Walking 10,000 steps a day is one of the most popular health goals in the world, largely thanks to the influence of the best fitness trackers.
This divides opinion in the fitness space: some claim it’s an arbitrary figure which has led to an obsession with “getting your steps”, while others argue that encouraging people to move more can only be a good thing.
As a fitness writer, and someone who has walked 10,000 steps a day for more than a year, I have a foot in both camps. The number 10,000 is nice and round, but doesn’t seem to have any scientific backing. However, I also believe that walking holds more bang for your buck than most other forms of exercise, for beginners in particular.
So, with the help of expert insight and the latest research, I decided to take a deep dive into the topic and answer some of the most common questions surrounding it.
How many steps should you do per day?
If you ask this question to anyone on the street, chances are they’ll say 10,000. But this number stems from a Japanese pedometer (the Manpo-kei, or 10,000 steps meter) released as part of a marketing campaign in the 1960s.
A 2023 study led by the University of Granada has since claimed this figure has “no scientific basis”, while sports scientist and WalkActive founder Joanna Hall says the sweet spot for many walking benefits is actually slightly lower.
“A meta-analysis shows that the range of steps should be between 7,000 and 9,000 a day,” she says. “That’s for general health and fitness, and reducing all-cause mortality.”
The University of Granada’s report reinforces this statement, stating that only 8,000 steps per day are needed to “significantly reduce the risk of premature death”.
“If we focus on the risk of dying from cardiovascular disease, most of the benefits are seen at around 7,000 steps,” it continues. However, lead author of the study Franciso Ortega goes on to say that “the more steps you take, the better” and “there is no excessive number of steps that has been proven to be harmful to health”.
A 2022 meta-analysis published in The Lancet journal adds that, in the studies analyzed, “taking more steps per day was associated with a progressively lower risk of all-cause mortality, up to a level that varied by age”.
Those aged 60 and above showed a progressively decreasing risk of mortality until 6,000-8,000 steps per day, while those younger than 60 exhibited this up to 8,000-10,000 steps per day.
Of course, while the risk of mortality is a worthy reason to walk, it’s not the only benefit upping your daily steps can have.
A regular brisk walk can strengthen your bones and muscles, lift your cardiovascular fitness, aid weight management by burning calories, improve your balance and boost your mood, according to the Harvard Medical School. For most people, many of these impacts can be achieved with less than 10,000 steps a day.
If you’re looking for a goal that will trigger positive changes, a good rule of thumb is to check how many steps you’re currently doing per day, then choose a target that’s roughly 10-20% higher than this. It should be an achievable and sustainable number, while still providing a challenge.
This is because the body adheres to the SAID (specific adaptation to imposed demand) principle – in layman’s terms, your body adapts to handle the tasks you regularly ask of it. So, if you’re consistently walking further than you did before, you’re sending messages to your body to make positive changes.
If you’re looking to increase the number of steps you take per day, try using walking expert Hall’s three top tips for walking more.
Are there any other factors to consider when walking?
Daily step counts can be a handy, tangible way to track your activity levels, and for beginners in particular any increase is likely to have positive physical impacts. There are also wider mental benefits, such as boosted mood and focus.
However, if it’s fitness you want to focus on, walking expert Hall says there are other things to consider too. She suggests that your walking cadence (the number of steps you take per minute) and technique are further important factors in determining the effectiveness of your walking workouts.
In terms of technique, Hall recommends maintaining an upright posture, having a natural arm swing (sorry, that means no scrolling) and “walking out of your space” by rolling your foot through each step from heel to toe (find out more about this with her four tips to improve the way you walk).
Cadence is another piece of the puzzle, Hall argues, saying: “When you walk, research has shown that there’s a minimum number of steps you need to do per minute, which is called your cadence, to actually incur physiological health benefits. That number is 100 steps per minute.
“So 100 steps a minute is the minimum threshold, and the range goes up to about 130. If you’re working at about 125-128 steps per minute, that’s been shown to be equivalent to your body as if you were doing a light jog.”
Hall points to a 2018 study published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine as the source for the 100 steps per minute figure. The research says that, while the figure will vary from person to person, 100 steps per minute is a consistent indicator of “defined moderate-intensity”.
The Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion recommends adults do at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic physical activity per week “for substantial benefits”. So, if you can go for a brisk 20-minute walk each day, you’re well on your way.
There are also reasons why you shouldn’t have a heady daily step goal, all of the time at least.
If you’re otherwise active, falling short probably isn’t going to hamper your fitness efforts – case in point: keen cyclists won’t score highly, but you’d be hard-pressed to find athletes with more impressive lungs.
Sometimes you need to allow yourself to recover with a less active day too, whether you’ve been training hard or you’re feeling under the weather. This is where I’ve found features like Apple Watch’s move streaks, encouraging you to “close your rings” every day, can be counterproductive.
My final point is a piece of personal advice; step counts can be helpful, but they’re not worth fixating on. Fitness goals aren’t one size fits all, and it’s worth experimenting to find one that works for you, whether that’s walking-based or otherwise.
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Harry.Bullmore@futurenet.com (Harry Bullmore)
