How do people average 50000 steps per day?

[Emmeli]

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

Moderator edit: updated subject for clarity

[oldrunner]

I have always been talking about group leaderboards, but Patruns misinterpreted and responded “If you are in a challenge with others and you suspect foul play, you should discuss it directly with that person.” This lead me to believe group leaderboards were called challenges. You can add and subtract steps on the group leaderboards. I don’t understand why your group doesn’t want anyone to discuss the probability of cheating or lying about steps. It goes on constantly outside of the forums.

I am sorry for coming across so harsh. I don't want a fight, but I do hit back.

You misquoted a little. The full title when I logged on was “How do people average 50,000 per day ? How can this be possible?” makes the intent a little clearer

Moderator edit: merged reply

[WendyB]

@oldrunnerNo one ever said to not discuss cheating. I know it happens. But you need to either remove them from your leaderboad and move on. Leaderboards are not challenges. You never once said Leaderboard

No one is clear as to your question in the first place. Maybe we would answer if we knew what it was???

I truly wish you the best. Good luck to you

Happy Stepping!

[Gershon]

 "How do people average 50,000 steps per day" is the original question. I feel the answers may have been biased because of a similar thread with 80,000 steps per day.

First, some easy math. People without health issues average about 120 steps per minute. It would take a shade under seven hours of continuous walking to get to 50,000 steps. Runners average about 180 steps per minute. It would take a little over four and a half hours to get 50,000 steps. 

The distance depends on stride length. Walkers will walk about 24 miles and I don't know for runners. It  will be farther because of the longer stride length.

The person who walks 50,000 steps a day will probably be retired without any family commitments. Walking or running will be one of the focuses of their life. 

Let's break down a typical day:

Sleep: 8 hours

Meals: 1.5 hours

Personal hygiene: 1 hour

Shopping: 1 hour (estimated high)

Walking: 7 hours

Total 18.5 hours

This leaves 5.5 hours for other things. In my case, I write for a living and it's difficult for a writer to write more than a few hours a day. 

The next step would be a disciplined training plan with slow progress that avoids injuries. It would likely take two to three years to get to 50,000 steps. It has taken me about 10 months to average about 26,000 steps a day and I started in good condition. Each person's limit on progress will be different. I'm 61, so my progress is faster because I have decades of experience training for endurance sports without injury.

My day starts with a six to eight mile walk depending on my goals for the day. That's about 13,000 to 17,000 steps to start the day. I get about 5,000 random steps a day, so now it's 18,000 to 23,000 steps a day. I have a treadmill near my desk. After 20 minutes of typing, I walk 7 minutes on the treadmill. Each 7 minute walk is about 900 steps. On my long days, I often take a second walk of about 3 miles.

The numbers aren't the point here. The point is if a person plans, they can likely find time for 50,000 steps a day without affecting their life. Many people spend the same amount of time on social media and surfing the internet.

Moderator Edit: Font style

[oldrunner]

Good post Gershon and you’re right about the two treads.

[Gershon]

OldRunner,

If I subtract the bias I got from the 80,000 step question, I take the original question in this topic as nothing but curiousity. 

I'm retired Air Force, 61, self-employed and have minimum family committments. My main job is writing books, so I can budget my time and outline while I walk. I used to be a long-distance runner and a long distance bicyclist. I also did long distance motorcycle riding. For some reason, I'm attracted to endurance instead of speed. I always add the condition, "without fatigue" to my goals. This causes problems when I tell others, so I usually don't.

Eventually people question me. For instance, I published 50 books on Amazon in 14 months while only working six hours a day. The reason I could write so much is I focused on the process to streamline it as much as possible. 

Recently, I suddenly increased my monthly steps from about 520,000 to about 810,000 steps a month. I did this with one small change. I focused on getting my steps at walking pace and minimizing random steps. I had less fatigue after I made this change. I still have a limit of about 93 to 98 miles a week for one week. If I get above 86 miles a week, I start to get fatigued or the onset of injuries. 

My goal is to get 10 million steps in 2015. That means averaging about 27,345 steps a day. I'm not capable of that yet, so I'll fall behind in the beginning and catch up as I get in better shape. If I can't catch up, I'll extend the time frame.

As people get further into endurance, there are fewer people to talk to. There is zero research on long distance walking. This doesn't include race-walking. There is nobody to tell people how to do it and there is nobody who has tested improvement techniques.

I use a click track on audio books so I maintain 115 steps per minute. This is the best balance between fatigue and speed. 

If you poke around my website: http://48statehike.blogspot.com, you will see what I'm up to. My training methods aren't meant to be dogmatic. Any method that includes slow progress and avoiding fatigue or pain will work. 

Meanwhile, there aren't many activity groups (competitions) at my level that don't include obvious cheaters. I left the groups I can win easily. However, I am in 3 competitions that are interesting for me and I watch those a bit. Mostly, I'm exploring what is possible for me. I wouldn't even call it competition.

Many people are intimidated by those who are better at a sport. I'm curious about how they got better. Some do it naturally without thought. I'm more interested in those who have specific plans for improvement that I can imitate to some extent. 

If you would like to join, I started a group called "2015: Ten Million Step Challenge." It's not a competition, although some may take it that way. There is an outlier in the group, but I think she is legitimate. It doesn't matter as the goal is ten million steps. There aren't any trophies for getting more or for being finished first. My competiton will be a spreadsheet I created with daily step goals for the entire year. 

I don't know what the Fitbit council is. 

Meanwhile, enjoy Fitbit for what it is and what it's possible to be. 

[prc1977]

Gershon,

You have mentioned twice the idea of 'minimizing random steps.' What does this mean? Minimizing steps as a means to increasing step count sounds particularly cool...

Also, you have qualified a few posts with the term, 'bias' and the need to subtract bias but isn't that just the same as deselecting for bias which is it's own form of bias?

(just kidding on that second question...)

Your numbers are impressive!  Have a great day..

[Gershon]

Random steps are steps I do while shopping, walking around the house, etc. Through experimentation, I found these are more fatiguing than walking at walking pace.

Instead of pacing around the house, I hop on the treadmill for about seven minutes and use the same time to get more steps. In seven minutes I get about 800-900 steps. In the same seven minutes of pacing, I MIGHT get 400 steps. 

When I'm cooking, I work to minimize my steps to save time, and then hop on the treadmill with the saved time.

Don't get the idea I get all my steps on the treadmill. Most of it is outside on bonifide walks.

When I read the title for this topic, I was biased into thinking it was about cheating because I was active on the 80,000 step post. If I hadn't been exposed to the 80,000 step post, I'd have interpreted the first question differently. 

If you'd like the full story of my early training, you can get this eBook on Amazon. It's free if you have Kindle Unlimited, or $2.99 if you don't. 

[oldrunner]

As I have said several times, it is my understanding that the first post is from the person that started the tread. Therefore, "Who has the time to average 50,000 steps a day! How can this be possible?" is the correct way to interpret the title.  WendyB answered accordingly. If you and others let your bias cause you to misinterpret the author’s purpose that is fine.

[prc1977]

Gershon,

I can't argue with your results but replacing steps you take in life with blasted-out treadmill steps is hardcore! Standing still while you cook dinner to free up a couple of minutes for walking on the treadmill at a fast pace later...that's wild man crazy talk but it is totally inspiring! I would think someone who walks as much as you wouldn't get fatigued by a day's worth of walking to the bathroom, cooking, laundry etc. but I can see how you might get more steps in by maximizing time on the treadmill. For me, minimizing random steps doesn't sound as beneficial as maximizing lifestyle efficiency to maximize time available for power-walking. But like I say, your numbers don't lie. 101,000 steps in a day is insane.

I haven't been walking much lately but when I felt good about it, I tended to adopt the inefficiency model which meant things like putting away laundy one item at a time so a load of clean clothes meant a dozen trips upstairs etc. Also, I imposed rules like the only way I was allowed to watch a baseball game was on the treadmill...not quite the same as you but...

All of the bickering on this thread has been fun to watch and in a weird way it has gotten me to think more actively about my step counts and fitbit. I will check out your kindle book and see what the 48 state thing is all about.

Bias is fun. I'm totally biased.

Have a good day and thanks for responding!

[Gershon]

PRC

Just a quick note as I don't have much time. My best day was a little over 40,000. My average day is about 26,000.

Gershon

[WendyB]

@Emmeli
Here is a great thread on how to add steps. Hope it helps!

https://community.fitbit.com/t5/Get-Fit/How-do-you-get-those-extra-steps-in/m-p/51/highlight/true#M1

[phobos30]

...and some of us really wnat to know how the heck you can get 50,000 steps. Its not being "nosey" or judgemental. A genuine how can I get that many steps. 

[Gershon]

Phobos,

First, a person must want to get 50,000 steps a day. Most people have more important goals.

Second, a person must go walk or run the steps.

There aren't any tricks I know of. There are self-motivation techniques, but they are only tools. 

Training methods are hard to find for this level of activity. Given time, people can figure them out for themselves.

[SunsetRunner]

I have wondered the same thing a million times on this forum.

I am not a runner, but very fit and active.  I have hiked for hours in Portugal, Spain, Norway, New Zealand, and never made 50,000 steps in one day. 

My take is this...if any of your fitbit "friends" logs in an extreme amount of steps on a regular basis, simply unfriend them.  That is what I do.  We all know exactly how much effort it takes to gain the steps and floors that we do.  There are very many cheaters on this site, but we don't have to remain friends with people who are cheating.  And as someone mentioned, they are only cheating themselves.

[SunsetRunner]

if you have the time 50000 steps is not hard to do, instead of sitting down whilst watching tv, pace around the room, have spare time, go for a walk, yesterday I walked around the village I am currently staying almost a dozen times, a women at a shop saw me several times when she popped out for a smoke, she thought I was nuts until I explained to her what I was doing and why

some people work on their feet, post men/women, factory workers

depends on the job, a call centre worker for example would find it hard to hit it regularly unless they put alot of effort into it, spending all their spare time walking

I'm starting to spend more time walking when I have the time, even if it is pacing up and down, or in/out of the room

[SunsetRunner]

for example, whilst watching tv, insteading of sitting on the couch, circle the room, lets say 15 steps to circle the living room, circle it 3000 times, 45000 steps

granted, the carpet won't last long

I used to work in a computer store, at the collection point, so spent the whole working day walking to and from the collection to and warehouse, jobs like that would rack up the steps

[SunsetRunner]

I'm still not buying it.  I have worked active jobs, too.  18,000- 20,00 steps, sure.  While on vacation, hiking has often been my main goal of the day, taking hours of my time.  I never once made 50,000 steps. 

[SunsetRunner]

I can do 20k in the evening without much trouble, pacing in and out of the living room and kitchen whilst watching tv in the evening

you may walk slow, doesn't mean everyone does, I walk faster than most, nearly 100 steps per minute

as for hiking, you walk at a leisurely pace

and those that jog/run will hit it easily

[SunsetRunner]

23k

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B1-8GFRHN2w3ZTA5ZGpLNFM2SDQ/edit?usp=docslist_api

40k

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B1-8GFRHN2w3YXVwVnBZWVFXOWc/edit?usp=docslist_api

@Gershon 10 million!! good luck 🙂 hope you hit it

I'd be happy half that

[SunsetRunner]

Dude, just stop.  I work out daily.  I do 4.5 miles per hour on the treadmill each morning.  Challenging grades, as well.  I don't take "slow" steps.  I don't care how many passes you take around your village...I believe you are lying.