Discover the health benefits of walking more and find out how to fit more steps into your life with our top tips
Does the idea of going to the gym fill you with dread? And does that allergy to lycra make you feel that getting fit and healthy can only be a distant dream? Well, it needn’t be.
Going to the gym isn’t essential to getting into shape. Just walking can have a hugely positive impact on your health. Take part in our 10,000 steps campaign, and you’re taking one big step to having a healthier heart and body. Find out why.
1. Health benefits
Research shows that if we take 10,000 steps a day we can significantly improve our health. It burns calories, increases stamina and improves heart health. By walking 10,000 steps a day we typically lose between 300-400 calories (women need to consume 2,000 calories a day, men 2,500). This helps us maintain our weight. It’s good for our heart too. Recent research shows that walking an hour a day can increase the elasticity of our arteries and this means we are less likely to succumb to heart disease. Walking is also good for bone health, as it strengthens them, and it may even slow the progression of Alzheimers. It has also been shown to reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes, asthma, stroke and some cancers.
2. Step on it
Fortunately all these health benefits are just a few (ok, 10,000) steps away. But that is not as much as it sounds. The average person walks between 3,000 and 4,000 steps per day. If you live in a city and use public transport it is likely to be more, if you live in the countryside and have a car, it’s likely to be less. A brisk 10-minute walk takes most people around 1,000 steps. If you add the usual steps you take in a day, and add on an hour’s brisk walk, this should bring you up to the 10,000 step mark.
3. Finding the time
But how do you fit it in to a busy schedule? The only answer is to incorporate it into what you do already. Get off the bus a few stops early and walk briskly home. Walk to and from work – you can divide the 60 minutes of walking briskly into more manageable chunks if it helps. Walk your children to and from school – they too will benefit from the exercise and fresh air. Although walking 10,000 steps is an easy way to increase your fitness levels, it does have to be prioritised and you should do it every day. It’s not a get fit quick exercise regime, it is more a way of life. But once you’ve got the knack, you will find that you enjoy and want to do that amount of exercise each day.
4. Getting started
It’s a good idea to work out how many steps you take a day, and that’s most easily done with a pedometer. Pedometers are fun to use. Wear it for a few days and log how many steps you take. Then work out what extra you need to do to reach the 10,000 mark.
When you go out for a brisk walk, start slowly and build your speed up. You are aiming for “moderate intensity aerobic activity” which means you should be able to maintain a conversation, but are breathless enough that singing a song is out of the question! Your heart rate will be raised and you will break a sweat.
5. Keep interested
So, you’ve worked out how to fit the 10,000 steps into your schedule, you’ve done it a few times and actually enjoyed it. But how easy will it be to maintain this interest? It’s a good idea to vary routes to stop boredom setting in. Walkit is an interactive route planner for cities, which will work out how many calories you’ve burnt, how many steps you’ve taken, how much carbon you’ve saved. Use it to work out alternative routes, which might add some excitement on your daily routine! Or discover some completely new walking routes here. And go walking with a friend. There’s nothing like a good chat to make a walk fly by!
In January we had 10,000 pedometers to give away to help launch our One Heart campaign. Due to an amazing response, all pedometers have now been allocated.
