Why is one recommended to walk 10000 steps a day? Why specially 10k?

(Written by Abraham Sukumar)

Walking 10,000 steps a day is in the news often. �Do we really need to walk 10,000
steps a day?�, asks an article in today�s (30th July) BBC News World. Walking as a means
of keeping healthy has always been popular. After the advent of pedometers like Fitbit
and smart phone Apps setting up quotas for steps walked per day has become a craze.
The importance of this craze in motivating our citizens to keep fit by exercising cannot
be underestimated.

I consider myself well qualified to talk on the 10,000 steps fad for I am afflicted.

I acquired my first pedometer in late 2015 and experimented for a year. In 2017, I
logged 10,000 steps every day for the year. The following years, in 2018 and 2019, I
had missed a few days when traveling here and there. I will describe my method which
should suit senior citizens, but first a few words about the benefits of exercising.

Exercise is good for the body. No one questions that. Walking is a good exercise. That
too again is accepted. How much daily walking constitutes as a good exercise was a long
awaiting question for a precise answer. A well-rounded emphatic answer is now available
�10,000 steps.

The benefits of exercise are many.

1.

It reduces feelings of fatigue. A person who walks 10000 steps a day is not likely to
spend the rest of the day lazing about the house whatever his age. He will be an active
person.

2.

Muscles and bones are kept in good condition. Muscles waste very quickly if unused.
Astronauts after a long stay in space when they land of Earth do not have the muscle
power to stand up unaided. It takes them time to get back into condition. Their muscles
have atrophied in the weightlessness of space. The same applied to patients bedridden
for long periods.
Exercise prevents bone from becoming osteoporotic. This specially applies to women
after menopause.

3.

Exercising is a boost to the mind also. These 10000 steps-a-day walkers are less likely
to be depressed and in a state of anxiety.

4.

Regular exercising has a beneficial effect on the circulation especially the mechanism by
which contraction and relaxation of the calf muscles and thigh muscles pump the blood
back to the heart. Exercise has a beneficial effect on coronary circulation and the lungs.

5.

Along with dieting walking at this level keeps the weight down. It is important for those
doing their daily 10000 not to get deluded into thinking that they can relax in their diet
schedules. If they do that, they may be surprised to see their weight go up. One should
always remember that exercise is a distant second to dieting in weight control.

6.

Ten thousand-steppers are unlikely to suffer from insomnia.

I use Fitbit One as my pedometer. My stride length (Fitbit�s default based on height) is
27.4 inches. Thus 10000 steps amount to 4.32 miles which is beyond the capacity of an
average octogenarian to walk at one stretch. The walk must be spaced.

The stride must be natural. Increasing it will strain the hamstring muscles. Swinging the
arms does not confer any additional benefit. As for speed, ideally one should walk at
one�s fastest natural pace. One should never strain for speed. The idea is to make the
walk something to look forward to. It should never become a chore. One should never
forget that it is going to be a lifetime habit.

My routine is as follows:

After early morning bath and change the Fitbit is clipped on and it stays there till
bedtime. Every step I take during the day is recorded. The first numbers are loaded into
the device when instant coffee is heating in the microwave oven. The time is set for 50
seconds and the first walk for the day is the walk up and down the hall when the
microwave is buzzing. It takes exactly a minute to walk 100 steps.

Ideally early morning is the time for an outdoor walk but not in the part of the US I
currently live. Most of the time it is cold, in summer that is. In winter of course there is
snow. One cannot imagine a better place for a 10000-step walk than Chennai beach at
sunrise.

From then on when the opportunity occurs, I take a short walk inside the house. After
breakfast and before lunch a 30-minute walk is possible. I have many playlists in my
iPod that play for that length of time. These are my 3000-steps Playlists. After lunch one
can find time for a 10-minute or 15-minute walk which amount to 1000 - 1500 steps.

After lunch I go to a nearby mall where mixing with the shoppers are many who make
use of the controlled weather condition inside the mall for their daily walk. Most of them
are senior citizens. Three rounds in the mall and my 10000-step walk for the day is
achieved. There are days when I overshoot but it is a good idea not to overdo but keep
to the 10000 limit.

Till a few months ago my Fitbit was syncing with my smart phone. From time to time
Fitbit would send me badges. When I had walked 500 miles, I got the Serengeti Badge,
the circumference of Serengeti plains, and then the Nile Badge when I had walked 4132
miles, the length of the Nile River. But the vagaries of computer-based equipment have
hit my Fitbit and syncing is no longer possible. But I record my achievements, nevertheless.

I recommend the daily 10000 steps walk as a worthy exercise schedule.

Full story: https://www.quora.com/Why-is-one-recommended-to-walk-10000-steps-a-day-Why- specially-10k

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