentary living, and being more active is beneficial to your health.
Start getting rewards for tracking your steps with Evidation
At Evidation, we’re here to help you get the rewards you need to get active and take better care of your health. We make it easy and fun to stay active, and let you earn cash at the same time.
Evidation connects with multiple step-tracking apps to reward you for making positive changes to your health. Whether or not you choose to strive for 10,000 steps a day, you can get rewards for making active choices. Sync your step tracker with Evidation, and start earning points you can redeem for cash.
