Our bodies are made to move. Modern life has gotten very good at making sure we don’t have to.
You can work from a chair, order lunch from a chair, order groceries from a chair, watch entertainment from a chair and have dinner delivered to the same damn chair.
Very efficient.
Not exactly a movement plan.
One of the simplest things I tell people is to get out of the chair, get off the screen, get outside and move your ass.
No, You Do Not Have to Do 15,000 Steps Because I Do
I recently hit 100 straight days of walking at least 15,000 steps a day.
I’m pretty fit. I work in a gym. I’m on my feet a lot. And you know what? I still had to work at it.
There were plenty of days when I looked at my steps in the evening and realized I wasn’t there yet. So I went for another walk. Took another lap. Found a reason to move instead of sitting down. I had to pay attention to it and make choices during the day that got me closer to the number.
That’s actually part of why I like step goals.
Fifteen thousand was my goal. It does not need to be yours. Ten thousand is another nice round number people like to talk about, but there’s nothing magical about it. Step 9,999 isn’t useless and step 10,000 doesn’t unlock some secret level of health.
The useful part is having a target that makes you pay attention.
Maybe yours is 5,000 steps because you’re currently getting 2,500. Maybe it’s 8,000. Maybe it’s 10,000. Maybe eventually it’s 15,000. I care a lot less about everybody having the same number than I do about you moving more than you’re moving now.
If a step goal makes you take the extra walk instead of sitting on the couch, it’s doing its job.
Make Your Life Slightly Less Convenient
Park farther away. Take the stairs. Walk for five minutes between long stretches at the computer. Put the laundry on another floor and go get it.
If you ordered food from somewhere five minutes away, every once in a while go pick the damn thing up yourself.
I’m not asking you to move into the wilderness. I’m asking you to stop outsourcing every physical task your body is still perfectly capable of doing.
We’ve engineered movement out of a huge part of our lives. Elevators. Escalators. Delivery. Curbside pickup. Remote controls. Cars for distances we could easily walk.
All of those things are convenient. I use convenient things too.
Just understand what happened: the movement disappeared.
Sometimes the easiest way to get more active isn’t adding a complicated workout. It’s putting some of that movement back.
Small Chunks Count
People think exercise only counts if they put on workout clothes and block an hour on the calendar.
It doesn’t work that way.
A five-minute walk counts. Stairs count. A brisk 20-minute walk counts. Taking another lap around the block because you looked at your watch and realized you’re short of your step goal counts.
Current physical activity guidance reflects that too. The CDC recommends that adults work toward at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity activity each week along with muscle-strengthening activity on at least two days. That activity can be spread throughout the week and broken into smaller chunks.
You do not have to wait until you have a perfect hour available before moving your body.
You’ve got five minutes? Use five minutes.
Walking After You Eat Is a Pretty Good Idea
I like moving after I eat. My version of the explanation is pretty simple: I just put fuel in, and I’d rather move around a little than immediately become one with the couch.
The science version is more precise.
Research has found that physical activity after eating—including something as simple as walking—can help reduce the rise in blood glucose that happens after a meal, with benefits when activity happens relatively soon after eating.
That does not mean everything you eat and don’t immediately burn gets magically turned into body fat. Bodies are more complicated than that.
It means taking a walk after dinner is a simple habit with some actual evidence behind it.
Also, you went for a walk.
I’m calling that a win.
Fitness Does Not Have to Be Expensive
You can spend a lot of money on fitness.
Shoes. Watches. Gyms. Trainers. Bikes that cost more than my first car.
None of that changes the fact that walking is free.
Obviously, I believe personal training has value. It’s my job. Personal training gives you coaching, programming, accountability and strength work that you aren’t going to get from walking around the neighborhood.
But I’m also not going to pretend you need to pay me before you’re allowed to start getting healthier.
Go outside.
Walk.
Take the stairs.
Move more during your day.
No membership required.
Is Walking Enough?
It depends what you mean by enough.
Walking is great activity. If you’re currently very sedentary, walking more is a very good place to start. It gets you moving, it’s accessible and you can do it almost anywhere.
But I still want people strength training too. Current guidelines recommend both aerobic activity and muscle-strengthening exercise because they do different things.
You don’t have to choose between being somebody who walks and somebody who lifts weights.
Do both.
Start Where You Are
My goal was 15,000 steps. I hit it for 100 straight days, and I’m proud of that because there were days when it took some effort.
Your goal does not have to impress me.
If you barely move during the day right now, don’t decide tomorrow morning that you need 20,000 steps, a weighted vest and a sunrise hike. Pick a number that makes you move more.
Then hit it.
Do it again tomorrow.
If that means a ten-minute walk today, go take the ten-minute walk.
We can worry about the fancy stuff later.
