THE 10000 STEPS A DAY MYTH

Are you walking 10000 steps a day? Is that really what your step goal should be? Why did you set yourself a step goal? If you are unsure or don’t know how to answer one of these questions, then read on.

A lot people think 10000 steps is the magic number of steps that they need to walk daily, however, this is not the case.  The 10000 number gained much more popularity as numerous fitness trackers came on the market.  It was a marketing approach to advertise fitness tracker sales and it worked.

There are many individual factors that are not accounted for in the random 10000 step goal. Age, fitness level, and health status all play a factor. As a result of these factors, it is not always possible to reach that big of a number.

Where did the 10000 steps a day originate from?

The original 10000 steps is from the 1960s when Japan was marketing and selling electronic pedometers. For anyone not familiar with such a device, the pedometer is a small device that tells you how many steps you have taken. It was a marketing tactic back then and is still somewhat of a marketing tactic today.

A lot of my references tie back to the Coros Apex which is the fitness watch I wear. According to Coros, ‘Walk’ is not even an activity that it promotes. There are a whole variety of activities and sports on the fitness watch, however, ‘Walk’ is not one of them. Don’t get me wrong because Coros is definitely a good brand and it does track your ‘Hike’, but a ‘Walk’ is not something that is trackable for activities. I guess Coros promotes very long walks aka the ‘Hike’.

Why Does Intensity Matter?

The correct number of steps should not be set at a specific number. The intensity of the activity plays a large role for the steps taken.

Lets take a look at this two person example and determine who had a more effective workout. By effective, im referring to having the more challenging workout and requiring more aerobic fitness.

       1. Name: K9           Male, 5′-7″, 170 lbs, 40 years old, no underlying health conditions  
       2. Name: K10         Male, 5′-7″, 170 lbs, 40 years old, no underlying health conditions

Let’s say K9 walks 10000 steps today and all of it was in a straight line (same grade). It took K9 49-minutes to complete this walk.

Let’s say K10 walks 8000 steps today and all of it was uphill (5% incline). It took K10 an hour to complete this uphill walk.

Did K9 or K10 have the more effective workout?

Note that the age, sex and weight have no consideration in answering this comparison question since both K9 and K10 are the same sex, height and weight. Also, you cannot definitively conclude that K9 had the harder workout. It is correct that K9 walked 2000 more steps than K10, however, K9 walked in a straight line. Walking in a straight line does not require as much energy and effort as walking uphill at an incline. The incline that K10 walked at cannot be neglected. One step walking at an incline is not equal to one step walking at no incline.

You can also not conclude that K10 had the harder workout. It is correct that K10 walked uphill which requires more power than walking at the same grade, however, K10 walked 2000 less steps than K9. It also took K10, 11 more minutes to complete his 8000 steps than K9’s 10000 steps. Due to the variability in time, steps, and incline, it is inconclusive who had the more effective workout.

If we change K9’s duration to complete the 10000 steps to 60 minutes, now both workouts by K9 and K10 were completed within the same time range (one hour). The answer leans towards K10 having the more effective workout.