Getting started: How do everyday people fit 10K steps into their lives?

[SunsetRunner]

My question is, how do regular people leading regular lives but with basically stationary jobs get to 10K a day without making some huge effort? Is it possible?

I'm new here; 2 weeks on FitBit. I used to think that 10K a day would be impossible without some time set aside for exercise. I live an urban lifestyle in a major city in Japan, so I get 600 steps between my apartment and the subway, etc. My basic day of getting to work, waking around at work, and getting home is 5K. So, to get to 10K, I do thinks like walk down the stairs instead of elevator, or take a few extra walks here and there. Walking to the bar or restaurant, I might go four blocks out of the way to add the steps. End of the day, walk a few extra blocks on the way home, and I get the 10K. Rainy days, I do 20 minutes on the treadmill while watching TV.

On days off, I used to sometimes have miserable step counts (small apartment, delivery food), but now, I'll walk to the beach, have lunch, walk back (5.5K), then basically extend my regular routine walks. Instead of the bike, I'll walk. I might get off the subway one stop early, and add 1 km to the walk for the day.

But I can't imagine how I would get this done if I live like I used to in the suburbs: House, get in the car at the driveway, drive somewhere, etc. Walk somewhere in the suburbs of the USA without exercise clothes on, and people who know you slow down, "Want a ride?" Walk home from the bar, people think you have a DUI preventing you from driving.

I'm just curious, and also wondering what I'll do when I return to the US for the holidays.

[CJinAZ]

I live in the country, basically.  I start my day at 4am, walking the dogs for 30 minutes.  At 5am I leave for the bus stop.  I park as far away as possible and walk to wait for the bus.  I get off the bus 1/2 mile before my office, and walk into the office.  I work in the city, so everyone is walking around in business clothes.  Every hour I get up and do a lap around the office, or 7 flights of stairs.  We are having a challenge at work right now, so at 9am a co-worker and I walk a mile around the city.  I walk to lunch, then I walk back to the same bus stop after work.  After supper, I take the dogs for an hour walk.  I average 15,000 steps a day.  It adds up.  I normally have 10,000 steps before I leave work. 

[SunsetRunner]

I notice in other posts people talk about dogs, and that seems like a great reason for walking around.  I like the idea of parking further away and getting off the bus earlier. You're right, it adds up. The 7 flights of stairs is impressive to me.

[CJinAZ]

I take the stairs up to the 3rd floor (my office) on the way in.  I take the stairs down to sub level 5, then walk back up to my floor.  I do that three times a day.  I take the stairs up to my office when I come back from lunch.  I usually end up doing 30 flights a day, during the week.  That is pretty much to the top of my building, which I could never do at one time, in a timely manner.  Dogs are a great inspiration to move.  Mine are always up for a walk.  It was actually raining when I started my walk this morning, they didn't care, they dragged me out the door anyway.  I pick up a foster on Saturday (I volunteer for a dog rescue), so I will be getting some extra steps in with him, as I'm sure he will need some training before we can rehome him. 

[Mukluk4]

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@SunsetRunner wrote:

My question is, how do regular people leading regular lives but with basically stationary jobs get to 10K a day without making some huge effort? Is it possible?

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You don't, that's the whole point.

[shipo]

@SunsetRunner, I not only have a stationary job, I also live and work in the suburbs in New England.  Some days I have to make an effort to hit 10,000 steps, some days I do not, it all depends upon whether I'm taking care of the horses which live on the farm I live on; on horse days I typically have 10,000+ steps before I get into the office, on non-horse days I usually get to my desk with less than 1,000 steps.  That said, I also make an effort in that I am a runner and even my shortest of runs typically bumps me over the 10,000 step threshold, even on non-horse days.

[A_Lurker]

I have a job that can be busy with lots of steps, or I can be stuck at my desk with no steps.  This wouldn't work in an apartment, but I make up my steps pacing the basement some night.  Today I left work with a migraine (rare, but couldn't shake it) and came home and lay down in a cold, dark room.  About 4pm I got up and have done about 4000 steps since then.  I'll do more later after dinner, not to hit a specific step count, but to hit a certain number of calories burned.

If you're in the suburbs you likely have sidewalks to walk around on.  I was on a business trip a couple of weeks back and I googled local parks and trails and looked for somewhere to walk after my meetings.  During the summer when I had to come home in the blistering heat I would water the plants every day, taking the long way back to the hose to fill the watering can. Another year I might have taken the hose to the pots, or picked the fastest way back.  It does take effort, it's just making small, manageable changes.

[PurplePanda79]

I park farther away so I have to walk more to just get to my destination. My job requires lots of sitting. You got to get creative to get those steps in.

[SunsetRunner]

@Mukluk4 I don't think it's impossible. People are writing about parking further away on purpose; taking an extra flight up and then walking down a hall to go back down; taking a walk around their building at lunch; doing every aisle in the supermarket even if you don't want something on that aisle. But I can see your point -- a person whose daily life is 7K or 8K short of 10K would have to make some big changes.

[SunsetRunner]

@shipo I think I had a different image in mind when I said "suburbs" 🙂 
I was picturing the kind of working-class suburb where I'll be spending about a month soon, possibly the town next to yours if you're talking about a suburb of Boson. There, the street is no further than 16 steps from the door of the house, so no one is crossing fields to tend to horses 🙂 
The gist of it, though, is the same -- if you have things you go do, and they're a certain distance away, you can walk there and that helps you towards your goal. Nowadays, I go a bit out of my way, or even a lot out of my way, to get to the 10K. 

[dragonpupps]

If you live in the suburbs, or return to the suburbs for a vacation or anytime at all, I'd recommend just enjoying the suburbs area, since you are in a constant urban environment. Maybe go for some casual walks around. If you have to work while you are in the suburbs, park your car the farthest you can from any entrance, forcing you to walk more to and from. While at work, you can always get up and walk around a bit. If you need to talk to a coworker, get up and go talk to them instead of electronic contact (email, messages, etc.). Keep some water with you and keep drinking it throughout the day. The more you have to drink, the more you will have to go to the bathroom, so that adds some more steps.

[Annabel398 · Accepted solution]

Here are some of the things I do:

- Park my car in the shadiest spot instead of the closest one. Take the longest way into the office building from the parking lot.

- Walk out to my car at random times. I started doing this so I could see which spots had shade at which times of day, but now I do it just to get some steps in.

- Take the longest route to the restroom / break room / kitchen at the office.

- Climb the fire stairs. Has the added benefit that people don't usually go in the fire stairs, so they won't see you and think you're "goofing off" instead of working.

- Ask everyone you know at work whether they have a FitBit. I found out several folks did but weren't using it--now they're almost all wearing theirs again. We see each other at xx:50 walking around 😄

These little things usually get me halfway to my 10K goal during the working day--then I do the rest in one or two walks in the neighborhood after work. Set your goal just 500 or 1000 steps higher than your current average. You'll find it's easy to walk just a little more. Then every week you make your goal, ratchet it up another 500 or 1,000. Before you know it you'll be at 10K. And this is from someone whose average started around 2K!

[AndyDandyPandy]

For me I have to incorporate exercises such as jogging/running/aerobics to my day to reach 10k since I am pretty sedentary besides when working out or going out for errands. If you don't have a day job which require you to walk a lot it is hard to reach 10k. Some people can just do normal everyday activity and reach 10k because of their lifestyle but statistics say not many have that kind of lifestyle anyways. 

I'd say just do what you can and don't even worry about the 10k step because if you can't achieve it normally on a daily basis, you won't be able to stick to 10k a day by exercising to reach it. The normal people gets an average of 3-5k a day and 2k is a mile. Those people would have to walk/jog about 3miles everyday to reach 10k. It's very hard to keep that up if you're already unfit and sedentary to start with.

[SunsetRunner]

@AndyDandyPandy Yes, I worry about what's going to happen when I go back to a place where the local culture is to drive everywhere, and the driveway is only a few steps away. I really wondered how people in similar situations managed to get in 10K steps if their main way of getting from here to there is by car. In that situation, I think intentional walking is the only way to do it. When people mention that they saw me walking somewhere, or they slow down to offer me a ride, I'll just have to own up to it: Stretching my legs. Getting fresh air. 

[SunsetRunner]

@Annabel398 Great ideas. I take walks around the neighborhood in the evening, too. There's a lot of foot traffic, so I don't stand out for walking around. 

[USAF-Larry]

We have lots of lightly travelled country roads where I live, @SunsetRunner, and I love to just take off for a 5 or 6 mile walk down those roads. But, even after all this time doing it, people will stop and ask if I need a ride. I always tell them I am walking for exercise, and a ride would mess that up.   Most of them can't understand why someone would walk with they could drive.

[SunsetRunner]

@dragonpupps I actually find the urban area more interesting to walk around. Lots of shops and restaurants to look at, a lot of people around. From my place, I can walk 2 km and be at a beach area, with a boardwalk, sand and waves, so on days off, that's something to do. Roundtrip, a bit over 4 km (2.5 miles). There's also a nice walking / jogging park along the river; the last time I went, I walked to it, which added over 1 km each way, but next time, I think I'll ride my bike there, and either go further down the river, or do the walk twice. 

But when I return to the suburbs, there are places within easy drives that have great walking trails through nature. I will also be about a mile walk from a good bar; roundabout way home will help add some steps.

[AndyDandyPandy]

@SunsetRunner You're absolutely right. People who have to reach 10k intentionally have to think everday what they have to do to get that 10k. When you've done it enough like me, you'll figure that you have more important thing to focus on than worrying about reaching 10k steps a day though reaching it is always a good thing. Just that anyone trying hard to reach 10k will eventually have other things to worry about than 10k steps a day. Rare cases are health nuts. They may have office jobs but they're health enthusiast so they can probably get 10k by just running a daily 5miles.

[USAF-Larry]

Not always the case, @AndyDandyPandy.  I actually enjoy walking, and always have. I used to run marathons and do triathalons, but I got too old for that. After the second heart attack, my doctor convinced me that I needed to get more serious about exercising and recommended that I should be walking at least 5 miles a day. So, I do, and I enjoy it. I am somewhat a nature lover, so getting out and enjoying walking through nature parks, country roads, and bike trails is enjoyable to me.  I may "evenutally have other things to worry about than getting 10k steps a day", but it hasn't happened for the past 10 years or so....

[AndyDandyPandy]

@USAF-Larry Great to hear that you're doing well. Joy, that is a big part in reaching 10k. Your love for walkings and enjoying nature overcomes your desire to see that 10k step on your fitbit I bet. As long as there is joy in reaching the 10k goal, it is achievable even for long term. But for me, I walk on the treadmill. I can't go out for walkings or take a jog out on the street since there's bad people out there who might mug me and there's nothing to see where I live anyways lol.