10,000 Steps A Day?

 I'm sure you are aware of the 10,000 steps a day suggestion... But, do you know what it really is and what it means?



The 10,000 steps a day is suggested to be the ideal amount of steps you should aim for each day. So, why 10,000 steps? And what about individual variability?

 

The 10,000 steps advice was coined as an advertising ploy decades ago to encourage everyone to buy a step counter. And how much science and research went into deciding 10,000 was ideal? None, 10,000 was just a nice, round number. 

 

Obviously, some people may be able to easily do 10,000 steps a day or more, while others may struggle with 1,000, so what really is an ideal amount of steps per day?

 

For me, I would say there is no ideal step count each day. On days with heavy training sessions, more steps could be detrimental, by reducing your recovery periods. On rest days, more steps can be beneficial (presuming a light intensity walk) to help improve blood flow and keep you moving a bit. The most important element for cardiovascular health is to move regularly throughout the day, rather than smash out your step goal within an hour of waking up, then sitting around all day. 

 

My recommendation, to ensure progression as well, is to do more steps than the day before (on a normal day to day basis). Work it so it works for you - perhaps have training day step goals and rest day step goals. The idea is that if you have an additional one step each day, you are progressing. Additionally. this works very well for different fitness levels and is suitable for everyone! 

 

Let me know your favourite way to get your steps in below!  



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Best Split... For You!

Image
  Wherever you look, and whoever you ask, they will all say that there is one workout split that beats all the rest.    Fortunately, this is not true!    The best workout split will depend entirely on you! What is a split?   A split is just a way of deciding what muscles/aspects of fitness you will train on a specific day. You'll likely have heard of leg day - which is just one day in a split when you work legs. And there are all manner of splits out there: Push, Pull, Legs. Chest and Tri's, Back and Bi's.  Chest day, Back day,  Leg day, Arm day, Core day.    And while each split has its own advantages, these are only really realised by more elite athletes (or anyone who goes to the gym about 10 times per week). Who, realistically, has time for that?   For most people, myself included, I recommend full body sessions. Full body sessions are perfect for if you are short on time, or have unstable schedules, and they are still extremely...
Read more

Exercise or Physical Activity?

Image
  What really is the difference between Physical Activity and Exercise?   And how can we use Exercise and Physical Activity to improve our health and help us reach our goals? First of all - Definitions!  Physical Activity  - Any movement created by the contraction of skeletal muscles. (This could be gardening, car cleaning or walking to work).   Exercise  - Planned activity with the intent of improving an element of our health and fitness or performance. (This could be going for a run, going to the gym, or attending an exercise class).   So, what does this mean?   in effect, any movement we make can be classed as Physical Activity, whether that is walking the dog or walking to the fridge. Walking to specifically improve our cardiovascular health is exercise.      So, how do we use exercise and Physical Activity to improve our health? Physical Activity can be done anywhere and at any time. Higher levels of Physical Activity have...
Read more

Cardio Training - For Any Goals?

Image
  You'll have probably heard something along the lines of 'cardio kills gains'.   But is this really true?    Mostly, no it is not true. Some people will tell you it is. Some people will tell you it's not. I will tell you it depends.    Lets look at the physiology. As we all know, to make 'gains', you must resistance train and have enough calories.  Cardio can burn a lot of calories, which is why it can be so effective for losing weight. And, why it can be tougher to build muscle alongside heavy cardio.  Muscle building from weight training generally results in increased Type 2 muscle fibres. Type 2 muscle fibres are larger than Type 1 muscle fibres, which are developed with cardio training. So, logically, to build more muscle you want to focus more on the Type 2 fibres.     However, cardio improves our heart, lungs, blood vessels and blood. This improves our bodies ability to deliver oxygen, nutrients, hormones and everything else ...
Read more