Is doing 10,000 steps too much for a beginner to fitbit?

[Elliotu]

I did 10,000 steps today. In most days even with hard walking, I average 5,000 steps. today I really "pushed the pencil" and I feel physcically awfull. Is 10,000 steps too much for someone like myself? How do I determine what is right for me?

[julie_jelt]

Did you just start walking?  How old are you and have you done any other fitness exercises before leading up to this walking?

[emili]

@Elliotu if you feel physically awful then its too much too soon. However, if you feel tired and a little achy because its more activity then normal and it feels awful, then its probably not. That number is nationally recommended- its doesn't mean you have to meet that goal everyday or right away. Your body will tell you for sure when its enough- but you have to listen to it and not your brain saying it rather be on the couch watching a sappy Christmas movie. Tomorrow, shoot for half. The next day add 500 steps, Thursday 500 more, so on and so forth. Keep going until you are at 10 and feel OK at the end of the day. If you truly feel awful, I would recommend a consult with your physician to ensure you are healthy to embark on your new journey. Good luck and remember good nutrition plays a huge role in how your body responds to activity..

[WendyB]

I agree. If you feel awful its too much. You need to build up slow and not push it in the beginning.

[betpchem]

@julie_jelt Asked good questions. You don't want to do too much, too soon, and you don't want to make exercise something you dread because you feel awful afterwards. On the other hand, your mind can trick you into stopping too soon. Think about the answers to @julie_jelt's questions, and slowly build up as @emili suggested.

[awood08]

I work behind a desk 8 hours a day and barely get over 3,000 steps if I'm lucky during those 8 hours. My activity relies only on my gym and home activity. I bumped mine down to 8,000 because I was pushing myself too much and being hard on myself if I didn't get my 10,000 steps in a day.

[iMike]

I don't think there's a blanket answer here.  Age, fitness level, schedule, etc. all play a role.  I could very easily surpass 10,000 steps per day when I first got my Fitbit, but I live in a city and my feet are my primary mode of transportation.  If you're not accustomed to coming close to 10k steps per day, you may wish to consider lowering the daily step goal and work yourself up to 10k.

[julie_jelt]

Everyone here has terrific answers.  Great job!  

[HelenaFitbit]

When I got my Fitbit, 10,000 seemed like a lot! Specially when you're not used to walking so much. 

What I did was to set my goal to 5,000; when I completed 7 days at 5,0000 I increased my goal to 6,000 to another 7 days. I kept increasing my goal day after day until I reached 10,0000 steps and let me tell you, it felt right. 

As @iMike  and @emili mentioned, it depends on age, fitness level and so many other factors; but pushing a bit further week after week can really do the trick!

Happy holidays! 

[SunsetRunner]

I think the generic answer would be: "Nope, 10k steps is not that much. You should be able to walk them an exceed them and not be reminded of it the next day." 

The real answer though is that your body clearly thinks it's too much, so work up to it.

When I started running a mile was kicking my butt. If I asked any runners if a mile is too much they would've probably laughed at me (even as a beginner), but it was too much for me. So I worked up to it, now my first mile is the warm up for the real run which will be many times longer. These days a half marathon seems like a challenge to me, but 10km doesn't so I'm working on moving the ease of mile 6 into mile 7, then into mile 8, and so on.

Getting your body to adapt and better itself takes time, if 10k is too much for you, shoot for 7k steps or 5k steps or whatever you can do consistently, then slowly move up.

You have to start somewhere, so don't beat yourself up if you need to work up to what the american heart association thinks it's the healthy minimum, what matters is that you're working towards it.

If you don't quit, sooner or later you will exceed 10k with ease.

[SebringDon]

@Elliotu

I started with 6,000 steps/3 miles/30 active minutes as my goals. Each time I lose 10 pounds, I add 1,000 steps/1/2 mile/5 active minutes to my goal. I'm up to 7,000/3.5/35 and in 2 more pounds I go to 8,000/4/40.

Another way might be to set dates for changing your goals. A week as someone mentioned, or perhaps a month, depending on how fast you'll progress.

The most important thing, to me, is to have attainable goals, so that I can hit them every single day. I've hit my goals every day for almost 3 months now, and there's no way I'm willing to miss them now, so I'm super motivated.

Hope this helps!

[Brifitlife]

It was hard for me. But I used my breaks and lunch to walk or run to get steps. That helped. Each break I get 1500+ steps and if I run at lunch at least 5000 steps. Also, I make sure I move every hour at work. By the time I get home I have 8k and walk my dog and have 10k (no lunch run)....if I run at lunch to I would have 15k.

[Elliotu]

Thanks for the coaching. I did the 10,000 steps today. Lets see how I feel in the AM

[RexFeral]

Your body tells you when its too much. If you feel awful, then yes, you over did it. When I began walking, I was feeling like I wanted to walk and the doctor told me that I shouldn't over do it but I was feeling energetic and didn't want to stop. Yeah, my body ached a little afterwards and sometimes it ached a lot because I was so sedentary before but I never felt awful.

10'000 steps is actually a lot. Especially if you are doing them all at once. Maybe if it they were spaced through out the day, it wouldn't be an issue. I go out walking everyday and I walk A LOT so I've been at this for awhile and getting those 10'000 in, all in one shot, has been difficult, even for me. You have to walk a pretty long time.

Set a more manageable goal first and then work yourself up from there.

[Elliotu]

I am  happy to report that I achieved 10,000 steps today but feel achy all over and knocked out. I wonder if i overdid it and can fitbit be modified to set a goal at less than 10,000 steps?

[betpchem]

Congratulations on your achievement, @Elliotu. Yes, you can change your goal. On your dashboard, find the tile that tells your steps for today. If you move your mouse to the bottom of that tile, you will see a gear symbol. Click on the gear symbol. The tile will turn around and show you your goals for steps, miles, active minutes, etc. All those numbers can now be changed.

[Elliotu]

Yes I did 10,000 steps and even 14,000 steps one day, last week. The problem is that when I go over 8,000 steps my knees start hurting. I wonder if 10,000 steps is too much for me. How do I determine what is right for me, at this point in time?

[SebringDon]

@Elliotu

I wore my Fitbit for a few days after I first got it while leaving the goal at 10,000, not trying to hit 10,000 steps, but trying to figure out a comfortable goal for myself. I ended up starting out with a 6,000 step goal, but at the same time I decided that every time I lost 10 pounds I'd up my step goal by 1,000. I've now lost 20 pounds and have an 8,000 step goal, but I generally get around 9,000 now. I've even pushed myself for challenges and earned the 15,000 badge three times and the 10,000 badge 14 times over the 112 days I've been wearing my Fitbit. I know by the time I hit my 43-pound weight loss goal I'll be doing 10,000 steps every day with ease... and it all started with a 6,000 step goal. 🙂

[Elliotu]

Very well put. Anything more than exercise you are doing to lose weight?

[SebringDon]

@Elliotu

Besides exercising (mostly walking at this point) I'm also working the Fitbit food plan religiously. I'm set for one pound per week and averaging about 1.3 because I don't always eat all my calories at the end of the day. I'm one of the lucky ones for whom the food plan almost exactly mirrors my metabolism, so nailing my calorie count every day almost always nails my weekly weight loss goal.