Need to Know: Why You Should Walk 10,000 Steps A Day

There are several reasons you should be walking ten thousands steps a day. The following is a look at the top three reasons to walk 10,000 steps a day:

Reason one: Heart health. Exercise, especially walking is great for the body, it gets the blood pumping, helps your body excrete toxins, and the like. Walking 10,000 steps a day is going to help you get your heart rate up, and work that important muscle so that it will be healthy, and function as it should for a prolonged period of time. The number one reason you should walk 10,000 steps a day is that it is good for your heart to do so.

Reason two: Weight loss. The next reason it is a good idea to walk 10,000 steps a day is that it is a great way to lose or sustain a healthy weight. If you want to have a healthy body, and be at your ideal body weight, exercise is a key part of your life. So, walking 10,000 steps a day can help you shed unwanted pounds, and get to the ideal body weight. In addition it is a great low impact way to do this.

Reason three: Endorphins. The third reason to walk 10,000 steps a day is that exercise, including walking, helps produce endorphins, which are the happy, or feel good hormone in your body. You will have an elevated mood, and you will have the many benefits that come from an elevated mood, including sleeping better at night.

As you can see, walking 10,000 steps a day is a great thing, but it is not always easy to get in that many steps. Here are a few easy ways to increase the number of steps you take each day so that you can hit ten thousand.

1. When you get a phone call, don’t sit down, pace, or walk in place, or walk around. Most people have cordless phones or cell phones, so there is no reason to stay in one place.

2. While you are watching television, walk in place in front of the tv, or if you do not want to walk while watching, walk around the room during commercial breaks. This means that in an hour time period, you get a good 20 minutes of walking in that would not have happened otherwise.

3. Do some of the little things that mean taking a little longer to get where you are going, or in other words taking more steps. For example, park further away from the office, grocery store, movie, etc. door so that you have to walk further. Use a bathroom on a different floor of your work, or at the opposite end of your building or home.

4. Don’t take elevators, use stairs. Whether you are at work, at an office building, doctor’s office, or even your building where you live, instead of taking an elevator, take the stairs. If you live or work on a really high floor, take the stairs up a couple or down a couple before taking the elevator.

5. Take advantage of any of your breaks at work, school, etc. to get some walking in. For example, walk laps while you eat your sandwich, or walk to the place you are going to eat. Walk around the office a few times, or the like.