Walking

Walking. Something we (almost) all do. Some of us walk a lot, some walk to just to go from point A to point B.  But walking is park of our life.  Most of us do not work out much outside of our jobs- thus the amount of activity we do at work is a huge part of our daily activity.  Americans average about 3000-6000 steps per day. Research shows that 10,000 steps (5 miles) is the recommended amount for improved health and reduced disease risk.

Lately I have been thinking a lot about walking and doing a lot of walking. Why? One word: competition.  At work we are having a walking competition.  They issued all of us pedometers to track our steps during the workday.  We work desk jobs with some minor walking to fetch charts and printed documents.

The first week of the competition we obtained our baseline walking levels. Incredibly, I had the highest levels in the entire office, about 8500 steps in an 8 hr day (plus 1 hr lunch).  Most of my coworkers averaged around 3000.  They all wanted to know what my "trick" was. I had no trick.  I simply got up often. I walked to fetch documents. I walked to move my car from my 2 hr parking spot.  I walked to buy lunch down the street. I walked to take regular bathroom breaks.  Simply put, I didn't sit at my desk all day.

This we we have been trying improve from our baselines.  I did similar on the first day, about 8600 steps. Everyone else improved by doing lunch-time walking or walking around the office more. The second day (yesterday) I saw the most dramatic improvements- 12000 steps!   I spent almost the whole day on my feet. When I wasn't busy with a client, I did laps around the office, danced around my desk, hopped, paced back and forth, and topped off the day with a 3 minute jog in place. We also went on a short walk during our lunch break.  The craziest part about this was how I felt when I got home.  I was SORE.  My legs hurt, my feet hurt.  I couldn't believe that I got such a good workout during my day at my desk job.

Today is the third day of the challenge.  I am trying to stay as active as possible. It is a challenge. My goal is 15000 steps or 7.5 miles.  My feet hurt, my legs hurt. But it hurts so good.

How much do you walk per day? Try getting a pedometer. Set some goals.  You will be amazed!!