If there’s any exercise that humans have evolved to do, it’s walking. Walking is the most fundamental, basic form of human physical activity, and it doesn’t require any special skills or equipment. For these reasons and more, walking is touted as one of the best workout options for people of all ages and fitness levels.

Walking is so important that many of us have become laser focused on our “step counts” and we even wear pedometers to keep track of every step we take.

You might have heard that walking 10,000 steps per day is the gold standard. And, even though it’s a wonderful goal that’s easy to remember, 10,000 is actually an arbitrary number that isn’t right for everyone. Some of us might be able to walk more than 10,000 steps per day with ease, while others may feel daunted by that number and never even try because it seems unattainable.

Research has shown that increasing your step count can provide life-saving health benefits, even if you can’t reach that magic 10,000-step number. In this blog, we’ll discuss why walking is important, what research says about step counts, and ways you can increase your step counts at AFAC’s Thornton, CO, gym.

Why Is Walking and Going to the Gym Important?

The COVID-19 pandemic reminded us all about the risks of a sedentary lifestyle. According to a November 2020 study published by the Annals of Internal Medicine, during the first 30 days of the pandemic alone, there was a 27.3% decrease in the average number of steps taken by over 455,000 individuals who were studied across 187 countries.

In addition to causing weight gain, trading an active lifestyle for a more sedentary one can have major consequences for your health, including:

Reducing your longevity
Increasing your risk of heart disease
Increasing your risk of Type 2 diabetes
Increasing your risk of breast cancer
Increasing your risk of high blood pressure

Even without pandemic restrictions, the average American walks roughly 3,000-4,000 steps per day. If your goal is to increase your physical activity, it’s a good idea to find out how many steps you walk per day now to set a baseline. Then, you can work up toward 10,000 steps per day by adding 100, 500, or 1,000 steps daily until you reach your goal.

Health Benefits of Higher Step Counts, Both Inside and Outside the Gym

Whether you get your steps in on a cardio machine at the gym or on a mountain trail, walking more steps per day provides you with increased health benefits.

A June 2020 review published in the International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity analyzed 17 previously published studies involving over 30,000 adults and their step counts, causes of death, and incidence of heart disease. The review concluded that walking an additional 1,000 steps per day lowered the risk of all-cause mortality and cardiovascular mortality in adults, and that there are health benefits for those who walked less than 10,000 steps per day. For each 1,000 daily step count increase, risk of all-cause mortality went down 6-36%, and cardiovascular disease mortality went down 5-21%.

Other research also found that taking more steps per day lowers your risk of dying from any cause, regardless of your gender, age, or race. The March 2020 study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, showed that participants who increased their step count from 4,000 to 8,000 steps per day experienced a 51% lower risk of death from all causes. Those who walked 12,000 steps per day had a 65% lower risk of death from all causes compared to those who walked 4,000 steps. The study also showed that there was no significant association between walking intensity and mortality after adjusting for total number of steps per day.

According to a February 2021 study published in the journal Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, walking too few steps may cause exercise resistance, which means you might not burn fat efficiently. The study concluded that exercise resistance appears to occur in individuals who walk 5,000 or fewer steps per day, while those who walk 8,500 steps per day are protected against exercise resistance in fat metabolism.

Does it Help to Walk at a Higher Intensity?

The people who achieve the highest number of steps per day tend to walk with higher intensity. Studies show, however, that walking fast doesn’t lower your risk of death from all causes. Logging the right amount of steps is the important part, not the intensity or speed of your walk.

But, if you’re looking to increase your calorie burn, including short, high-intensity intervals into your walks is one of the best ways to achieve that.

Can You Walk Too Many Steps Per Day?

A study published in January 2022 analyzed 7 cohort studies that investigated the association between daily step count and death by all causes. Combining the data of all 7 studies, researchers found that each 1,000-step-per-day increase was associated with a lower risk of all-cause mortality at any given point in time. Researchers analyzed step counts from 2,700 to 17,000 steps per day and throughout that range, more steps were associated with less chance of dying. That said, walking more steps provided diminishing returns as the number of steps increased.

To illustrate this point, walking 4,000 steps per day was associated with a 16% lower risk of all-cause mortality, while walking 10,000 steps was associated with a 56% lower risk of all-cause mortality. That’s a 50% decrease in mortality achieved by 6,000 extra steps!

But what if you walked another 6,000 steps per day, for a total of 16,000? Walking 16,000 steps per day was associated with a 66% lower risk of all-cause mortality. That means only a 10% decrease in mortality for 6,000 more steps.

Should You Walk on an Incline at the Gym?

Many of our gym members know that walking on a treadmill at the gym comes with many advantages. When you’re walking inside the gym, you’re able to avoid outside hazards like stormy weather and bad traffic. Plus, adding an incline to the treadmill can be equally or more effective than jogging or running on a flat surface treadmill.

Walking on a treadmill with an incline offers the following benefits.

It Burns More Calories

Let’s say you’re a 150-pound person running 1 mile in 10 minutes on a flat treadmill. This will burn approximately 111 calories. By comparison, if you walk 1 mile in 15 minutes on a flat treadmill, you’ll burn 93 calories.

However, adding a 5% incline to your treadmill at the gym bumps up your calorie burn to 128. That same walk performed on a 15% incline burns 219 calories!

Contrary to popular belief, running speed only slightly increases calorie burn, so if you’re running on the treadmill to burn calories, going a longer distance is more important than running faster.

It Improves Strength, Tone, and Fat Burn

Aside from burning more calories, walking on an incline versus running on a flat surface puts more stress on the muscles in your lower body – especially your hamstrings, glutes, and calves – improving their tone and strength. In addition, when you walk for a longer period of time, it’s more likely that your body will burn fat for energy instead of carbs.

It Decreases the Risk of Injury

In general, walking comes with reduced injury risk compared to jogging and running. When you jog and run, there is a greater impact when your feet hit the ground, increasing the chance of hurting a muscle, tendon, or joint. Walking, on the other hand, places less stress on your knees, feet, and other joints, which lessens your chances of injury.

Ways to Boost Your Step Count Both Inside and Outside the Gym

We can all agree that walking is a great way to get some solid cardiovascular exercise. Getting as many steps as possible throughout the day can help you control your weight, prevent chronic diseases, strengthen your muscles and bones, boost your mood and memory, and improve your balance and coordination.

One potential problem is that people’s daily habits, schedules, work situations, and surroundings can make it difficult to fit walking into the mix. Here are some ideas that can help you increase your daily steps:

Join a walking class at the gym. AFAC’s Nordic Walking classes are a wonderful opportunity to get an effective walking workout and meet fellow gym members.
Get a device, such as a Fitbit, that tracks how many steps you take per day so that you know your baseline. From there, aim to improve by 1,000 steps per day until you reach your goal.
Wear more comfortable clothes (or bring more comfortable clothes with you) that facilitate walking.
Wear or bring more comfortable shoes that you can walk in.
If you work in an office, get out of your seat and go talk to people face-to-face instead of messaging them.
If you live less than a mile away from the gym or grocery store and it’s safe, walk there instead of driving.
Take the stairs instead of an elevator.
Find friends to take walks with you.
Try taking a walk to release stress and burn off steam after a long day.
Use walking to clear your head and think.
Take your pets on more walks. It’s good for them, too!
Weather permitting, park farther away from the entrance to the store, your school, or your workplace.
Take frequent breaks from sitting and get up to walk around. Aim for a walk break every 45-60 minutes.
Consider using a standing desk, treadmill desk, desk stepper, or desk peddler.

Your First Step to Better Fitness Is Joining AFAC Gym

Whether you’d like a convenient place to increase your step counts or start a strength training program, AFAC gym has the equipment, free fitness classes, and personal trainers to help you achieve your fitness goals. The team at AFAC gym is here to support all our members by answering their questions and helping them design a fitness plan that meets each person’s individual needs. Please let us know if you have any questions about how to increase your step counts, strength, endurance, nutrition, and more.

To find out more about becoming a member of AFAC gym — the best gym in Thornton, Colorado — please stop by or give us a call anytime. We’ll be happy to assist you. You can also contact our gym owner, Susan, at 720-849-0245 or susan@adventurefitness.club for assistance.