Walking, as we all know, is a simple exercise which is extremely beneficial to your health. It is an ideal exercise for all age groups. Many people correlate walking with weight loss but science proves that it has many more advantages.
Why is it important to do walking every day or to reach a certain step goal?
Walking is a very effective low to moderate intensity workout that not only helps you improve your fitness but also maintains it in the long run. Did you know that walking has an impact even on your mood and sleep? It improves your muscle strength and flexibility as well.
It is scientifically proven that walking has the potential to prevent the risk of health conditions like diabetes, osteoporosis, and obesity. It is suggested that patients with cardiac problems need to have a walking routine every day as it can promote cardiac health.
In general, walking increases blood flow which is important in preventing the occurrence of cardiovascular diseases. If you are a beginner, you might have many doubts about how much distance you should walk and at what pace. We covered it all in this article.
At what pace should you walk:
Walking at an extremely low or fast pace can cause harm to your body rather than improve your health. As per the studies, walking 100 steps per minute is ideal to reap all the benefits and reach your fitness goals. Any fitness expert would suggest you maintain this brisk walking pace.
Walking for 20 to 30 minutes per day at this pace is equivalent to your moderate-intensity cardio workout. Also, it depends on your health conditions. Without putting in any effort you can track your pace and the distance you cover using apps like Wryll.
If your everyday life requires you to sit for long hours continuously, even a normal pace of walking will help you prevent all the problems caused due to sitting continuously. Make sure you take small frequent breaks to walk around your room or your office cabin.
How much distance should you walk everyday:
Have you set your goal of 10,000 steps per day? Then, rethink it. Is it an appropriate goal for you? As you are just starting on your fitness journey, you may not be able to achieve this goal from day 1. The key here is to take it one day at a time.
According to many reports, most people have a sedentary lifestyle, that is walking less than 4000 steps a day. Nowadays, jobs that require you to sit in one place have increased drastically. Especially after the pandemic, everything has become online which made everyone’s life more or less sedentary.
An average active person walks about 4000 steps per day. So to start, know how many steps you are walking every day. Then, push your limit by increasing 1000 steps a day once every two weeks.
Reports show that the benefits of walking increase with increased step count. But walking is still beneficial to individuals who cannot reach the 10,000 mark. This activity regardless of the number of steps you make is crucial in improving your fitness.
Though the 10,000 mark is important, it is not necessary for everyone. The number of steps and the distance you should walk every day depends on your health status, age, sex and your specific fitness goals as well. It is vital to understand your body and what your body can do when you are starting to work on your goal and improve your overall health.
Below is a simple guide on how to decide the distance you walk every day:
Distance by health conditions
Cardiac conditions: These days, despite the age, the risk of cardiac diseases has increased drastically. It is of supreme importance to avoid eating junk and start a healthy and sustainable lifestyle, especially in the present day.
Walking a minimum of 5000 steps each day or for 1.5 hours each week will enhance blood circulation and heart rate. It plays a vital role in lowering blood pressure.
Diabetes: Managing diabetes or high blood sugar levels becomes easy with exercising every day. One can start exercising by just incorporating a walking routine. Starting slow and reaching the 10,000 mark each day will help lower blood sugar levels and maintain them.
Walking for a minimum of 15 minutes post each meal helps maintain the sugar levels in type 2 diabetics.
Obesity: Did you know that walking is a form of cardio? This form of cardio will help you get to begin with your weight loss. Walking for an hour each day is mandatory to burn those extra calories along with maintaining a properly nutritious diet.
According to a study, walking 15,000 steps a day is optimal for obesity. Gradually increasing up to that goal rather than a sudden increase will give better results.
Distance by goal
Weight loss: Distance or the steps to be covered every day depends on the person’s food intake and the target weight. Generally, the 10,000 steps goal works best for many people. Walking not only helps you lose weight but maintain that weight over a while.
Improve fitness: Walking is a great way to improve your flexibility and stamina. It also increases muscle strength. If you’re aiming to improve your fitness, then we suggest you opt for a more intense walking routine.
If you belong to this category, try stepping up and down on a stool and climbing stairs. Walking uphill improves the activation of muscle fibers compared to walking on a flatter surface.
Lift your mood: An early morning walk for 20 to 30 minutes particularly amidst nature will boost your mood and keep you relaxed. Walking releases endorphins, the happy hormones in our bodies. This relieves your stress and anxiety.
Distance by sex
Usually, both males and females can walk for the same distance or the number of steps. During pregnancy, doctors suggest at least 1.5 hours of walking every week. Walking is a unified exercise during pregnancy.
Distance by age
3-6 years of age: This age group is usually active the whole day. It is important to engage them in physical activity or an active outdoor playtime every day. Focus is less on the number of steps for children.
7-18 years of age: During this age, 11,000 to 12,000 is ideal. Otherwise, engaging in physical activity which involves strengthening exercises for an hour every day will work well.
Young adults: Younger adults aiming to improve fitness and maintain good health can cover about 10,000 steps each day with a minimum of 20 minutes of workout.
Older adults: Older adults can aim for up to 8000 steps a day. Studies suggest that this lowers the mortality rate. This step goal can also be modified according to the health conditions.
How to cover more steps
It becomes difficult to get more steps after a certain point, especially for those who have a busy schedule. Below are a few ways to incorporate more steps every day:
- By using stairs rather than escalators and elevators.
- Incorporate more physical activity like Zumba or dancing
- Take short breaks during work hours and walk around the office. (Take a friend along, you’ll enjoy walking even more).
- Walk for 10 minutes after lunch and dinner.
- By walking to the nearby stores and places instead of driving there.
- Park your vehicle far from the destination.
- Walk around while attending calls.
- Play with your kids or family at home or in a nearby park. (It is beneficial in 2 ways- gives you quality time with your loved ones while finishing your target).
- Opt for public transport so that it’ll make you walk a little extra.
- Set alarms that remind you to take a quick walk around your home or office.
If you are someone whose job or daily routine stops you from walking frequently, then these small changes will help you get to your target. Gift yourself a smartwatch to track your steps easily and stay motivated.
Conclusion
Walking frequently helps you improve your health and life altogether. Is walking alone boring and demotivates you? Make your partner or a family member come along or even your pet will be exceptional company on your walks. Music will fill you with enthusiasm to go that extra mile and reach the target.
Now that you know how far you should go, how much distance are you going to walk today? It is totally fine even if you are not able to reach your target from the first day. You still are going to get benefitted from it. The key here is to stay motivated, have a goal, and work towards it step by step.
In the beginning, focus more on the time you spend walking than on the steps you cover. Take one day at a time, gradually increase your stamina and stay focused. Being consistent even on your busy days with just 20 minutes of walking will go a long way.