How Many Steps Should You Do Daily
Do you know how many steps you should hit daily? The recommended daily steps target is 10,000 steps. Do you find that’s a hard target to hit? For some, this is an achievable goal and for others it is quite overwhelming and unrealistic. In Australia, the average adult only hits 7,400 steps. So why is the recommended amount 10,000 steps and how do we hit it?
As we know, increasing how active we are has many benefits. This activity can be achieved in many ways. For people that don’t participate in specific exercise each day or lead an active lifestyle, the recommended goal of hitting 10,000 steps a day is a great way to encourage people to achieve a healthier lifestyle. These health benefits include lowering the risk of heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure and being overweight.
With continual advances in technology, our lives becoming more sedentary and more health problems occurring every year we need to ensure we put the effort into making active choices. There are many ways to move more in small ways across the day, by parking further from the entrance to shops, taking stairs instead of escalators, standing while at work and walking to socialise with friends and family.
How Many Steps Daily To Lose Weight
Activity trackers provide data which enables you to become aware of your physical activity levels, work towards a goal and monitor progress. Studies using the 10,000 steps per day goal have shown weight loss, improved glucose tolerance, and reduced blood pressure from increased physical activity toward achieving this goal.
So let’s look at ways to hit these steps. Firstly, make sure you have a way to track your steps ie. watch or phone, to identify your starting point. Next, set yourself a realistic goal of daily steps and gradually build this over time. We want to make sure you build a habit into your lifestyle that you can sustain over the long term. For example, building up to 5,000 steps each day may be more achievable to start with. As this becomes part of your routine each day and gets easier, you can incrementally increase your daily target. Some days you may hit this target over small parts across the day, other days you may hit it one go!
If you have limited time in the day, a good strategy may be getting up earlier and doing a short walk before your day begins. This helps you start the day on a positive note and clears your head ready to tackle the day. You could go for a walk on your lunch break and get some fresh air. You could also get out in the evening helping you release any tension from the day. If you have a long, busy day, set an alarm every 1-2 hours and move around for 5 minutes. Get outside, breathe in the fresh air and reset yourself. The idea is just to get moving more each day! Take your dog along, go with your partner or call up a friend.
When you do have the time and it is within your ability, go out for a long walk, a light jog or run. There are so many benefits including improving your cardiovascular fitness, helping you to reach your fitness goals whether it be losing weight, getting fitter or healthier. It is also a great way to improve your mental health as it helps to decrease stress, improve sleep and clear your headspace.
There is no one size fits all process in hitting your daily steps as our days comprise of all different demands and tasks. It’s about finding a solution that is best for you that can become part of your daily routine. If it’s a challenging task, start small and build slowly. Reaching these targets will lead to a healthier lifestyle, both physically and mentally. Contact our studio for more tips on how to reach your health & fitness goals or hit your daily steps!
Contact us today for your complimentary consultation so we can help you get started on your health and fitness journey and be the healthiest and happiest version of you!
