We all know that walking and having a high output is pivotal to your health and general mobility and wellbeing. But how many of you know where this magic number came from?
I remember looking in awe at my first ever Fitbit in 2016 thinking wow it is absolutely amazing how a device can tell me how many steps I have done in a day. The laughable thing looking back now, is my watch back then didn’t even have a face. A light would simply flash if I managed to hit this magic number. This didn’t bode well on the days where I was most sedentary, as I never knew how far away I was from hitting my 10k. On reflection now, I never even questioned why 10k? Nor did I have any idea what it was all about, all I knew is that I had to hit it. So, I’ve done a bit of research for you, and here it is.
SO WHO CAME UP WITH IT?
Back in 1965 (I know a long time ago right?!) a pedometer was created by a Dr Yoshiro Hatano. He named the device ‘Manpo-kei’ which means ’10k step meter’. I can imagine a lot of you reading this now must be quite shocked that it was invented so long ago because people didn’t really start caring about steps until Fitbit and Apple watches and later Samsung watches were created, the hype really being evident in 2015/2016. Why 10k? Well 10k was what was back then deemed a good active lifestyle. 1964 was the year of the Tokyo Olympics and so there began a growing awareness about regular exercise fighting off strokes, diabetes etc so more people wanted to get active. Walking is something nearly everyone can do, you can go at your own pace and no coaching or training is needed to do it. So, I guess if you’re a very sedentary individual, building up fitness starting with hitting some steps seems a good start. Hatano’s original pedometer was worn around the waist, how lucky we are now with modern technology! I can’t imagine seeing many people wearing that now! (The phrase ‘one size fits all’ seems ironically appropriate here).
SO IS HITTING 10K OUTDATED?
In my opinion, I wouldn’t say it is outdated. However, nor would I say that it will definitely help EVERY person reach their individual goals, especially if that’s all you’re doing and especially bearing in mind the increasing obesity issues that remain in this country- I think it would take a lot more than steps to solve that one!
We all know that walking is basic mobility and relying on that alone is not going to mean that you will reach a long- term fat loss goal eg 20lbs. However, we also need to remember that 10k for one person may be done subconsciously (depending on job etc) but another person trying to reach 10k steps to increase output may be the hardest challenge they ever face. I feel it is these sorts of clients that steps become a real game changer for them in building up fitness gradually and that extra output for weight to drop before lowering of calories is necessary.
HOW STEPS BENEFITTED ME:
Even in my 6 month prep for my shows in 2019, steps became the biggest chore for me. Competing in October and November especially, the last thing I wanted to do was head outside in the freezing cold to hit 12k. Despite having this attitude towards them, because my goal was to reach stage weight, it was the steps that determined the last little push for me to get there.
Steps when used strategically can inevitably help someone reach their fat loss goal. Steps when I was purposefully muscle building were decreased radically to 6-8k, so doing any more than that was going to hinder me reaching my goal to put on muscle and put on the pounds. Hence, I go back to my original point that hitting a certain number of steps is purely dependent on the individual and their specific goals.
For fat loss clients, steps could be the determiner for whether their weight drops week by week. Increasing them gradually over time instead of decreasing calories weekly is better, especially when in a long- term fat loss phase and feeling hungrier every time the calories drop. When my steps had been increased to 12k and calories were dropped and my weight still wasn’t dropping, introducing power walks (in addition to 12k steps) shifted those last few pounds. Yes, it was a chore especially on days when I was more busy and I had to plan ahead and schedule in walks where I could. But again, gradually increasing those power walks from 10mins x4 a week to 15 mins then gradually to 30mins x4 a week meant that even though I was hungry, my calories were still higher than they would have been if steps weren’t included or increased. Secondly, being burnt out from weight training sessions meant that doing something relatively low impact such as brisk walking meant I could retain as much muscle as I could for stage and also not feel absolutely fudged than if I were to do something really high impact like hill sprints or other forms of cardio.
MY ADVICE TO YOU:
Muscle building/strength building people: keep steps between 6-8k daily. It’s not rocket science that being healthy and mobile is pivotal to your wellbeing, so ensure you are still active outside of training. But, don’t overdo it otherwise, putting on your muscle gains will take even longer or you will have to eat shitloads more food.
Fat loss individuals: a good coach will be strategic about how and when to increase them, especially in a long -term diet phase. Also, just be mindful of the pace and intensity of steps. Going at an extremely slow pace means your heart rate is not increasing enough.
Everyone should be walking daily, it is good for your cardiovascular health, general health and mobility, it can be used socially (I’ve never seen this many walkers since COVID and the lockdowns!) and it’s good for you mentally. Sitting on your arse all day is only going to make you feel worse and you could be more prone to lower back pain.
Me? Currently, I am hitting 12k steps daily and in addition x2 10min power walks a week all to help me reach my goal for my October shows. I have a dog too so unless I want my living room to smell like a farm, I have to take him out whether I feel like it or not, come rain or shine.
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