What is your goal for participating in this Walkabout challenge?
Photo by “lululemon athletica”. Creative Commons license.
By signing up for this program you have made the first step (excuse the pun!) toward a healthier and fitter you. To achieve good health your goal is to strive to take 10,000 steps a day by the end of the program. This is the equivalent of walking roughly five miles. The 10K-A-Day program exceeds the US Surgeon General’s physical fitness recommendations of 30 minutes of exercise three times a week.
In addition to getting started on what could be your lifetime walking habit your goal may be to lose weight. When you accomplish this, you will be burning more calories – 2,000- 3,500 extra calories per week. Walking is a great way to lose weight and keep it off!
Wearing a pedometer in this program over the course of 10 weeks is a great way to track your daily activity and inspire you to move more on days you have been sedentary.
Starting Out
Whether your goals are to achieve better health or lose weight put on your pedometer when you dress in the morning and don’t take it off until bedtime (we find it doesn’t work very well when swimming and would advise leaving it in the changing room!).
To find out what level you are:
- Keep track of your daily steps on a notepad. After 3 days calculate the average number of steps you’ve taken for the 3 days. This is your start point.
- Refer to the chart below to see how you will ‘walk your way” to 10K-A-Day and beyond.
| START POINT | YOUR LEVEL GOAL | HOW TO REACH GOAL | TIME NEEDED |
|---|---|---|---|
| Less than 2000 | Level 1 – 4000 steps/day | Increase 250 steps/day | 10-20 days |
| 2001-4000 | Level 2 – 6000 steps/day | Increase 300 steps/day | 8-16 days |
| 4001-6000 | Level 3 – 8000 step/day | Increase 400 steps/day | 6-12 days |
| 6001-8000 | Level 4 – 10,000 steps/day | Increase 500 steps/day | 5-10 days |
| 8001-10,000 | Level 5 – 12,000 steps/day | Increase 500 steps/day | 3-6 days |
A few things to remember:
Photo by “minorissues”. Creative Commons license.
- You will need a good pair of cushioned shoes.
- To avoid injury, you will need to build-up your walking activity slowly. If you have joint problems in the lower extremities, discuss your exercise plans with your physician.
- Identify you’re your start point and use the guide above to increases your steps per day.
- Generally do not increase by more than 500 steps on any given day.
- Continue in this manner, slowly increasing the number of steps until you reach the goal of 10,000 steps a day. It is possible by the end of this program to do so!
- Stay the course – it takes several months to form a new healthy habit.
- If you experience any physical problems or pain while walking, check with your physician.
How far have you walked?
Since everyone has a different stride length we will take an estimate of the average stride length for the purpose of converting team step totals into kilometers. We will calculate 1300 steps to equal one kilometer.
You may wonder how far you have walked, having taken so many steps. You can do this for your self on your pedometer. Follow the instructions provided with the pedometer to set your stride length. Your stride is the length of the step you take measured from toe-to-toe, or heel-to-heel.
