Make your walking more effective by counting your steps

We love counting steps. Maybe it's because we love goals, or maybe it's because we always have a reminder on our wrist of how far we've come and how far we have to go to reach our daily goals.Or it could be study rear study He says walking is one of the most viable ways to extend your life.

So we ask ourselves, “How many steps are enough?” Is more steps better? In a recently published paper, British Journal of Sports Medicine It turns out that taking just 2,200 steps can help fight diseases made worse by a sedentary lifestyle like heart disease However, walking up to 9,000 steps was more effective.

However, focusing purely on the number of steps misses the big picture. Researchers currently believe that after a certain point, What are the steps? Intake is just as important as quantity.

So whether you're hitting a bare minimum goal of 2,200 steps or consistently logging 10,000 steps, here are some strategies to make your daily walk more effective .

Start walking.

Amanda Paruch, a kinesiology professor at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, said the first step for people who have fallen out of the habit of walking is to just start. Try a walk around the block or a lap around your house. See if you can walk 2,000 steps, or about a mile, and increase from there.

If you're older or have a chronic illness that makes it difficult to get up and move, walking at any speed can benefit your health, she says.

Walk faster.

Counting your steps is often helpful at first, but once you reach a steady 6,000 or 8,000 steps per day, start focusing on pace.

When you walk, your muscles contract, squeezing blood from your legs to your heart, making it stronger and more efficient over time. But once the heart reaches a certain “stimulus,” the effect wears off, says Keith Bahr, a professor of molecular exercise physiology at the University of California, Davis. That means walking at the same pace and taking the same number of steps every day.

“You're going to need a bigger stimulus to have a bigger effect,” he says.

Push yourself by walking faster and breathing harder, he said. Increasing the intensity of your walking is not about burning more calories, it's about strengthening your cardiovascular system.a Paper published in Nature in 2022 Walking faster has been shown to reduce the incidence of sleep apnea. acid refluxdiabetes and hypertension.

Start by walking briskly for 30 seconds or 1 minute. Increase the frequency and length of your bursts whenever possible.

Try walking outdoors.

Whether walking outside in itself improves physical health is still up for debate; According to a 2023 meta-analysis. However, Dr. Barr argues that walking on soft surfaces such as sand, gravel, and dirt expends more energy because our tendons allow us to walk more efficiently on hard surfaces.

He encourages people to walk the trails, whether it's more difficult or not, because it's proven by spending time in nature. mental health benefitsand because trails tend to be more hilly than neighborhood streets.

Walk uphill.

After gaining speed, consider going upwards. Dr. Sadiya Khan, a cardiologist at Northwestern Medical School and volunteer with the American Heart Association, says finding a hill you can walk up is a good way to increase your fitness in a world where time is at a premium.

Most studies, including a recent British study, show that the benefits of step count diminish after about 8 miles. So instead of walking 12,000 or 15,000 steps to intensify his workout, he walks up a hill to keep his heart rate up.you can also walk backwards uphill Make it even more difficult and target different muscles. The goal is to incorporate brisk activity into your walk, rather than maintaining a moderate pace.

Dr. Paluk suggests a singing test. Try hard enough that he can speak short sentences but cannot sing songs.

Dr. Kahn said, “If you're comfortable talking during an activity, it's probably a little too laid-back to be considered an active activity.”

carry weight.

To further increase the intensity of your walk, consider adding weight to your backpack. racking, So-calledAccording to Dr. Khan, it helps with strength training while getting your heart rate up.

But Dr Paluchi cautioned anyone interested in rucking to take it lightly. Weight can change the way you walk and carry yourself, which can lead to injury.

Try jogging.

People often ask Dr. Kahn if that's the case. Better to walk or run around the track. Although the distance is technically the same, running is more beneficial for long-term health, she said.

Just as you started walking faster, start running for 30 seconds, or even a minute, and gradually increase the intervals. And whether you decide to run or not, Dr. Kahn said the best step you can take each day is to just push yourself a little harder.