Straight to the Bar

All Things Strength

HELPING YOU GET STRONGER SINCE 2004

Conditioning Without Trying : Walking 10,000 Steps Per Day
Posted By Scott Bird
Filed In : Articles | Favourites

I have two doctors, my left leg and my right.

– George Trevelyan, 1913

Walking is a greatly underrated form of exercise. Whether you’re trying to lose weight, increase your conditioning work or simply ‘stay in shape‘; walking will help you on the way to your goal.

How much should I do?

The commonly cited daily minimum is 10,000 steps (about 5 miles), but really, any amount of walking is beneficial. Just try to do more than you did the previous day or week.

Note that this includes all walking through the day. You’d be surprised at how fast it adds up; particularly if you’re on your feet all day at work. The simplest way to measure this is with a pedometer (don’t worry, it’s a tiny, inconspicuous thing).

When should I do it?

Rather than trying to cover a large distance in a single session (and 5 miles can be quite a lot if you’re not used to it), break it down. The simplest way to do this is walk in situations when you’d usually choose another option.
Sometimes this isn’t feasible (especially if it’s raining), but keep the following in mind as potential leave-the-car-and-walk times :

  • the journey to work
  • the trip to the corner shop for milk, bread and newspapers
  • stairs (instead of escalators)
  • weekends (think ‘Sunday hike’, rather than ‘Sunday drive’ – even if you drive to your starting point)

Resources

If you’re just starting out on your fitness journey, it can be great to hear from others who have recently taken the plunge themselves. For information and inspiration, try these :

Former Fat Guy 10,000 Steps Forum
Rob has definitely turned his life around, and this forum takes you inside just one aspect of that – walking at least 10,000 steps daily.

The 10,000 Step Guide to Fitness
This BBC News article contains a very interesting look at the mechanism used by a typical pedometer. Rest assured, they’ve come down in size considerably since those photos were taken.

The Fat Man Walking
Steve Vaught drastically changed things following one simple idea – to walk across the US. That’s a long, long way. Wait ’til you hear what he has in mind now.


This is the third article in this month’s series together with Run to Win‘s Blaine Moore. For previous articles in this series please visit
Walking the Dog
Yard Work
Enjoy.

Over to you. Drop us a line on Twitter ( @scottbird ), or add a comment below.

Cheers.

 

NB : if you love talking about strength-training as much as I do, you might also like to check out the weekly newsletter. A regular dose of fitness-focussed discussions, absolutely free.

And if you'd like to check out any of the stuff mentioned above (or in the comments), swing by Amazon. Huge assortment of fitness gear.

0 Comments

Trackbacks/Pingbacks

  1. Monday, 6 Sep 2021 – Strength & Fitness Newsletter - […] Gem From The Vault : Conditioning Without Trying : Walking 10,000 Steps Per DayScott Andrew Bird | Follow @scottbirdOn…
  2. Monday, 21 Aug 2023 | Strength & Fitness Newsletter - […] Gem From The Vault : Conditioning Without Trying – Walking 10,000 Steps Per DayScott Andrew BirdGet your steps in.…

Leave a Reply

What's This?

Straight to the Bar is the online home of fitness enthusiast Scott Bird, and looks at the many training approaches, essential techniques, uncommon exercises and superb equipment to help you become as strong as humanly possible. In short, this site is the home of all things strength.

images of strength

Strong.

Want to see (and learn) more Feats of Strength like this? Dive in.

Just Joined Us? Try These.

There are some incredible writers on the team here. To give you an idea, check these out :

If you enjoyed these, check out the complete ‘Best Of Straight to the Bar‘ list. Fantastic.

setting up a home gym?

If you’re getting ready to put together a solid Home Gym (fantastic thing), here’s how.

For more, swing by the full guide. Absolutely free.

And of course, you’ll find everything you need over in the SttB Strength Store. Massive range.

Ever Tried Kettlebells?

If you’ve seen people using them but never taken the plunge yourself, here are the ones I use personally. You can also pick up a book/DVD/course if you want to learn how to put them to work.

Ready To Learn Even More?

I love learning new skills, and the many seminars & workshops available are a great way to do that. If you’re looking for a specific type of workshop nearby, check out the ones on Dragon Door. Great mix of kettlebell and calisthenics-based offerings.

The Precision Nutrition Certification Program

The Precision Nutrition Certification Program

The Precision Nutrition Certification Program.

If you’re a fitness professional and love the Precision Nutrition approach, check out their certification offering. To say it’s comprehensive is an understatement.

Wherever You Are, We Are.

In addition to the main site, you can share your strength-training passion with a like-minded community on :

Wherever you like to hang out, get your regular dose of strength. Straight to the Bar.

Written By Scott Bird
Scott is a long-time fitness enthusiast (Jan 2004!), writer and photographer living in Sydney, Australia. If you share the passion for spending a bit of time under a bar, welcome. Love hearing how everyone else trains. You can connect via X (Formerly Twitter), Facebook and the various networks listed in the sidebar.
Drawing of Scott Andrew Bird performing a deadlift. Artwork by Vince Palko.