Walking 10,000 steps a day is one of the most popular health goals in the world, thanks largely to the influence of best fitness trackers.
Opinions on this are divided in the fitness industry: some claim it is an arbitrary number that has led to an obsession with “taking steps”, while others argue that it can only be a good thing to encourage people to move more.
As a fitness writer and someone who walked 10,000 steps daily for over a yearI’m in both camps. The 10,000 number is nice and round, but doesn’t seem to have any scientific basis. However, I also believe that walking gives you more bang for your buck than most other forms of exercise, especially for beginners.
Therefore, using expert insights and the latest research, I decided to delve deeper into the topic and answer some of the most frequently asked questions about it.
How many steps should you take per day?
If you ask someone on the street this question, they’ll probably say 10,000. However, this number comes from a Japanese pedometer (Manpo-kei, or 10,000-step counter) that was released in the 1960s as part of a marketing campaign.
A 2023 study led by the University of Granada has since claimed that this figure has “no scientific basis”, while sports scientists and WalkActive Founder Joanna Hall says the optimal value for many of the benefits of walking is actually slightly lower.
“A meta-analysis shows that the number of steps should be between 7,000 and 9,000 per day,” she says. “This is good for general health and fitness and reduces overall mortality.”
The University of Granada report reinforces this statement, stating that only 8,000 steps per day are needed to “significantly reduce the risk of premature death.”
“If we focus on the risk of dying from cardiovascular disease, the greatest benefits are seen at around 7,000 steps,” it continues. However, the study’s lead author, Franciso Ortega, goes on to say: “The more steps you take, the better” and “there is no excessive number of steps that has been proven to be harmful to health.”
A meta-analysis published in 2022 in The Lancet The journal adds that in the studies analyzed, “more steps per day were associated with a progressively lower risk of all-cause mortality, up to a level that varied by age.”
For those over 60 years of age, the risk of death progressively decreased up to 6,000–8,000 steps per day, while for those under 60 years of age, the risk decreased up to 8,000–10,000 steps per day.
Of course, while the risk of death is a good reason to walk, it is not the only benefit you can get from increasing your daily step count.
A regular brisk walk can strengthen your bones and muscles, increase your cardiovascular fitness, help you control your weight by burning calories, improve your balance, and boost your mood, according to Harvard Medical School. Many of these benefits can be achieved by most people with fewer than 10,000 steps per day.
If you’re looking for a goal that will spark positive change, a good rule of thumb is to look at how many steps you currently take per day and then choose a goal that’s about 10-20% higher. It should be an achievable and sustainable number, but still challenging.
This is because the body follows the SAID (Specific Adaptation to Imposed Demand) principle – to put it simply, your body adapts to handle the tasks you regularly give it. So, when you regularly go further than before, you send signals to your body to make positive changes.
If you’re looking to increase your daily step count, try walking expert Hall’s top three tips for making walking more enjoyable.
Are there other factors to consider when walking?
Counting your steps daily can be a practical and tangible way to track your activity levels, and especially for beginners, any increase is likely to have positive physical effects. There are also more general mental benefits, such as improved mood and concentration.
However, if you want to focus on your fitness, there are other things you need to consider, according to walking expert Hall. She suggests that your Step frequency (the number of steps you take per minute) and technique are other important factors in determining the effectiveness of your Walking training.
In terms of technique, Hall recommends maintaining an upright posture, having a natural arm swing (sorry, that means no scrolling), and “walking out of space” by rolling the foot from heel to toe with each step (read more on that from her Four tips for better walking).
Cadence is another piece of the puzzle, argues Hall, saying: “Research has shown that when walking, there is a minimum number of steps per minute, called cadence, to actually achieve physiological health benefits. That number is 100 steps per minute.”
“So 100 steps per minute is the minimum threshold, and the range goes up to about 130. If you work at about 125 to 128 steps per minute, that has been proven to be the equivalent of light jogging for your body.”
As a source for the 100 steps per minute figure, Hall points to a 2018 study published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine. The study states that while the number may vary from person to person, 100 steps per minute is a consistent indicator of “defined moderate intensity.”
The Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion recommends that adults get at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic physical activity per week “to achieve significant benefits,” so if you can fit in a brisk 20-minute walk each day, you’re well on your way.
There are also reasons why you shouldn’t always have a daily step goal that is too high.
If you’re otherwise active, your fitness efforts are unlikely to be affected by under-exercising. Case in point: keen cyclists don’t score high, but you’d be hard-pressed to find an athlete with more impressive lungs.
Sometimes you need to recover on a less active day, whether you’ve been training hard or you’re not feeling well. This is where I’ve found that features like Apple Watch’s Move Streaks, which encourage you to “close the rings” each day, can be counterproductive.
My final point is a personal piece of advice: pedometers can be helpful, but you shouldn’t become fixated on them. Fitness goals are not one size fits all, and it’s worth experimenting a bit to find a goal that works for you, whether it’s walking-based or not.
