I honestly can’t believe we haven’t chatted about this before- because I have almost a 5 year streak with averaging over 10k steps a day! And these 5 years have also been the healthiest years of my life and I can’t wait to share everything I have learned along the way to make this feasible.
Below we are going to chat all about how to actually get 10k (or more!) steps a day.
But first I want to very quickly chat about the benefits!
Why is getting 10k steps a day so helpful?
1: It’s good for your heart– I am not a doctor but they do agree that walking regularly, especially at a brisk pace, strengthens our hearts.
2: It helps us lose weight– whether or not losing weight is a focus for you, walking more will increase how many calories you are burning! So if you don’t want to lose weight make sure to up your calorie consumption.
3: Helps our Mental Health: exercise, including walking, is known to release endorphins, the body’s natural painkillers and mood elevators. Consistent walking can reduce stress, anxiety, and depression, and improve overall mood.
4: Enhances Sleep: Regular walkers often report better sleep quality. And personally I can vouch for that as well!
5: Encourages Healthy Habits: Setting a goal of 10,000 steps can encourage more mindful engagement with one’s health. This is one of the sneakiest yet most impactful benefits in my experience!
So now that we are on the same page about the importance of 10k steps it’s time to get into a realistic conversation about how you can achieve this ambitious goal-
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11 Life Changing Tips For Getting 10k Steps A Day
How to actually get your daily step goal:
Tip 1: Start your mornings with a walk
Starting your day off with a beautiful stroll is good for not only getting to your step goal but also ensuring that we spend at least a little bit of the start of our day getting fresh air.
Personally I like to also drink my coffee during this morning walk. It’s so peaceful! Though I will admit when I lived in Ohio for the past 10 years I didn’t always drink it while walking in the winter.
But speaking of which- learning to push through natural elements reasonably will be life changing for this too. Get proper rain boots, snow boots, coats, umbrellas, dog walking accessories etc. that will help make natures less pleasant days more bearable. It will help increase the likelihood you don’t talk yourself out of the morning walk.
Tip 2: Get a small/ desk size treadmill
This is my biggest game changer personally- getting a treadmill desk has contributed more than anything else for me getting my step streak.
There are so many online but this is the one I currently use because it is more on the narrow side and fits perfectly under my desk. Which BTW is also linked here because it’s awesome- I searched high and low for one with both the adjustable height feature and storage and this was the winner. And it wasn’t too hard to assemble!
This is my setup:
Tip 3: Prioritize walking when planning your day
This is so helpful guys!! When you are making your daily plan literally pencil in walking time.
What exactly that will look like and how you plan out your days will vary greatly from person to person. For me I use a to do list and time blocking so I assign tasks (we will talk more about tasks in a little bit) that can overlap with either a household / life chore or a work task on the treadmill desk.
Some examples (I needed inspo when starting the 10k a day journey and you might too so let’s share ideas!) of these tasks are also below!
Tip 4: Take the Stairs
Skip the elevator and take the stairs whenever possible. It’s an easy way to increase your step count and improve cardiovascular health.
And guys it does get easier I promise lol I switched to taking the stairs the majority of the time at our apartment and it’s 4 stories – and honestly it’s gotten easier over the months we have been here. Which means cardio and heart condition/strength is improving!
Tip 5: Walk and Talk
Convert phone calls into walking opportunities. Pace around your house, office, or even take the call outside. This is especially useful for longer calls or conference calls.
If it can be done while walking instead then try to switch to that when chatting.
This might seem silly but it can add up fast. And this seems like the perfect time to drop some evidence that these tips work- here is my screenshot from the Garmin app with my annual step average!!
Tip 6: Incorporate Walking into Social Activities
Instead of sitting in coffee shops or bars, suggest walking meetings or catch-ups with friends. Walking in a local park or around the city can be just as sociable as any café.
Tip 7: Dance / move around extra during household chores
Who doesn’t love a dance party while cleaning?? Well probably some people but I know I do! And it helps to keep us moving for longer and with higher energy. Which results in more steps working towards the 10k step goal.
Tip 8: Make it a step competition!
Okay maybe I am just a little bit too competitive but nothing motivates me more than winning. And if you read that and nodded in agreement then find someone else in your life to challenge to a step competition to get you both motivated and kicking butt!
The easiest way to do this is usually to have a share tracking system AKA share the same brand of smart watch. Currently I use (and love) the Garmin Venu 3S which I’ll admit was my husbands idea. He knows how competitive I am and him and his triathlon buddies all use the Garmin ecosystem. Meaning that I can compete with them all which honestly is super motivating.
Tip 9: Set movement reminders when needed most
Is there certain things that make you focus a little too hard? Do you get really sucked into your reality tv show binges (no judgment here guys)? We all have parts of our day where it’s harder to remember to get movement in so during those times it can be so helpful to have notifications or reminders set on your smart watch or phone to remind you every 30-90 minutes to get up and move around for a bit.
Tip 10: Find the right tasks
Find tasks that are either productive or enjoyable you can do while walking and the game changes!!
We talked about tasks a little bit ago when discussing planning your day. But they are an important part of this in my opinion so let’s chat about my personal examples because I’m hoping that will help inspire you on this journey.
Household / Life Tasks:
- Walking the dog- If the dog already has to be let out you might as well give them an extra walk and get 2000 steps instead of 400. And if your pup is anything like mine aka extremely energetic this change will be good for them too 🙂
- Doing laundry- literally space the baskets our further on the ground or find a creative way to take just like 2 steps per item. Being on your feet makes you fold faster in my opinion and it’ll get a little extra movement in for ya. Don’t believe me? Then make sure you are using a fitness tracker on your wrist or ankle because the steps will show up when you turn little chores into a couple hundred steps.
- Running errands- if you are in a situation like I am that you can choose between walking or driving to a lot of your errands it’s essential to choose walking whenever possible. Like my pharmacy for example- I walk to get my medicine every month rather than driving because that day I am guaranteed about 4k steps right there! And you can make it efficient by listening to audiobooks or podcasts while walking to errands. Talk about productive!!
Treadmill Tasks:
- Work tasks- of course this will depend on your ability to work remotely unless you get one for your office which is an option for many! But for me there are things I need to do daily like updating my reports, checking emails, and even editing videos can all be done while walking at about a 2.0 speed on the treadmill.
- Life admin tasks- Hop on your treadmill when you’re doing your grocery delivery shopping, or when you’re updating your household calendar, or any random life tasks that you gotta do that involve normally just sitting and reading or looking at a screen.
- Entertainment tasks- There are a lot of entertainment activities that can be done while walking on the treadmill too. Of course, there is watching TV or movies (or YouTube!) but depending on your entertainment preferences you can get creative too. Like to play bingo on your iPad? Try doing it on the treadmill. Love to read? Same! And it’s surprisingly easy to do while walking on the treadmill.
Turning daily tasks into opportunities to get extra steps in can be insanely transformative for your health and essential for hitting your 10k steps a day goal. So take some time right now to think about your daily routines and what your life looks like. Then start brainstorming ways that you can transform those tasks into getting more steps!
Tip 11: Walk While Waiting
Whether you’re waiting for your kids at sports practice, for an appointment, or even during television commercials, use that time to get in some steps. It may just be say 5 extra minutes walking but that’s a couple hundred steps if you’re going at a decent pace. And in a lot of cases we spend wayyy more than 5 minutes a day waiting in a car for example that we could instead spend walking around the neighborhood (if safe!) or walking on the treadmill while waiting on hold or during commercials.
So guys that is all for now!
But if you are continuing on this health and self improvement journey I have a few more articles below that you should check out next. Maybe hop on a treadmill or head outside for a walk while reading 😉
Korra-Shay
If you enjoyed this article on 11 Life Changing Tips For Getting 10k Steps A Day then you probably (hopefully!) will enjoy and find these articles helpful as well:
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