Getting your daily exercise is much easier if you work on your feet. Desk job employees have a tougher time increasing their heart rate. If you want to join the challenge to walk 10,000 steps per day, you don’t have to change your career. Get creative with your physical activity to hit your goal. Whether you work at home or in an office, you’ll develop a better exercise routine that supports your wellbeing if you hit 10k steps a day.
Why Is Walking Every Day Important?
When you think about starting an exercise program, you likely imagine training for a race or lifting weights. More traditional workouts can be great for your health, but they’re also harder to manage if you have a desk job that consumes your time. Walking is an excellent way to get active without overhauling your routine.
Reaching 10,000 steps every 24 hours isn’t necessarily a rule. The number came from a 1960s Japanese marketing campaign for the first pedometer. There wasn’t any scientific research behind the number, so it’s not medical advice.
You should also remember that trying a step goal is a learning experience. Intense walking routines aren’t best for everyone. If you go for a walk and experience tired legs or tingling, you may have limited blood flow. People also prefer other gentle workouts if they have joint pain or nerve issues that make footsteps painful.
The key is listening to your body while gradually finding the best step goal for your body. Research shows those who walked 7,000 steps every day had a 50%-70% lower risk of mortality than people who walked fewer than 7,000 daily steps. All you need are strategies to get more walking into your routine to find out if 10,000 steps is a realistic goal for you.
Ways To Get 10K Steps a Day
Reinvent parts of your routine by trying new walking-centric ideas. You may get more active and feel like you’re not even trying, which makes reaching higher step goals easier.
Press Play On A Dance Video
YouTube is full of free dance videos that double as workouts. Find one that’s the length of your work breaks and hit play. Dancing incorporates steps, so you’ll find your daily count growing every time you have a jam session. You’ll also improve your balance and flexibility with practice.
Park Further From The Office
Use your new walking routine as an excuse to stop battling co-workers for parking spaces close to the office. If you park further away, you’ll get more steps into your day without sacrificing much time. Keep an umbrella in your car for rainy mornings, and you may not even notice the change in your routine after a while.
Take Phone Calls On Your Feet
People with desk jobs that require lots of phone calls can walk and talk. Answer the phone and pace the hallways or go outside to walk around. You may even make the day pass faster while improving your step count because you won’t be staring at a clock.
If you work in heels, try to take small steps consciously to minimize your risk of falling whenever the phone rings. You’ll stay safe and potentially get twice the steps in.
Get Your Coffee To Go
Whether you work in an office or at home, drink your coffee from a cup with a lid. You can sip it while walking circles around your neighborhood or around your workplace building. Although it’s tempting to drink your coffee while sifting through those early morning emails, you’ll reach your 10k step goal faster if you walk for the same length of time.
Enjoy A Post-Dinner Walk
Don’t jump into your pajamas the next time you finish dinner – strap on your tennis shoes instead. Walking improves your ability to regulate blood sugar spikes after eating, so it’s a great time to head outside. You’ll encounter cooler weather, less direct sunlight and a pocket of free time to get last-minute steps in before bed.
Stop Stressing About Your Exercise Routine
People who work desk jobs can accomplish any step goal they want. If you get creative with your routine, you’ll increase your heart rate any time during your day. Pay attention to your body’s needs while finding the best step count for your lifestyle to merge your current abilities with realistic exercise goals and you;ll be hitting 10k steps a day in no time!
