Is 10,000 steps enough of a home workout?

Fitness tracker fanatic 

If you're a fitness tracker fanatic (or just own a smartphone) odds are that you’re one of the one in four adults in the USA that track their daily steps. And the gold standard of step tracking seems to be the magical 10,000 step number. This magic five miles is touted as the holy grail of health targets… but why? Is getting 10,000 steps really enough? Are there health benefits to walking 10,000 steps a day or is this just an exercise hoax?

Where did 10,000 steps come from in the first place?

Interestingly, the 10,000 step phenomenon is by no means recent. Dr. I-Min Lee, professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School discovered that the origins of this fitness fad go all the way back to 1965. An original step marking tool called the Manpo-Kei or the “10,000 steps” that we have all come to know and love so well. 

Although the rise of 10,000 steps in our collective consciousness was just the result of an extremely successful mid 1960’s Japanese marketing campaign, the 10,000 step mentality maintains a choke hold on fitness trackers. Oftentimes, the ever seductive digital ring to be closed to track to be run is set squarely at 10,000 steps.

What’s better than getting 10,000 steps?

Interestingly, the same study that uncovered the origins of the 10,000 step marketing scheme studied its efficacy. The research included over 16,000 women with an average age of 72. The study found that those walking above the 2,700 steps of the sedentary women did have a measured reduction in all cause mortality, leveling off at around 7,500 steps per day. 

While this shows that walking more (doing more exercise) seems to make one healthier, go figure! 10,000 steps is a great place to start however, government guidelines advocate for at least 150 minutes of low intensity cardio, such as walking, per week. Or 75 minutes of vigorous activity per week. As such, while 10,000 steps may be fun to stride for, it’s not the gold standard of fitness that we may have thought it was.

How to get 10,000 steps

If you still want to use 10,000 steps as your daily goal, you may find it more manageable to break up your steps throughout the day. And remember, you don’t have to get all your steps in at once or start out with 10,000 steps. Starting the day off with a quick walk or walking to digest after meals is a great way to incorporate some more steps into your day.