how do people get 1500 or more steps daily

[bss]

cannot get to 1500 steps....NEED IDEAS....

[Jrdubyakc · Accepted solution]

Not sure how long you have been wearing your fitbit, but it have found my activity level has continued to increase. I work from home at a computer all day. When I first got my flex, I was barely getting 5k steps per day. I added a 2-3 15 min walks during the day and that got me to about 10k. The more steps I got, the better I felt, so I just kept naturally finding more ways to increase my step count. 5 months with the fitbit and I still consider 15k steps a good day. You don't have to run 10 miles or go crazy to get that many steps, you just have to be aware of your inactive time and find ways to keep moving. Here are some things I have done:

- set silent alarms that go off each day to remind me to get moving
- park at the end of the parking lot
- if watching tv, try to walk in place (or dance or whatever movement you prefer)
- find a walking friend. I walk twice as far when I have some one to talk to
- if you have a silly side, just find a few times during the day to crank up the music and have a dance party. I do this when I have been sitting at my computer too long or am feeling stressed. Just a few minutes of ridiculousness makes me feel so much more relaxed and I rack up the steps
- hit the mall. I get tons of steps when I go shopping.
- make a list of areas around your town that you want to explore - trails, buildings, neighborhoods, campuses, etc. - and go see them!
- walk your dog or offer to walk someone else's - a dog is a great companion

[McMurphy]

1,500 or 15,000?

I range from 10,000-15,000 daily. I'm a CNA and constantly moving on my feet for 8.5 straight hours, plus I usually take an hour-long walk each day as well. 

If you have an active job, definitely wear the fitbit to work. Even if you have a sedentary job, you have to get up and move eventually, right? If getting steps at work still isn't getting you up there, climb stairs at home, walk around the house, do a Leslie Sansone "Walk away the pounds" DVD (lots of videos on YouTube). 

Good luck on your goal!

[Dominique]

---

@bss wrote:

cannot get to 1500 steps....NEED IDEAS....

---

Based on your profile, you seem to have been using your Fitbit since August 12 (ie. almost one month) and your daily step count has varied from 2598 to 15,995 during that period, averaging maybe 7000. So what is your exact problem?

If you find it hard to reach the recommended average of 10,000 per day, you don't have to do it right away. Just set yourself a goal that you can achieve right now (eg. 8000 steps) and increase it progressively over time. Instead of focusing on the daily goal, focus on the weekly goal instead (eg. reaching 56,000 weekly steps instead of 8000 daily).

Try to analyze the reasons why you cannot reach your goal: is it because you are too out of shape? Or because of lack of time? etc.

[KC12]

Take the long route to the coffee machine, bathroom, mail room, etc. Skip the elevator and take the stairs. Spend the last five minutes of lunch doing a lap around the block. Purposefully place the things you need to grab (shoes, bag, keys, etc) far away from each other so you have to walk around the house a bit.

[LewWagner]

Assuming you really meant 15,000, walk.

Walk during lunch, after getting up in the morning, or in the evening after dinner.

Don't be a couch potato.  Pace around while watching TV

Just some thoughts.

Lew

[jra2212]

One of the best ways I've found to get steps is to run.  I can knock out a little over 10k steps per hour when running.  I usually run at least an hour most days of the week and often times more.  If I haven't hit 15k during my run, I can usually coast right on past it just carrying on the rest of my day. 

[Marsela]

I can get 1000 on a lazy Sunday. At work I easily get 5000 steps. Twice a work day a group of us meet at 10:30 AM and 2:30 PM and walk around the building for three laps.

During the weekend, I try to walk to any nearby store to pick-up something small (eggs, milk, etc) as an excuse to get out and walk.

I have silent alerts set-up at 7:00, 8:00 and 9:00 PM in case I'm on the couch, my son made a list of calisthenics thinking I'm a young 30 year old, but I do what I can at my own pace. The idea is to rotate exercise while watching TV.

[iamdan · Accepted solution]

I just want to point out that I feel you are right on track with everyone else.  I mean without a fitbit many of us had no idea really just how many steps a day we walk or do not walk.  So now that you know you are prime for improvement.  By reaching out for ideas you again are going in the right direction. 

In my case it wasn't a matter I could do I instead reversed it to say what should I stop doing.  I found I was driving to the corner instead of walking.  I was watching TV instead of walking.  I was letting the dog out the door into the yard instead of walking him around the block.  I parked as close as I could, I took the escalator not the stairs, and on and on.  There was so many opportunities right in front of me everyday.  I had to un-learn all the years of taking the easy way out.

[badchess]

I get 3000-5000 just from being at work/home/shopping.

If I play tennis for an hour I get 5000-8000 steps.

Days I don't play tennis, I try to make a point of walking for a couple of hours.  2-3 hours of walking gets me up to around 20,000 steps.

[juiceplus]

I take dancing.  I do jazz twice a week with one day a week, tapping class.  I take Ballet, but most of this is at thr barr or floor work.  I try park my car across the parking lot and walk to the store.  I use my legs to walk instead of riding the ATV to do chores around the area I live.

[hockeyguynick]

I guess it depends on what your daily routine is. I do a lot of walking at work and typically hit 10k by 330 pm, then come home and jog... been hittin well over 100k steps every week I believe

[williamhj]

I've also been running and it does wonders for my steps 🙂  Started this morning with a 10 mile run and had nearly 18K before 9 a.m.  It does wonders for many other things as well, so I recommend it highly.  Remember speed isn't that important, if you put in the miles and push yourself here and there you'll get faster but even if you don't it is still great exercise. 

[ph-62]

i'm retired so every hour i walk 15 mins, inside my home, then continue to clean house. i do 10,000 takes me 2 hours to get those 10,000 steps.after walking i drank 1 cup of water. seems to help with my pain, in my joints, i'm sleeping better, my skin isn't as dry.

---

@bss wrote:

cannot get to 1500 steps....NEED IDEAS....

---

[taekwondogirl]

I work one full time job and one part time job. At my full time job I work 12 hour night shifts as a CNA in a hospital and work in the float pool so I can work on any unit, pretty much whichever unit is the busiest. But most days I hit at least 8,000 steps before I get off at 6 am, and that's only half of my shift. My other job is as a bartender in a banquet hall and on nights I bartend I generally always get at least 18,000 steps.

It's all about setting mini goals for yourself. In May when I bought my fitbit it was my goal to get at least 5,000 steps every day even on my nights off and now by August it's my goal to hit at least 10,000 steps every day and so far this month I've only had four days not over 10,000.

It's all about making mini goals for yourself and believing in yourself that you can achieve them.

Best of luck to you.

[PeachUK]

I have created some fun '500 step' videos to easily add 500 steps to your day.  I don't know if I'm allowed to quote the address or not but they are on youtube if you search for '500 steps' or 'choreographytown'

YouTube 500 Steps Videos

Hope they help! 

[SunsetRunner]

---

@PeachUK wrote:

I have created some fun '500 step' videos to easily add 500 steps to your day.  I don't know if I'm allowed to quote the address or not but they are on youtube if you search for '500 steps' or 'choreographytown'

YouTube 500 Steps Videos

Hope they help! 

---

Haha your video made me smile.   Here's the perfect song for your dance.  

Que Tengo Que Hacer (Merengue version)

Merengue Latin Band

[PeachUK]

Thanks!  I didn't put music on because of the music copyright laws.  It was just easier not to.  Great track though!  I plan on doing some more videos for fun.  

---

@SunsetRunner wrote:

---

@PeachUK wrote:

I have created some fun '500 step' videos to easily add 500 steps to your day.  I don't know if I'm allowed to quote the address or not but they are on youtube if you search for '500 steps' or 'choreographytown'

YouTube 500 Steps Videos

Hope they help! 

---

Haha your video made me smile.   Here's the perfect song for your dance.  

Que Tengo Que Hacer (Merengue version)

Merengue Latin Band

---

[SunsetRunner]

Jog on the spot whilst watching tv

Basically, keep moving, it all adds up

Let's say 2 steps a second, that episode of Corrie, you will be looking at around 7200 steps

Granted you don't want to push too hard at first, 5 min jog, 10 min break, etc, so 15 mins whilst watching Corrie, 15 mins whilst watching Emmerdale and so on

[ArmyDudeinAZ]

I take a 10-15 minute walk every 2-3 hours and take the "long" way every place I go. If I get the mail, I walk completely around the block to get it. Also I take a 40 min walk every night. Hope this advice helps