Why you should walk 10.000 steps a day

Have you ever heard that friend or family member talking about walking 10.000 steps and always wondered what it was about? What steps? How? And more importantly, why for heavens sake? Isn’t that for old people with those hiking shoes and their poles? a.k.a. Nordic walking sticks that they always seem to be using in a wrong way.. 

I’m young and fresh and have a gym membership, that I never go to. I do yoga, when I remember that I had to do yoga. I burn so many calories, when I vacuum clean my home. And, I walk a fair deal, to the coffee machine at work. And I try the running thing, every other year or so.

We get you..;) 

Let’s start at the beginning, why 10.000 steps?

Well, the Japanese Yoshiro Hatano is one of the first to come up with this theory. He figured that an average person already walks about 6.000 steps a day. And that's positive thinking of Yoshiro, because a lot of people nowadays don't even get to that. To be and stay healthy and fit you need to walk actively for about half a hour a day. Proven in many health guidelines. That’s about 4.000 steps. So that’s why they’ve chosen the 10.000 steps as a guideline worldwide. 

And it’s ridiculously simple, astonishingly powerful, scientifically proven by study after study: sneaking in a few extra minutes of walking a day can transform your health, body and mind. Why are you still sitting? 

Most of the phones already come with a health app. An iPhone for instance, has an app called ‘health’ already installed on your phone. In the app you can go to ‘activity’ and there you will find the ‘steps a day’. Your phone is automatically logging your amount of steps for you. Or you can get a Fitbit or just any device that has a 'count my steps' option.

So this is how you can start walking! You will soon find out that walking 10.000 steps is not as easy as it seems. You have to really start working for it by taking the stairs, walking to the supermarket instead of taking the car, take the dog or the kids for an extra walk. Be creative. The most recent research shows that it's when you are doing moderate intensity activity that you are starting to get the greatest health benefits. So you're heart rate does has to go up a bit. And the more time you spend getting out of breath the better. Ultimately you will feel so good when you reach the goal! And most of all.. being outside and walking relaxes you. More about that in another post! 

SOME FACTS

• Brain: just 2 hours of walking a week can reduce your risk of a stroke by 30%
• Mood: 30 minutes a day can reduce symptoms of depression by 36% and boost endorphins. Make you feel less tired.
• Health: logging 3500 steps a day lowers your risk of diabetes by 29%
• Weight: a daily 1 hour walk can cut your risk of obesity in half
• Bones: to build bone mass, reducing risk of osteoporosis. 

Now go outside! 

- Barbara-