How do people work to get above 20,000 steps?

[Run4Fun]

I am active (run three miles in the morning, work all day, goof around with children in the evening while I do housework but getting above 20000 steps per day seems elusive to me. Help! 

[Landofbizarre]

Exactly.  I'm a mail carrier and yesterday I logged 36,000 steps.  Get a job with the USPS and they pay you to exercise.  My fitbit doesn't log floors climbed, but I'd be interested to see!  I'm up and down stairs all day.  

[CandyElektra]

I am BLOWN away by how SEDETARY my life is and seeing these step averages floor me. I wear my flex 24/7 since xmas. In nearly 6 months I have YET TO make even the 10k/day goal. Months ago I reset my goal to 5k/day and only make that number about 2 times a month. My average steps/day are typically under a thousand and many weeks in a row it is averaging under 500 a day. I am still young (30s) and had no idea I was THIS "off" from the typical human of any age. I actually make an effort and even get out and walk until i'm dizzy. WTF?! I have this terrible fear i'm so far from what the human body requires for movement and out of shape I'm gonna drop dead of a stroke or something. I can't even stand still and brush my teeth without my shins aching and bruising. Strange.

[TandemWalker]

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@CandyElektra wrote:

I am BLOWN away by how SEDETARY my life is and seeing these step averages floor me. I wear my flex 24/7 since xmas. In nearly 6 months I have YET TO make even the 10k/day goal. Months ago I reset my goal to 5k/day and only make that number about 2 times a month. My average steps/day are typically under a thousand and many weeks in a row it is averaging under 500 a day. I am still young (30s) and had no idea I was THIS "off" from the typical human of any age. I actually make an effort and even get out and walk until i'm dizzy. WTF?! I have this terrible fear i'm so far from what the human body requires for movement and out of shape I'm gonna drop dead of a stroke or something. I can't even stand still and brush my teeth without my shins aching and bruising. Strange.

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Hold on there @CandyElektra  - Please do NOT let those scores deter you from your own goals and achievements. All you can ask of yourself is to set realistic goals and to track your progress towards those goals. Shooting for the moon will quickly turn motivation into discouragement. If you keep you diet in check and burn more than you consume; if you walk daily and try to increase you number of step by a factor every day, even if it's only 20-50 steps; you'd be surprised what you get to by the end of the month. I don't know you, and there may be other factors at play here in your profile - my advice is to realistic with your goal and to be consistent with both your diet and your exercise regimen.

[CandyElektra]

I used to be so **ahem** about my food logginig. I have a hard time remembering what I ate at all...or if i did. Now I just eat when I'm hungry and try to make good choices when I can. I just listen to my body with the food. 

[TandemWalker]

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@CandyElektra wrote:

I used to be so **ahem** about my food logginig. I have a hard time remembering what I ate at all...or if i did. Now I just eat when I'm hungry and try to make good choices when I can. I just listen to my body with the food. 

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That's probably not that bad an approach, although I still feel that logging what you consume makes you more aware of the direct impact on the calorie scale of certain foods versus others. It has helped me a great deal over the last year or so to realize that my diet was far too rich in carb at the expense of protein; and a lot of the carbs I was devouring were of the wrong type, turning into sugar and fat!  Timing is also important - your bigger meals are better eaten when you`re the most active; and lighter meals later in the day when you will be the least active. I also found that I had to shock my metabolism by varying my exercise regimen. Walking every day at the same pace is fine for a while; but once your body gets used to that, you reach a plateau and can stay there forever. So I would try to walk a little faster, and then a little slower, and cycle through. I don`t know what`s available to you in terms of other activities, but if there was a way to alternate walking with something else (like swimming for example) that would also help.

[_Fit4Life_]

@CandyElektra - as TandemWalker stated, don't let the scores of others discourage you from setting and hitting your own personal goals. 

In your profile, you have days under 250 steps.  You could set your goal to a minimum of 350.  This is stil 40% more than what you had before.  I'm fairly certain that you could find a way to do 100 more steps during an entire day.

You also might want to check that your wear your fitbit and that it is properly recording - those steps seems low even if you stay at home and don't move much.

Moderate/slow walking is generally a safe activity for most people - but if you get dizzy, have pain or fear for a stroke, you might want to consult your doctor before making changes to your physical habits.   

-Fit4Life-

[kindlegirl]

Ok.  I am 57 years old and I began my "FitBit" and MyFitness Pal journey 370 days ago.  I never exercised and was 60# overweight.  Fast forward to today.  I have lost the 60# and I am walking 2 hours each workday morning. I am wearing a size 8 today. My lab work is great. B/P great.  My life has changed.  I am telling you this to say ........ you can do it!!!!  Yes, it is hard but worth every minute.  I started walking at 20 mins and worked my way up.  That is how I have gotten the last 10 pounds off.  If I can do it, anyone can.  Link your Fitbit to MyFitnessPal and document every bit of food you eat.  Don't let others derail you. 

[KimRH]

Exactly!!!!! I'm 54---85lbs down and do it the same---with the exception of walking for three hours/day and lowering it to two. I was doing 25,000-26,000/day and found it was wearing me down. Doing 20,000-21,000 is more than enough---but for me I can't stay focused if I'm not intense with my walking. Just find your niche and stay there! If we can do it---you can!

[TandemWalker]

@kindlegirl  and @KimRH - Wow! Congrats to both of you. I won't bother you with my own stats, as they don't come anywhere close to what you both have here; but I'm very happy with the progress made so far. My waistline went from the 42-44 range down to 33-34. Inasmuch as the journey was tough at times, I think the real and true challenge stil lies ahead - maintenance. Assuming that good health prevails, it will be interesting to see what I look like two years from now!

[TandemWalker]

... and on the flipside of all this, clothes are not exactly cheap!

[KukaaKatchou]

My first day ever above 20,000!  It's a holiday today and fairly nice weather so off I went!  End of day total ... over 30,000 steps and a very nice half marathon distance 21.09km.  I need to get some sleep or I ould try to get those last steps for the next badge!!  On a ork day I do a 5km walk in the morning and get the rest of my steps at work and its tough to get 10,000 to 12,000 a day for me.  So today I am bursting with pride!

[TandemWalker]

No doubt that this has already been said, but the step count is only one statistic; and sure, improving your daily step count can indeed be a worthwhile goal. But to I think it's important not to get carried away with this and to combine walking (as an exercise) with other activities like cycling (stationary bike or outdoors), swimming, rowing ...

I used to shoot for the 20,000 daily steps  and often exceed that. But over time, I realized that my body was getting used to this routine and I was no longer achieving the weight loss goal I had set for myself. So not only did I reduce the amount of time dedicated to walking, but I also incorporated walk/jog (slow jog) intervals in my daily walking workouts; and I now spend as much time on other activites( like strengthening, cycling and rowing) as I do on walking.

Just a thought!

[Liz_J]

I can't think of anything more boring than walking the same spot for hours. At least if you're out you don't notice the time passing and the scenery changes. The treadmill has to be set at a gradient , walking on the flat might give the steps but not the fitness or fat burning

[TandemWalker]

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@Liz_J wrote:
I can't think of anything more boring than walking the same spot for hours. At least if you're out you don't notice the time passing and the scenery changes. The treadmill has to be set at a gradient , walking on the flat might give the steps but not the fitness or fat burning

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You burn more on an incline, no argument there; but at the right pace, especially if you vary your pace, you will burn fat and achieve fitness gains just the same. When you say "walking the same spot for hours" are you referring to stepping/jogging in place? Yeah, I don't think I'd do it for hours, but while watching TV, I don't mind doing it on and off here and there.

[Rafferty203]

Hey Everyone,

Reading through you posts about how many steps a day you get is very insprining. I have had the fitbit for about 3 weeks and and this week I just about hit the 10,000 mark every day. I work in office and work long hours however I have made it a point to get a walk/run in every night afterwork. Just wanted let you all know that you have inspired me to up my daily step count for next week! Thanks all 🙂

[Rhiannon8404]

The only time I have acheived more than 20,000 steps was at Disneyland. I have to make a concerted effort, but I can usually get in 10,000 on a normal day. 

[LaTonya]

I have hit 20k+ by walking in 'chunks'. I can't run do to foot and knee issues. We don't ow a car and we do almost all our errands by walking. I love walking and my activity is varied. Sometimes I'm walking purely for exercise and sometimes errands. For exercise, I walk set times during the day for short periods of times.

Today, I'm bumming because yesterday I hit 20k+ but when I checked my chart only 16k+ registered. I don't understand why my ped said one thing before I went to bed and something different on the site. Can anyone explain the discrepancy?

[WalkAllDay]

I have a treadmill desk, so getting over 20,000 steps on a work day is not an issue at all. I usually get 25-30,000 when I work. The most I have done in a day is 52,000 .. a long work day and then a 4.5 mile run with the dogs after work. On the weekends, a game of soccer is good for around 10,000 steps and a long hike can help get me up there, but it can be tough to get to 20,000. I am normally around 15,000 on the weekend.

[Jabrat]

Getting up early before work - I get anywhere from 10,000 to 15,000 - I have a desk job - it's the only way for me !  And when I walk at night - I will get another 10,000 - so that works for me !  I have done enormous steps months on end - so I know that it takes a lot of time - but I am happy with the 25,000 to 30,000 a day now.  It works in my life.  For now, that's what it will be.  🙂

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@Run4Fun wrote:

I am active (run three miles in the morning, work all day, goof around with children in the evening while I do housework but getting above 20000 steps per day seems elusive to me. Help! 

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[get2fitK8]

I got it after doing my normal routine during the day of walking kids to school and taking the long way home, and doing the housework (got 10k by 1pm) then I went to a rock concert where we had a mile plus walk to the ampitheatre each way and then stood up and danced to the music for 3 hours. I don't normally get too much beyonf 15k and sometimes barely make 10k, But I had a choice of sitting in a plastic stadium seat or dancing and getting steps. dancing was much more fun. find the activity that you can do for hours and you can get 20k at least once in a while.