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Quick Wits: Do You Really Need to Walk 10,000 Steps Per Day? · Wits & Weights | Strength & Fat Loss Over 40

• 0:00
  Philip Pape: Do you really need 10,000 steps a day?
• 0:04
  Philip Pape: Find out on today's QuickWits.
• 0:08
  Philip Pape: Welcome to the Wits and Weights Podcast.
• 0:11
  Philip Pape: I'm your host, Philip Pape, and this twice-a-week podcast is dedicated to helping you achieve physical self-mastery by getting stronger, optimizing your nutrition, and upgrading your body composition.
• 0:22
  Philip Pape: We'll uncover science-backed strategies for movement, metabolism, muscle, and mindset with a skeptical eye on the fitness industry so you can look and feel your absolute best.
• 0:32
  Philip Pape: Let's dive right in.
• 0:36
  Philip Pape: I often talk about the value of step count, of walking, to increase your metabolic rate, to stay active, to improve your overall health, to reduce your resting heart rate.
• 0:48
  Philip Pape: But there is this persistent myth, if you want to call it, that 10,000 steps is somehow a magic number.
• 0:54
  Philip Pape: Now it's a nice round number, but I believe it goes back to a pedometer that a Japanese company sold back in the 60s that marketed the 10,000 step rule.
• 1:05
  Philip Pape: But since then we have more evidence to suggest that somewhere around 7,500 steps is the sweet spot that distinguishes individuals with metabolic disease and shorter lives and poorer health with those who don't have those issues.
• 1:22
  Philip Pape: And of course, you know, you're not going to go from 7499 to 7501 and all of a sudden be extremely healthier.
• 1:29
  Philip Pape: The point is, many of us who are sitting around all day, who work from home, you might be getting as little as 3,000 steps.
• 1:37
  Philip Pape: Now, the only way to know that, of course, is to track it.
• 1:39
  Philip Pape: And I'm a big fan of tracking anything that you want to learn more about.
• 1:43
  Philip Pape: And it's very easy to do that with a smartphone or with a wearable.
• 1:47
  Philip Pape: That step count is one of those things that is pretty reasonably accurate, accurate, and it's good enough.
• 1:52
  Philip Pape: So once you know how many steps you have, let's say it's 3,000, I like adding 2,000 steps a day for the next week.
• 1:59
  Philip Pape: Now, 2,000 steps is going to burn on average for people about 100 calories.
• 2:05
  Philip Pape: So it's a nice round number, it's a nice round number of calories, and it's it represents about a mile of walking, which most people can do in about 20 minutes.
• 2:15
  Philip Pape: And then once you've got that nailed down for a week or two, you can add another 2,000 steps.
• 2:20
  Philip Pape: I would aim for at least 6,000 every day, but optimally around 8 or 10.
• 2:26
  Philip Pape: And so 10 isn't a bad number to shoot for.
• 2:28
  Philip Pape: And in fact, during fat loss, I like to ramp that up to 12.
• 2:32
  Philip Pape: But we're talking about sustainability.
• 2:33
  Philip Pape: What makes sense for you and what can you do?
• 2:35
  Philip Pape: So what I suggest doing is set a timer or reminder in your phone, time block it out to go on one walk at first, and then add another walk at some point.
• 2:46
  Philip Pape: A good time to walk would be after a meal because you could stack it back to back.
• 2:50
  Philip Pape: You eat your food, you eat your lunch, you go for a walk.
• 2:53
  Philip Pape: You eat your dinner, you go for a walk.
• 2:55
  Philip Pape: Or eat breakfast, go for a walk.
• 2:56
  Philip Pape: That also helps with blood sugar regulation and it helps with digestion.
• 3:00
  Philip Pape: There's a lot of great reasons to do that.
• 3:02
  Philip Pape: While you're walking, you can have it stack, you can listen to a podcast, you can listen to music, you can think, or just observe and enjoy nature and soaking in the vitamin D.
• 3:12
  Philip Pape: So, no, you don't have to get 10,000 steps.
• 3:14
  Philip Pape: I would aim for at least six and optimally eight to ten and a little bit more during fat loss.
• 3:20
  Philip Pape: There you go.
• 3:21
  Philip Pape: Any questions?
• 3:22
  Philip Pape: Uh, you know how to reach out to me with the links in the show notes, and please share this episode if you found it useful.
• 3:28
  Philip Pape: Last thing, make sure to subscribe to Wits and Weights right now in your podcast app so you can catch tomorrow's episode 118, which is a QA episode.
• 3:38
  Philip Pape: I'll catch you next time here on the Wits and Weights podcast.
• 3:43
  Philip Pape: Thank you for tuning in to another episode of Wits and Weights.
• 3:46
  Philip Pape: If you found value in today's episode and know someone else who's looking to level up their wits or weights, please take a moment to share this episode with them.
• 3:55
  Philip Pape: And make sure to hit the follow button in your podcast platform right now to catch the next episode.
• 4:00
  Philip Pape: Until then, stay strong.