Spring is finally here and with summer just around the corner it’s a good time to ramp up your steps to feel your best for all the fun in the sun! Do you know how many steps are recommended per day? If you said 10,000, you are correct! 10,000 steps is the recommended amount of steps to improve your health and prevent chronic diseases.
Have you heard the phrases “sitting is the new smoking,” or “sitting is going to kill you?” Unfortunately there is some truth behind these phrases. A recent study put out by the Center for Disease Control reminds us that prolonged sitting may increase your risk of premature death, may compromise metabolic health, and may have associations with other various health problems. By increasing your walking time daily, you can reduce your risk for developing chronic diseases including breast and colon cancer, osteoporosis, heart disease, and type 2 diabetes.
Think about it for a minute…how many hours do you spend a day sitting? Whether it’s your commute to work, sitting behind a desk all day, time spent eating meals, surfing the internet, watching tv, bingeing on Netflix, or sitting there reading this blog. It adds up!
There are many tracking devices on the market made for tracking your activity throughout the day. See the article below which describes the best fitness trackers in 2017. This will help you find the right tool that works for you!
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2404445,00.asp
Having some type of tracking device is a great awareness tool to see how much movement you’ve gotten throughout the day. Set a goal to get up every hour, even if it’s just for a few minutes. Sometimes it even helps to set an alarm!
“But do I have to get some sort of wrist tracker??” – The answer – No! Try downloading an app on your phone! There are plenty of free apps including; Maipo, Stepz, Simple Steps, Map my Walk and many more!
Little bouts of movement add up a lot! Below are tips to help increase your step count.
- Park your car in a further parking space from work, the grocery store, etc.
- Stand when you’re on the phone
- Stand or try some dynamic movements during commercials such as drop squats, walking lunges, high knees, butt kicks, etc.
- Take the stairs instead of the elevator
If you are new to the tracking device world, start slow! Put on your tracker and track how many steps you typically get for a couple days, then set a goal of 200-500 more steps for the next day. If you are averaging 3500 steps per day, I don’t expect you to hit 10,000 steps right away. Set small goals with the ultimate goal being 10,000.
Now get out there and get stepping!
