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Fitness trackers are all the rage these days. Ask anyone who’s wearing one “what are your steps today?” and chances are they’ll be able to tell you immediately. Most of these trackers are set up by default to get to a goal of 10,000 daily steps. But have you ever wondered why 10,000? Today I wanted to share with you the magic behind reaching 1oK steps daily and share with you 30 easy ways you can increase your daily steps to meet your goal. Here we go!
The number 10,000 is actually significant in a couple of ways. First of all, it is a rough equivalent to the Surgeon General’s recommended “30 minutes of activity” that we’re all supposed to get “most days of the week”. Meeting this mark has been proven to actually lower your risk of heart disease and diabetes, as well as decrease weight and lower your BMI (Body Mass Index – a height:weight ratio).
Secondly – 10K steps (for most people) is approximately 5 miles. If you have a desk job or lead an otherwise sedentary lifestyle 10K steps is really hard to reach without some consistent effort on your part. This means that if you are in an occupation where you sit a lot, there’s going to be a little more effort required of you in order to get up to that 10,000 mark. This promotes an increase in your daily activity which results in a higher calorie burn, decreased weight, improved mood, and multiple other health benefits.
So how do we burn all those calories? What are some ways that you can increase your daily steps throughout the day and boost your daily activity? Below you will find 30 easy ways that you can increase your daily steps. My challenge to you is to select at least 10 of them and do them consistently for one week. I promise if you do that you will feel healthier, more active, and burn more calories!
- Go for a walk – Plain and simple! My favorite times are after work or after dinner with the fam!
- Walk inside – Bad weather? Too cold? Try walking around your house!
- Walk and talk – Don’t just talk on the phone! Walk and talk on the phone!
- Walk and text, type, email, etc – Same goes for typing/searching on your phone! Walk while you do it!
- Get up once an hour at work – Set an alarm on your phone/computer and stand up/walk around every hour.
- March in place while brushing your teeth – 2 minutes of good stepping!
- Clean the house – Because who doesn’t have cleaning they could be taking care of?
- Play with the kids in the backyard – It literally makes their day!
- Go for a jog – Early mornings and lunch breaks are my personal favorites.
- Take the furthest parking spot – You’d be surprised at how many spots are available when you look a lot further away!
- Take the stairs – Elevator is always broken! Hoof it up the stairs! (Great leg/butt workout, also)
- Walk your dog – You should be walking your dog, anyway!
- Go on a hike – Another family favorite. You’d be surprised what’s available close by.
- In the office – Don’t send an email or make a phone call. Walk over to a co-worker’s desk to ask a question.
- Do some yard work – Mowing, raking, trimming, weeding, pruning.., all great ways to increase activity!
- Use a bathroom as far away from your office as feasible – “As feasible” being the operative phrase here!
- Take the kids to the park – Soccer, frisbee, catch – they love it all!
- Go up and down the stairs twice each trip you take – When you get to the top, turn around and come down before going back up.
- Replace your coffee break with a 10-minute walk – Don’t just stand and sip… walk and sip!
- Go golfing (personal favorite of mine!) – Bonus if you don’t get a cart!
- Walk laps around the playground – Instead of looking for the nearest bench to sit on, walk laps while your kids play.
- After-dinner strolls with the family – Another personal favorite of mine!s
- Do the laundry – Lots of walking to/from machines; bonus if it’s on a different floor!
- Get off the bus one stop early – Just make sure you get there on time!
- Go to the drinking fountain that’s farther away – And remember – it’s important to stay hydrated!
- Form a workplace “walking group” and walk for 30 minutes on your lunch break.
- Wash your car by hand – No automated car washes with this one!
- Try one of these 15 popular 15-Minute At-Home Workouts!
- Go shopping – But DO NOT tell my wife I said that!
- Buy an activity tracker – Trust me, they are worth every penny! In fact, let me tell you a little bit more about mine and then hook you up with one of your own…
The new Polar M400 is everything you could possibly want in a wearable activity monitor!
It not only tracks everything you would expect in an elite GPS watch (speed, distance, and pace), but also monitors steps, daily activity, and sleep! This is literally the last watch you will ever buy!
Some of my favorite features include…
The pedometer – in my experience and with most models, you either get the GPS watch features OR the activity tracker. NOT SO with the Polar M400! I love that I can wear it all day to track my activity and take off on a workout without having to switch it!- Activity tracking – The part of this that I really like is that this watch actually tracks your activity, not just your steps. Activity is so much more than walking. It includes duration, intensity, energy expenditure, etc. The Polar M400 does a great job tracking this as outlined in this link.
Heart rate zones – probably my favorite feature to this watch. Know exactly how intensely you’re working out and precisely the benefit you’re receiving from each exercise… but you’ll have to wait to read more about that in an upcoming post!! (Talk about a cliffhanger, I know!)- The app – Gives you so much more detail about your workouts and daily activity! In addition to tracking steps, you can also see calories burned, what percent of those are fat calories (AWESOME feature), and what percentage of your day you’re registering “active minutes”.
The best part… I want to HOOK YOU UP with your own Polar Activity Monitor!!!
Tone and Tighten has teamed up with the awesome people over at Polar to off you
20% OFF
ALL their amazing products (activity monitors, heart rate sensors, etc)
WITH NO LIMIT!!!!
That’s right – you can pick up an activity tracker AND heart rate monitor 20% off EACH!
The holidays are coming – buy 4 as presents! 20% off!!
To get your discount, simply shop Polar.com. After selecting your products enter the discount code
POLARFITBLOG (must be all caps)
to receive your 20% off discount!!
This really is an incredible deal and I’m grateful to Polar for allowing me to be a part of it!
Let me know if you have any questions! Leave a comment below or email me at ToneandTightenFitness{at}gmail.com
Happy stepping, happy shopping, and as always…
Make it happen,
Jared
This post is sponsored by FitFluential on behalf of Polar.