Soon, making active choices will become second nature. Once you get used to looking for them, you’ll find lots of ways to avoid the easier options (like driving around the corner to the shops) and get moving instead. You can find plenty of opportunities throughout the day to be more active. Make opportunities for activityĪ great way to reach your goal is to divide your walking between active exercise and incidental activity. Using whatever method works best for you – notes on your desk, calendar pop-ups, an alarm on your phone, or alerts from your fitness device – set a few reminders throughout the day to keep you inspired and motivated to get moving. You could even start a friendly competition to push yourselves further. Encourage your friends, family members of colleagues to join your 10,000 steps challenge, and the shared goal will help keep you all inspired. Enlist your friends, family or co-workers in a challengeĭoing anything as a group is a great way to boost your motivation and enthusiasm. Choose a goal that you feel is achievable and use each small success to motivate you to go further. Every small improvement is a step in the right direction. You might decide to try to increase your activity by 1000 or 2000 steps a day. If your normal lifestyle is quite sedentary and 10,000 steps seems like a difficult goal, just start small. For the first few days of wearing your activity tracker, notice what your normal activity levels are like and take some time to familiarise yourself with how many steps each activity is worth. ![]() If you haven’t tracked your steps before, you might find it really interesting to see how much you normally walk. Being able to see how you’re doing throughout the day can be an excellent way to boost your confidence, keep you focused on your aims and push you to chase the next milestone. These activity trackers can be great motivational tools to help you reach your goals. Pedometers have come a long way – there is now a huge range of fitness gadgets available that are comfortable to wear, attractive and technologically advanced, including smart watches and handy apps for your mobile phone. How to reach 10,000 steps Use an activity tracker Some examples of high intensity activity include: High intensity activity makes you “huff and puff” and is where talking full sentences between breaths is difficult. mowing, raking and digging)ġ0 minutes of high intensity activity = 2,000 steps. Some examples of moderate intensity activity include: You should be able to maintain a conversation. Moderate intensity activity causes a slight, but noticeable increase in breathing and heart rate. You will naturally accumulate steps through your day-to-day activities, but to reach the 10,000-step goal, you will likely need to do a 30-minute walk (or the equivalent in other exercise) as well.Įvery little bit counts throughout the day – you could walk part of the way to work, take a stroll at lunchtime, have a walk-and-talk coffee meeting, walk to the supermarket instead of driving, or take the dog out for a play in the park in the evening.įor other forms of exercise, 10,000 Steps suggests counting things like swimming, going to the gym and playing tennis by converting them into steps as follows: Moderate Intensity Activityġ0 minutes of moderate intensity activity = 1,000 steps. But that doesn’t mean you have to do it all in one walk. Ten thousand steps equates to about eight kilometres, or an hour and 40 minutes walking, depending on your stride length and walking speed. ![]() Remember 'even a little is good, but more is better'. If you find it’s too difficult to walk for 30 minutes in one session, start with regular, small bouts (10 minutes or so) throughout the day and gradually build up to longer sessions. Plus, it can even enhance your outlook on life by boosting your confidence and self-esteem over time. Moderate exercise such as walking can put you in a better mood, improve concentration, and help manage and soothe anxiety and stress. And it’s not just your body that benefits – the way you think and feel changes too. It can also reduce your risk of developing conditions such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes, osteoporosis and some cancers. In need of some extra inspiration to reach for your walking shoes today? The long list of health benefits is impressive! Stepping out on a 30-minute walk each day can increase cardiovascular fitness, strengthen bones, reduce excess body fat, and boost muscle power and endurance. ![]() Nonetheless, several studies since have found that increasing your step count each day is an excellent way to improve and maintain your overall health. Did you know the concept of walking ‘10,000 steps a day’ originated in Japan? Interestingly, the challenge was first created to sell step counters in the lead up to the Tokyo Olympics in 1964, although there was no real evidence to support this target at the time.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |