Walking 10,000 steps: 10 ideas to surpass that number on a daily basis

Walking around the house while taking calls, avoiding elevators or parking far away are key to reaching the daily movement target.

10,000 steps a day are recommended by the World Health Organization WHO to be able to say that we are not sedentary people. And not only that, but if we combine this number of steps (equivalent to about seven kilometers) with a good diet, they can be our vehicle to lose weight.

Now that many continue to telework, and can not walk to work, you may think it is more difficult to walk and keep moving, but nothing could be further from the truth, the most important thing to reach the goal of 10,000 steps is to keep the mind active.

With the arrival of cold weather, with rainy days and temperatures that may not invite you to walk in the street, we can add some habits to our routine at home to “add steps” to the daily count.

How to reach 10,000 steps without leaving home

1. If we make or receive a call, as well as look at our cell phone to check something or look at social networks, we can do it standing up, while we move around our house. In this way, we add movement to an activity that we repeat assiduously.
2. When it’s time to set and clear the table for lunch and dinner, we can, instead of carrying everything “in one trip”, take things little by little. Even if it sounds silly, just carry a fork, and then a glass, and then a knife, so we increase the movement.
3. Another way to move around the house, which we already do, is cleaning. When we vacuum or mop, when we dust and clean the windows, we are not only moving and walking, but we are making wide movements that help us to be more mobile and stretch.
4. It is easier to apply these tips when we live in a large house than in a small apartment. If our house does not have much space, something more than common in the cities, we can also spend some time walking in place, lifting our knees and taking steps without moving forward.

Adding steps on the daily commute to work

If we are able to overcome and overcome laziness, or we continue to leave every day to go to work, we can also modify some of our routines to walk more and meet our goal.

1. If you are going somewhere by bus, you can get off one or two stops earlier and walk to your destination. The same if you go by car, you can park it a little further away and then walk to your destination.
2. Avoid elevators: take the stairs if you are at work, at home or if you go shopping. This way you add steps to your daily routine.
3. The pace at which we walk influences, but that does not mean that walking at a leisurely pace does nothing. It is better if it is done fast, tightening the abdomen, or with some load, like weights in your hand.

Strengthening the body to walk more and better

If they are not directly focused on walking more, they do help us to improve our physical condition and, therefore, make it less expensive for us to reach our daily 10,000 steps:

1. Maintain a correct posture, while working, at bedtime, during meals… your back and joints will thank you for it.
2. We can add some exercise routine to our daily routine, to increase our muscular strength and breathing capacity, both key elements to be able to walk better and with more resistance.
3. We should not “cheat ourselves“. Just because we go to the gym for an hour does not mean that we are active people. The important thing is to be in constant movement, to take walks around the house or the office, not to settle in and, of course, to take walks, lots of walks!

The transition from walking to running.

If we have been physically inactive for years and we start running without previous preparation, it is very likely that we will end up with discomfort or injuries. Therefore, it is very important to have a progressive preparation. One of the biggest mistakes we make is “wanting to make up for lost time”. The recommendation? “Have a realistic goal, be patient and, little by little, build the foundations to be able to achieve it”.

The best way to start is with the “CaCo method“. This consists of starting with half an hour of continuous exercise, but in which the time we walk is twice as long as the running time. A good start is to vary between four minutes of walking and two minutes of running. From there, the time dedicated to running should be increased progressively, depending on the physical condition of each person.