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How do people average 50000 steps per day?

ANSWERED

‎10-20-2014 23:01 - last edited on ‎03-09-2021 08:25 by Fitbit Moderator

‎10-20-2014 23:01 - last edited on ‎03-09-2021 08:25 by Fitbit Moderator

Who has the time to average 50,000 steps a day!? How can this be possible?

 

 

Moderator edit: updated subject for clarity

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933 REPLIES 933

‎09-19-2016 10:00

In response to shipo

‎09-19-2016 10:00

In my humble worthless opinion I find it difficult to belie there are more than a handful of folks doing this on a regular basis. That's something around 20 miles a day. There are people that run a lot but even they are only doing 6 or 8 a day unless trading for an event.

I don't even care though. Why is it still a topic??

N

Sent from my iPhone
Best Answer

‎09-19-2016 15:23

In response to shipo

‎09-19-2016 15:23

I saw 180+ in quite a few runners, which are not world class. Maybe they have shorter legs :). It's interesting to know there is a metronome option you can set on some watches, to beep for a specific cadence. You can also find songs that target a specific amount of beats per minute. I imagine the 152 spm I had in a 3:38 marathon (90% running, 10% walking) is not in popular demand ....

 

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‎09-19-2016 18:07 - edited ‎09-20-2016 07:58

In response to MihaiMVP

‎09-19-2016 18:07 - edited ‎09-20-2016 07:58

@MihaiMVP wrote:

I saw 180+ in quite a few runners, which are not world class. Maybe they have shorter legs :). It's interesting to know there is a metronome option you can set on some watches, to beep for a specific cadence. You can also find songs that target a specific amount of beats per minute. I imagine the 152 spm I had in a 3:38 marathon (90% running, 10% walking) is not in popular demand ....

 

Sprinters, pretty much regardless of age have a cadence well up in the 180 and higher range; that said, I've met a few folks who run distance who've had, "had" being the operative word, high cadences, however, they all had unnaturally short choppy strides, and once coached up a bit, their natural stride broke through and it was virtually always in the high 150 to mid 160 range.

 

Regarding my comment about world class athletes (once again, meaning "distance" athletes), that was a bit of an exaggeration, back when I was in high school in the early to mid 1970s I was a sub-4:20 miler and I too had a cadence right bang on 180 and I was far from world class.  It would probably have been more accurate for me to have written something along the lines of "young competitive athletes".

 

As for someone running a 3:38 marathon with 90% running and 10% walking, nope, not buying; if such a person actually exists they were either horribly coached or have absolutely no clue what they're doing.  Think about it; a 3:38 marathon works out to an average pace of 8:19 per mile; no self respecting 8:19 runner is going to do any walking during a marathon unless they choke on the water at a water stop or are working out a cramp on a hot day.

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‎09-20-2016 07:52

In response to brunoray

‎09-20-2016 07:52

I am just trying to inform those 50-80K steppers per day what they are doing to their bodies.  As a Physical Therapist I felt it was my obligation not only to treat them but to educate them on possible causes of their injuries so they could avoid further injuries if the problem was self inflicted.  I would tell them they could take my advice which was backed up by my education and 38 years of experience, or not.  If they choose not to listen to me it was not my, fill in the blank, that was being re-injuried, it was theirs.

Best Answer

‎09-20-2016 08:06

In response to Corney

‎09-20-2016 08:06

Do you really think 50k a day is that bad on a body? That is the equivalant of being on your feet for 8-9 hours, that seems sustainable. That is a full day of work. The jump from 50-80 is quite a bit; that's a full 5 more hours on your feet. I'm not trying to badger you it just seems to me that we should be able to be on our feet for 40-50k without excess. 80k does seem to be over the line though. I think the 8 hour working day is a good measure of what we can sustain long term.

Best Answer

‎09-20-2016 08:35

In response to Rando1ph

‎09-20-2016 08:35

My Son is a department manager at menards, he is on his feet 10-11 hours a day and only logs 20K steps.  If a person is on thier feet 9 hours a day they would have to average 93 steps a minute with no breaks.  How productive could a person be walking 93 steps every minute for 9 hours.  What kind of job could they have, no time to talk to a customer, solve problems, they couldn't operate a machine, do paper work, talk on the phone, help out a co-worker while constantly on the move.  The more I read these posts the more I come to realize that it's all fantasy.  Common sense tells me that 50k-80K steps per day is just a joke especially when someone suggests it's easy.  I no longer care if anyone is actually doing it, because it's not my, fill in the blank, that they are slowly but surely damaging.  I'm done commenting!

Best Answer

‎09-20-2016 09:50

In response to Corney

‎09-20-2016 09:50

I first posted this as a legitimate question. I know people who are adv. those steps consistently … I wanted to have tips on how to do so my self.

after reading your answers I wanted to chime in again and let you know what I think.

first I think 50k a week is very do-able for someone who trains and has a routine.

Even up to 80 a week. and even more if your crazy about it lol.

I never think its a bad thing to be moving. good on them (us) for making a choice to be active.

Sadly I found there were a lot of negative comments - not on how to achieve 50k as much as why we shouldn't bother or why its not good for us or even worse that its all a sham. wow … ☹


I started out having a hard time getting in 10k but learned quickly that if I did a training (on treadmill) in the morning I got in a lot more steps by the end of the day.


treadmill in the morning


making sure I get up often and move (not just stand - those do not make steps lol)


and a family walk in the evening.


this boosted my steps up to about 20-25k a day .. with out much more effort.


over all happy with Fitbit and community 😊

Hope we can all continue to encourage and support each others goals - be them 5k or 100k 😊

I did 100 k last week (took all week but boy was I happy at the end of the week) would have rubbed me a little the wrong way if I had read a comment from someone who said it was fake.
Best Answer

‎09-20-2016 11:15

In response to theenglishowl

‎09-20-2016 11:15

@theenglishowl,

 

The question is about 50,000 steps a day, not 50,000 steps a week. The context for the concern is cheaters in the activity groups. 

My Trendweight

Best Answer

‎09-20-2016 11:43

In response to theenglishowl

‎09-20-2016 11:43

@theenglishowl wrote:

I did 100 k last week (took all week but boy was I happy at the end of the week) would have rubbed me a little the wrong way if I had read a comment from someone who said it was fake.

Hey Maureen,

 

Like @GershonSurge wrote, nobody is doubting or challenging folks who log 50,000 or more steps per week, the issue here is folks who claim 50,000, 80,000, or even 100,000+ steps per day, every day.

Best Answer

‎09-20-2016 12:34

In response to GershonSurge

‎09-20-2016 12:34

Yes that was the point I was trying to make.  The challenges that Fitbit provides are good for motivation.  It's hard when you join in one and are at the top of the list when someone comes in and goes right above you and you wonder how and why.... and their doing 50k or more in less than a few hours.  I know there is something fishy going on there..... lol
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‎09-20-2016 15:20

In response to Corney

‎09-20-2016 15:20

With ya on that....


Speedy
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0 Votes

‎09-20-2016 15:23

In response to theenglishowl

‎09-20-2016 15:23

You're saying a WEEK not a DAY.... The first person that started this was saying 50K a DAY; very different than a WEEK. Which is it?




Speedy
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0 Votes

‎09-20-2016 17:55

In response to brunoray

‎09-20-2016 17:55

@brunoray wrote:
You're saying a WEEK not a DAY.... The first person that started this was saying 50K a DAY; very different than a WEEK. Which is it?




Speedy

To whom are you responding?

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0 Votes

‎09-20-2016 19:25

In response to shipo

‎09-20-2016 19:25

Oh, I thought there was a post that said something about that being the number of steps in a week. I need to stop responding because it really doesn't matter to me...


N


Speedy
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0 Votes

‎09-21-2016 01:09 - edited ‎09-21-2016 04:00

In response to shipo

‎09-21-2016 01:09 - edited ‎09-21-2016 04:00

This "self-respect" thing is a bit macho and overrated. If you knew how great that 3:38 marathon felt :). Every 10 minutes giving my legs a rest ... sometimes people ask if you are ok, but they eventually get their answer. That was a decent time for me, 10 minutes within my personal best and second place. I had a mountain marathon the very next day and after a slow start to make sure my legs were fine, I felt ready to run another good marathon - sub 6 hr for a +2000m elevation.

 

PS: Run or walk, you still get the medal :D.

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0 Votes

‎09-21-2016 02:37

In response to MihaiMVP

‎09-21-2016 02:37

@MihaiMVP wrote:

This "self-respect" thing is a bit macho and overrated. If you knew how great that 3:38 marathon felt :). Every 10 minutes giving my legs a rest ... sometimes people ask if you are ok, but they eventually get their answer. That was a decent time for me, 10 minutes within my personal best and second place. I had a mountain marathon the very next day and after a slow start to make sure my legs were fine, I felt ready to run another good marathon - sub 6 hr for a +2000m elevation.

Jeff Galloway recommends a run walk run method for people who cannot run the whole distance or who choose to make a marathon a less grueling experience. The time lost isn't as much as people think as the runner will be moving during the walking breaks.

 

Joe Henderson, the former chief editor of Runner's World magazine, extols the virtues of Long Slow Distance, or as he prefers to call it, comfortable running. He recommends people run for at least an hour almost every day and not worry about the pace. Running is most fun when it becomes a positive lifetime addiction.

 

Time to go for a long slow run. Great job @MihaiMVP!

 

 

 

 

My Trendweight

Best Answer

‎09-21-2016 08:21

In response to theenglishowl

‎09-21-2016 08:21

theenglishowl.  I think 100k a week is doable and not over doing it.  But 50K steps per day is inane, that would be 250K per week and 1MILLION steps a month, utterly crazy and undoable!

Best Answer

‎09-21-2016 11:09

‎09-21-2016 11:09

No opinion is worthless and I hope you're not basing that on others accomishments, real or imagined.
New members to the community bring do bring something to each thread of common interest.
This topic for many seems either a hot button issue or simple curiosity.
Any way wishing you happy trails:dim_button:
Best Answer

‎09-21-2016 11:20

‎09-21-2016 11:20

Hi tsiolkovsty ( apologies for mangling your name)
Ignore the fools who have magic stats. They aren't cheating you just their immature egos.
For competition take the most reasonable best and use it as a base point.
Don't let cheats take away from your accomplishments. They really are powerless.
Keep on and happy trails:dim_button:
Best Answer

‎09-22-2016 08:42

‎09-22-2016 08:42

@Emmeli - I was wondering the same thing... just wondering. Nothing more. This moring someone mentioned that she averages 35K per day. I walk so few steps that I thought maybe she meant something else. Anyway, I'm glad you asked and that some reaonable people actually answered the question with how it could be possible instead of some glib answer. 🙂

 

Best Answer