For general fitness, you’ve probably heard that you should get 10,000 steps per day.

While 10,000 is an easy number to remember and an admirable goal, it doesn’t appear to come from a scientific study. Instead, it was likely popularized by a Japanese pedometer that was sold around the time of the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. This pedometer was called Manpo-kei, which means “10,000 steps meter” in Japanese. It was more of a marketing slogan than anything else, but it caught on with the Japanese public at the time.

Even though it has a questionable past, is 10,000 truly the magic number? In today’s blog, we’ll attempt to answer this question. We’ll also discuss ideas on how to increase your daily steps and the benefits of getting as many steps as possible at our Thornton gym.

A Recent Study Looking at Step Counts

The medical community has said for decades that physical activity is good for us, but didn’t know exactly how many steps per day were needed to lower mortality risk or whether the intensity of those steps made a difference.

That’s why, in a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association on March 24, 2020, researchers sought to answer these questions.

The study tracked approximately 4,800 participants who wore accelerometers for up to seven days per week between 2003 and 2006. The participants were then followed to track their mortality rates through 2015. Researchers found that, compared with taking 4,000 steps per day:

• 8,000 steps per day was associated with a 51% lower risk for all-cause mortality (death from all causes)
• 12,000 steps per day was associated with a 65% lower risk
• There was no association between step intensity and risk of death after accounting for the total number of steps taken per day

The authors of the study found that higher step counts were associated with lower all-cause death rates across the board, among both men and women with different ethnic backgrounds.

The findings of this study not only show that the benefits of walking go up with step count, but also that people who can’t reach 10,000 steps per day still benefit from the activity.

How Many Steps Per Day Should You Aim For? It Depends!

For general fitness, it’s advantageous to aim for 10,000 steps per day, but this figure may rise or fall depending on your age, current fitness level, and health goals.

The average American walks 3,000-4,000 steps per day, which roughly equates to 1.5-2 miles. Doctors generally consider fewer than 5,000 steps per day to be sedentary. To find out how many steps you should take, start tracking how many steps a day you walk now to form a baseline. If that baseline is below 5,000, gradually add to your steps per day until you reach your goal.

If you’re already walking 10,000 steps a day – or if you’re fairly active but trying to lose weight – you’ll probably want to set your daily step goal higher.

Age can also impact how much you benefit from adding steps to your daily count. In a 2019 study, researchers found that women in their 70s who walked as few as 4,400 steps per day decreased their risk of premature death by 40%, compared to women walking 2,700 or fewer steps per day. That means older women who completed fewer than half the standard 10,000 steps tended to live longer than those who walked even less. The risks of early death continued to drop among women walking more than 5,000 steps per day, but benefits plateaued at about 7,500 daily steps.

On the other end of the spectrum, some fitness trainers are telling their clients to set 12,000 steps per day as their goal because it encourages them to be more active outside of the gym. Trainers say that the movement you produce outside the gym will reduce the amount of time you need inside the gym, and walking is an easy way to add more movement to your routine wherever you are.

What Are the Benefits of Walking More Inside and Outside the Gym?

Walking is a low-impact, moderate-intensity exercise that doesn’t require any special skills or equipment. It also offers a range of health benefits and few risks. In addition to extending your life, walking can also help you:

• Improve circulation — Walking brings up your heart rate, lowers your blood pressure, and wards off heart disease.
• Lose weight — Walking briskly for 30 minutes burns about 200 calories. Over time, burning calories by walking can help you lose weight and maintain weight loss.
• Sleep better — Studies have found that women ages 50-75 who walked for one hour in the morning were more able to relieve their insomnia compared to women who didn’t walk.
• Slow down mental decline — One study found that men between the ages of 71 and 93 who walked more than a quarter of a mile per day had half the incidence of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease compared to those who walked less. In another study, women 65 and over who walked 2.5 miles per day had a 17% decline in memory compared to a 25% decline in women who walked less than half a mile per week.
• Strengthen your bones — Walking can slow down or stop the loss of bone mass for those with osteoporosis. One study of post-menopausal women found hat 30 minutes of walking each day reduced their risk of hip fractures by 40%.
• Support your joints — Since most joint cartilage has no direct blood supply, it gets its nutrition from joint fluid that circulates as we move. Walking provides movement and compression that “squishes” cartilage and brings oxygen and nutrients to the area.
• Strengthen your muscles — Walking works your leg and abdominal muscles. It can even activate your arm muscles if you pump them as you walk. This increases your strength and range of motion. It also shifts pressure to your muscles instead of your joints.
• Improve balance — By strengthening your bones, joints, and muscles, walking can improve your balance and reduce your risk of falls as you get older.
• Improve your mood – Walking releases endorphins (your body’s natural painkillers) into your bloodstream. Studies have shown that higher step counts can improve your mood and mental health.
• Prevent serious diseases — Walking reduces your risk of developing heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and some cancers.

Ways to Improve Your Walking Program Inside and Outside the Gym

While taking a nice morning or evening walk every day — inside or outside the gym — is a wonderful way to get your steps in, there are many other ways to increase your steps. Here are a few tips to consider.

• Try Nordic walking at AFAC gym — Our Nordic walking classes involve the use of poles to work out both the upper and lower body.
• Walk uphill — Walking uphill burns more calories than jogging or running on a flat surface, and it also activates more muscle fibers. Try increasing the incline on your treadmill or hiking on some of the many hilly trails in our area.
• Climb stairs — Climbing stairs and using the StairMaster can increase the intensity of your walk and fires up your posterior chain of muscles (calves, hamstrings, and glutes).
• Focus on objects in the distance — This can increase your walking speed by up to 23%.
• Listen to music — Taking your steps in time with the beat of pop music can help you walk at a rate of 3.5 to 5 miles per hour.
• Take your dog for more walks — If you don’t have a dog, volunteer to walk dogs at an animal shelter or join friends as they walk their dogs.
• Include your family — Go on a walk or hike with your loved ones as a fun activity you can do together.
• Schedule walks during your workday — Put reminders on your phone or calendar to take short walking breaks through the day.
• Walk while you’re on the phone — Instead of sitting while you chat on the phone, take your phone with you and walk while you talk.
• Walk while shopping — Walk to the store if it’s close enough. Visit your local malls instead of shopping online. Park further way from the door.

Supplement Your Step Counts at AFAC Gym

Overall, the jury is still out on exactly how many steps it takes to reach specific goals, and it depends on the person, too. But one thing is certain – moving more is always better for your health.

Whether you’re trying to reach 10,000 steps per day or you need help determining how many daily steps you should even take, AFAC gym is here to support you. Our team of personal trainers can tailor a fitness program to match your fitness level and goals. We can also show you our wide array of cardio machines that you can use to supplement your daily step counts in the comfort of our gym.

If you’d like more information about our strength training equipment, cardiovascular machines, and packed schedule of fitness classes, please stop by and speak to our team at AFAC gym. We can give you a tour and show you why we’re the best gym in Thornton, Colorado. For more information and assistance, you can also contact our gym owner, Susan, at 720-849-0245 or susan@adventurefitness.club.