How many steps a day should you take? 10,000 steps per day is recommended by the American Heart Association and Centers for Disease Control to help keep you fit and free of disease. 10,000 steps a day is roughly 5 miles; by getting in these steps daily, not only do you lower your BMI (Body Mass Index), increase your energy levels, or lower your risk of type II diabetes and heart disease, but you also put yourself in a place to loss one pound a week.
Tracking your exercise has been made easy with products like Fitbit or the “Health” app on any iPhone. These track how many steps you’ve taken, how many flights of stairs you’ve climbed, and even how many active minutes you’ve had. With these tools, exercise has never been easier to track.
Reaching 10,000… Simple changes with great benefits
- Hide the Remote. Put away the remote while watching television so you have to get up to change the channel or volume.
- Park Far Away. Instead of fighting for that extra close parking spot when you’re at the grocery store, park close to the back of the parking lot. It’s less hassle, and it adds lots of steps.
- March in place while brushing your teeth.
- Make a habit of going on a nightly stroll with your family.
- Wander the room while talking on the phone.
- Set an alarm every hour to take a quick tour around your workplace.
- Circle around the block when you go get your mail.
- Make trips up and down the stairs doing household chores. Turn laundry from a chore to a way to get your exercise in – put your washer and dryer upstairs so you have to take some steps.
- Instead of going through the drive-thru, go inside the bank or restaurant.
- Listen to a book or tape while walking. Time will go by quickly and before you know it, you may have even walked several thousand steps.
- Walk before going to work. It will leave you energized for the rest of the day.
- Designate 10 minutes of your lunch break for a quick walk.
- Create competition with family or co-workers to see who can get the most steps in a day.
- Sign up for a community 5k.
- Meet a friend for lunch at a restaurant you can walk to.
- Swim laps in a pool. This is a more creative way for exercise that still counts as getting in your steps for the day.
- Ditch the cart next time you play a round of golf. Golfers typically average over 13,000 steps playing 18 holes of golf.
- Hit the tennis courts. Playing tennis is a great way to enjoy being active.
- Take the stairs – not the elevator.
- Take a break from work, tv, or homework. Taking a break from these things is a great time to run up and down a flight of stairs or simply job around the room.
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