{"id":12579,"date":"2023-01-18T07:00:03","date_gmt":"2023-01-18T07:00:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/?p=12579"},"modified":"2023-12-26T21:42:31","modified_gmt":"2023-12-26T21:42:31","slug":"we-tried-it-10k-steps","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/we-tried-it-10k-steps\/","title":{"rendered":"We tried it: 10,000 steps","gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"text"}]},"content":{"rendered":"

Ten thousand. That\u2019s how many steps you should be taking each day, according to a widely touted notion.<\/p>\n

Although the origins of this advice are a bit murky (in fact, it appears to have originated from a 1960\u2019s Japanese marketing campaign for a pedometer), it\u2019s so commonly accepted that you\u2019re not likely to stop seeing this recommendation anytime soon.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a big number, 10,000 \u2014 the equivalent of walking almost five miles. If you have a job that involves a lot of walking, or if you have small children you need to keep up with, it may not seem difficult to achieve.<\/p>\n

But what if you don\u2019t have a job that keeps you active? How do you hit that 10,000 mark, if you\u2019re stuck at a desk all day?<\/p>\n

After downloading a fitness tracking app and pedometer onto my phone, I decided to find out. Here\u2019s what I learned.<\/p>\n

Park far away<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Parking is at a premium in downtown Tacoma near the MultiCare office where I work, so if the building parking garage is full, I\u00a0have to\u00a0park a few blocks away.<\/p>\n

While not enjoyable in cold, rainy weather, it does help add a few hundred steps to my total for the day. It\u2019s also easy to add in a few steps by parking further away from store entrances rather than looking for that perfect, up-close spot.<\/p>\n

Get up and go<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Getting up and taking a short walk around the office several times a day is also a must if you\u2019re going to make 10,000 steps in a day. A quick couple-minute loops down the stairs, around the office and back up again added about 350 steps to my count each time.<\/p>\n

Walking to get lunch, or to get to meetings on other MultiCare campuses also helped. On days when I didn\u2019t have meetings, I\u2019d add an extra round or two of my office\u00a0loop.<\/p>\n

If your home is your office \u2014 as it is for many people today \u2014 the scale of your workspace is often much smaller than if you are in an office building, and hitting 10,000 steps can be extra challenging. Carving out time for a walk around the neighborhood each day will help add to your step count.<\/p>\n

Cardio is key<\/strong><\/h2>\n

I don\u2019t think there\u2019s any way I would have been able to get to 10,000 steps without some kind of exercise, even on my most walk-filled\u00a0workdays. My workouts of choice are step aerobics and kickboxing (so \u201990s, I know!), and 30 to 40 minutes of either was usually enough to bring me close to or over my 10,000-step goal.<\/p>\n

Even with a workout, though, I did occasionally find myself watching TV while pacing the\u00a0room or\u00a0doing a few circuits through my house in the evening to get the steps I needed.<\/p>\n

Weekends are hard<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Weekends were surprisingly more challenging than the work week. I did not manage to get to 10,000 steps on any weekend day during my experiment. I imagine if you are a runner \u2014 which I am not \u2014 this might not be as difficult a mark to hit. But for me, even with a workout, and a day of running errands, the best I ever managed was in the 6,000 to 8,000 range.<\/p>\n

Just be active<\/strong><\/h2>\n

While it did require a few changes to my routine \u2014 especially the part where I had to remember to get up and walk at work \u2014 I did learn that getting to 10,000 steps is possible, even if you are an office (or home office) worker.\u00a0(I\u00a0also learned that I probably need to figure out how to be more active on the weekends.)<\/p>\n

Of course, I have the flexibility to take short breaks throughout the day, and my job doesn\u2019t require me to monitor a phone or be available in a set location the whole time I\u2019m there.\u00a0So,\u00a0getting to 10,000 may be more challenging for some.<\/p>\n

The current American Heart Association (AHA) guidelines<\/a> recommend adults get 150 minutes (2 1\/2 hours) per week of moderate-intensity aerobic activity or 75 minutes per week of vigorous aerobic activity, or a combination of both, preferably spread throughout the week.<\/p>\n

\u201cModerate intensity\u201d means you\u2019ll breathe harder than normal and your heart will beat faster, but you\u2019ll still be able to talk. Brisk walking, gardening and water aerobics are all considered moderate-intensity activities.<\/p>\n

AHA also recommends moderate- to high-intensity muscle-strengthening activity (like weights) at least two days a week.<\/p>\n

So, at the end of the day, being active is what matters, whether you\u2019re counting steps, reps,\u00a0minutes\u00a0or miles. Keeping track of what you\u2019re doing is a healthy way to keep tabs on your\u00a0fitness level and stay motivated to achieve your goals, be it 10,000 steps a day, weight loss or improving our overall health so you can feel your best each day.<\/p>\n

MultiCare can help provide the support you need to achieve your healthy weight goals.\u00a0Learn more\u00a0about weight-loss options in your area, including surgical and non-surgical medically supervised options<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Editor\u2019s note: This article was originally published in January 2016 and updated in January 2023.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false,"gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"html"}]},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ten thousand. That\u2019s how many steps you should be taking each day, according to a widely touted notion. Although the origins of this advice are a bit murky (in fact, it appears to have originated from a 1960\u2019s Japanese marketing campaign for a pedometer), it\u2019s so commonly accepted that you\u2019re not likely to stop seeing […]<\/p>\n","protected":false,"gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"html"}]},"author":59,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[127],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12579","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-healthy-living"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nHow to get 10,000 steps a day with a desk job - MultiCare Vitals<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"If you work at a desk job, either from home or in an office, it may be difficult to reach 10,000 steps a day. 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