The Number of Steps You Take Per Day

Barry Baldwin spent nearly three decades as a bus operator with New York City Transit Authority. He received several safety awards and certificates while in this position. Now retired, Barry Baldwin enjoys leading an active, healthy lifestyle throughout New York. He cycles every weekend and walks at least five miles per week.

The number of daily steps a person takes every day varies widely, ranging from about 4,000 steps to as many as 18,000, and it can influence their overall fitness and level of health. Any figure below 5,000 steps is considered an “inactive” day, with average activity levels falling between 7,500 and 9,999 steps. That said, the typical American only logs about 3,000 to 4,000 steps on an average day and should consider tactics for increasing this number.

Individuals who would like to increase their daily step count should start with small goals, always reminding themselves that some physical activity is better than no activity at all. Basic tips for adding more steps include parking farther away from stores and restaurants and opting for stairs over elevators and escalators when possible.

The benefits of maintaining a healthy daily step count are many. Walking is an effective, simple, and affordable form of exercise that can be performed in almost any location. Furthermore, improving daily step counts can mitigate the chances of developing serious health conditions such as heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, and obesity. Walking has even been associated with a decreased likelihood of developing depression.

What You May Not Already Know About Walking for Better Health

  A resident of New York City for several decades, Barry Baldwin served with the NYC Transit Authority for nearly thirty years as a bus operator. Barry Baldwin enjoys a range of personal interests including listening to various genres of music, biking, weightlifting, and walking five miles per week.

Walking regularly is one of the best ways to maintain and improve your wellness, and a number of research insights have emerged regarding how walking impacts health. It’s widely known that walking helps to tone the cardiovascular system, improve bone strength, and calm the mind. However, walking speed also influences health and is believed by scientists to be a predictor for life span since they’ve found that faster walking improves longevity.

Walking with poles amplifies the benefits of walking by increasing the load on the cardiovascular system because the legs and arms must work harder. Other benefits of walking with poles are that they lower the chance of fracturing an ankle and reduce muscle soreness.

More recent research has demonstrated that walking in shoes with flexible and thin soles rather than thick-soled shoes may be better for people with arthritic knees, an idea that is contrary to what was previously thought. Walking in thin-soled shoes, much like being barefoot, may reduce pressure on the knee more than with thick-soled shoes.

When is Walking Better Than Running?

 

Walking
Image: active.com

Barry Baldwin, a former bus operator in New York City, received numerous awards and certificates in recognition of his safe service with the New York City Transit Authority. In his free time, Barry Baldwin stays active by walking five miles a week, on average.

Both running and walking are great forms of exercise that promote stronger bones among active individuals, along with healthier hearts and lower body weights.

For people who want to burn a lot of calories, running is usually the better choice between the two activities. The reason for this is because running burns almost double the calories as walking. For example, a person who walks for 30 minutes burns about 150 calories, while someone who runs for 30 minutes burns over 350 calories.

However, walking is better than running in most instances aside from that. Although running burns more calories, it also works the heart more. At first, this seems like a good thing for improving heart health. But in reality, this additional strain stretches and overwhelms the heart, particularly when people run for an hour or more without stopping. Over time, this changes the heart and increases the long-term risk of cardiovascular issues.

Beyond that, running is a much higher-impact activity than walking. When walking, people only experience 1.5 times their body weight as pressure; this triples with running. Supporting the extra body weight pressure weakens the joints and often leads to pain. It also stresses the legs and joints, and also increases the risk of osteoarthritis and other injuries.