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I did it! What happened when I attempted 10,000 steps a day

13/9/2024

The idea was simple. I wanted to walk 10,000 steps every day. But there were unexpected difficulties – and I almost fell at the first hurdle: the initial trial week. Read on to find out why.

Although I have a desk job that requires me to be sedentary all the time, I used to assume I was getting enough exercise. As a mum and cat butler, I never feel like I’m sitting anywhere for more than three minutes without being pestered. Given my passion for gardening, love of cycling and urge to be outdoors a lot, I consider myself at least averagely active. Now I want to find out if I’ve assumed right or unwittingly given myself too much credit.

For (at least) one week, I want to meticulously check whether I’m actually racking up the 10,000 steps a day that are recommended for good health. And to up my step target if necessary.

Do you really need to do 10,000 steps?

Side note at this juncture: most people probably have 10,000 steps in mind as a benchmark when they’re thinking about how much exercise is good for you. However, there’s no solid scientific proof behind this figure and it’s actually based on a marketing ploy, as we discovered:

A few (thousand) steps higher or lower is irrelevant. It’s more about the principle that doing more exercise is good for you and wanting to get the benefits of it.

How many steps am I even walking on average?

Before I start the challenge, I don’t want to rely on my previous assumption: «I’m sure, I mean probably, I’m somehow managing enough steps a day.» I need my actual, average step status. And that turns out to be more difficult than expected. Using my mobile as a tracker doesn’t prove to be reliable, as I rarely have it with me during the day when I’m moving around. Even the attempt to deliberately take it with me was unsuccessful. I just keep forgetting it too often.

My second choice ought to be the pedometer I won in the Christmas lottery last year that’s been gathering dust in a drawer ever since. But in this instance, I also give up too quickly. I’d have to download a suitable app onto my smartphone, which collects all kinds of health data and forwards it to its Chinese manufacturer. Nope, I’m not comfortable with that.

A pedometer that can’t count properly

So it’ll have to be option number three: a simple, inexpensive pedometer without any other frills, apps or data sharing. However, during my five-day test phase before the I tried it! week, I have to start by calibrating this pedometer to reality. What I mean by that is, I need a conversion factor from the number of steps counted to the number of steps actually taken. The device embezzles me of some of my steps. For example, it only seems to wake up after I’ve walked for a while, but then cycling adds a huge number of steps I’ve not actually taken.

Incidentally, I’m not alone with this inaccuracy problem. If you’re interested in delving further into the topic, you can find out more here:

Background information
When is a step a step? Science examines when activity trackers are worth it
by Michael Restin

So even before I start my week of testing, it’s clear that it’s more about approximation than concrete figures. Do I tend to be in the 2,000 to 3,000-step range or do I play in the five-digit step category? And do I see an upward trend over the course of my I tried it! week? Or will my step count stay the same?

Day 1: the first step of many more

My evaluation before the trial week revealed the first sobering realisation: I move less than I thought. At the time of testing, it was the holidays, filled with a few leisurely days hanging out and without the usual hustle and bustle. Nonetheless, I still average around 5,000 to 6,000 steps a day. Surely I can manage more.

On the first day of my challenge, luck plays into my hands, or rather into my feet. The holidays are coming to an end, so I want to make the most of the time with my son. We go to the swimming pool, a huge one with loads of water slides. This means there are a lot of stairs awaiting me and my pedometer. Combine this with the rest of the day and I can easily reach today’s 10,000 step target.

I’m constantly looking at the pedometer this week.
Source: Anna Sandner

Day 2: sitting doesn’t fill up the counter

On the second day, I’m back at work, sitting in front of my screen This makes it difficult to fit in all the steps. And that’s exactly what happens: by early afternoon, my counter doesn’t even show 3,000 steps. I need a step-filled plan for after work, so I take my son to the football pitch as soon as I finish. That does the job, as I end up clocking up over 4,000 steps. However, I’m still a bit short of today’s goal. Once I get home, I tidy up so inefficiently by putting each item back one at a time so I have to cover a fair distance within my flat. And eventually, I end up reaching my step goal for the day.

Days 3, 4 and 5: constant step counting, does it make sense?

Over the course of the next few days, I realise that counting my steps is always on my mind. I start walking completely nonsensical routes and running in circles like a caged animal. And it’s all because of the pedometer on my wrist. It’s taken the place of my watch, so I keep glancing down at the counter in subconscious anticipation of the time. Looking at the little screen then encourages me to take a few more steps. So I wander from the kitchen to the bathroom, via the living room to the study and back again. Now I’m moving and getting closer to my step goal, but it still feels silly. And it distracts me from everything else I actually have to do. Especially as my arbitrary pedometer seems to count at its own discretion anyway, or not, if it so decides.

On the third, fourth and fifth day, I also roughly achieve the target I set myself, but I’m already looking forward to the end of the week when I no longer have to keep my eye on every step.

Days 6 and 7: mowing the lawn helps – surprisingly, so does canoeing

On the sixth and seventh day, I (fortunately) have a few errands to run, which I do exclusively on foot. Admittedly, I’d otherwise have gone by bike or moped for one or two of these routes. Counting my steps has probably meant I’ve got more exercise than without the annoying, constant reminder on my wrist.

Nevertheless, on the afternoon of the sixth day, I realise that I might struggle to reach the target of the day. So I decide to mow the lawn after all, which it urgently needed anyway. I do my laps and finally reach the day’s goal with the help of the extra steps.

Doubly effective: when I mow the lawn, my pedometer jumps for joy and I don’t put off the gardening.
Source: Anna Sandner

The following day, something unexpected has an even better effect on the pedometer: a canoe trip. I don’t know whether it was the paddling (arm movement combined with spatial progress) or whether my counting companion simply took pity on me. In any case, an hour sitting in the canoe gives me just under 3,000 more steps on the counter. Without them, I’d not have met my target for the day. In other words, today I only managed the 10,000 steps on the counter. Nevertheless, I still got enough exercise. And that brings me slowly to the upshot of this I tried it! week.

Verdict: (almost) failing with added value

If I draw an honest conclusion, I’d have to admit I failed for the first time during an I tried it! week. After coffee withdrawal, pilates challenge, vegan eating and the like, I’d never have dreamed that I’d fall at the hurdle of counting steps. And if I turned a blind eye, I could claim to have already pulled it off. But as hard as I tried to convert the steps the pedometer counted into actual steps taken, it was still more of an estimate.

However, exact step count aside, this week has also given me new insights. I discovered I move less on a day-to-day basis than I thought. That being said, short walks (such as to the bakery or tidying up at home) take more steps than expected. The pedometer awakens a spark in me and encourages me to move more.

What’s left to say? My intention for part 2 of this story. After all the hassle of not counting steps or counting too many, and the time I’ve wasted testing and counting, I want to know the figures for definite by tracking down a reliable pedometer. If I find what I’m looking for, I’ll repeat the week.

Got any recommendations? Let me know in the comments.

And if you want to know how I did in the other I did it! weeks, you can read more here:

Background information
I did it! Healthy habits put to the test
by Anna Sandner

Header image: Anna Sandner

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Anna Sandner

Senior Editor

Anna.Sandner@galaxus.de

Science editor and biologist. I love animals and am fascinated by plants, their abilities and everything you can do with them. That's why my favourite place is always the outdoors - somewhere in nature, preferably in my wild garden.

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