Do you know how many steps are right for you? | Diet and Exercise | Real Life Fitness | PhitZone

“A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” Lao-tzu

Photo: Frank Servayge CC-By-2.0

Did you know that the average sedentary adult in North America takes 3,000 – 5,000 steps per day? How many should we be taking? Excellent questions!

I’ve been wearing a pedometer for just over a year. While I exercise outside of work, and my family keeps me hopping, I also work at a desk 8+ hours per day. During this last year my goal has been to take 7,000 steps per day. That is a very doable amount.

While doing some recon on the subject on the interweb, I found that the blanket recommendation is 10,000 steps. That number isn’t based on any kind of research. Somebody just pulled it out of their… hat, and there you have it.

• One mile is approximately 2,000.
• If you take less than 5,000 steps per day, you are considered sedentary.
• 5,5000 to 7,500 is considered low activity.
• To be considered “somewhat active”, you’re looking at 7,500 – 10,000 steps.
• 10,000 to 12,000 is labeled active.
• Above 12K steps would be highly active.

There is a wide range of pedometers available. I’ve received a few of them in gift bags. These tell the number of steps, and that is about it.

Taking a look online, I found pedometers from $5 to $40. The more features, the higher the price. Of course, the less expensive ones probably aren’t built as well, but will serve a basic service.

The one that I wear was given to me. Through my day job, we are participating in a health challenge that will remain nameless. I plug mine into the computer every couple of days, and earn points. There is a website that keeps track of how active I am, which makes it kind of fun.

Do you wear a pedometer? How many steps do you average in a day?