Pedometers are a great way to track how much you walk each day. Many smartphones now offer this technology in their health apps.
A sedentary person averages just 1,000 to 3,000 steps in a 24-hour period. It goes without saying that getting active and moving is the first step towards fighting obesity and staring down the road to fitness.
There are countless books and programs on walking with the use of pedometers. The 10,000 Steps A Day is a great program to get people moving. One should start by wearing a pedometer for a week to find out how many steps they average. It is recommended that small incremental increases each week by about 500 steps/day will get one to the goal of 10,000 Steps A Day. Little things like taking the stairs instead of the elevator, walking the dog, parking at the far side of the parking lot, or taking an after dinner stroll add up quick. The 10,000 Steps A Day program works.
In addition, some new studies shed light on walking and the intensity factor. US/UK guidelines urge us to engage in moderate exercise five times each week for 30 minutes. Until now, the term “moderate” was vague and subjective.
A recent study conducted at the University of San Diego monitored men and women in their thirties to see how many steps per minute were required to get “moderate” exercise. The answer they came up with was 100 steps per minute.
The study is published in the American Journal of Preventative Medicine. Consideration should be taken for severely obese and deconditioned individuals, as they may need less intensity to get the same cardio-respiratory results. Also, one would do well starting this approach by striving to accumulate 1000 steps in 10 minutes and slowly working up to a goal of 3000 steps in 30 minutes.
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