The sloth’s guide to walking longer and reaping the benefits
I admitted! I don’t walk as much as I should, despite knowing the extra calories burned from walking. From driving to the office, sitting on my stability ball for 12 hours (yes, that’s my office chair, more to come), driving home, and driving to the gym. I don’t walk anywhere. I’m lazy … possibly. Do I have enough time to walk 100 miles a day … absolutely not? This probably looks a lot like you.
As business professionals, we don’t have time to walk everywhere. It just isn’t possible as much as we want it to be.
The Hadza people (ethnic group in Tanzania) walk an average of 5 miles per day, about 10,000 steps. This is ideal and of the 4 major industrialized countries, all take less than 9,000 steps a day. Compare these numbers to the average professional, and we are way behind.
So how can we start to walk more?
Set a goal
The first step to walking more is simply setting a goal. The goal can be anything from taking the stairs instead of the elevator or parking in the farthest place. No matter.
By setting a goal, you will force yourself to compete against it. As a business professional, you are a natural competitor, so you don’t want the goal to defeat you.
After your initial goal is exceeded, start setting higher goals until you exceed 10,000 steps per day.
Wear a pedometer
You may think of a pocket pedometer as a fun instrument that gets in your way, but they are actually really helpful in motivating you to walk more. They will even help increase your walking speed.
One study showed that people were more likely to walk 2,000 more steps with a pedometer. He then went on to show that individual activity levels increased by 27%. Why? Because the pedometer forces you to stick to your goals. It motivates you to be less lazy and walk.
There are many pedometers on the market, but I only use one. The Striiv pedometer. For me, this is hands down the best pedometer on the market.
I like Striiv because it makes me meet my goals by motivating me. It tracks my stats, rewards me, and even syncs with my phone. The good thing is that I can challenge other people. If you’re going to get a pedometer, get the Striiv Play Bluetooth smart pedometer. This pedometer is one of the smallest products Striiv sells.
Would you be willing to challenge me to a 7-day Striiv step contest? I am in the office more than 10 hours a day, so there are no excuses.
Benefits of walking
The benefits of walking are myriad, but there are a few benefits that should encourage any business professional to walk more:
- Keeps you alert: nourishes brain tissue
- Reduce stress: studies show that walking benefits your mood
- Boost Your Energy – Helps promote better sleep, which means more energy the next day.
Walking more is not difficult. Even a sloth can walk more. It’s just a matter of using tools like a walking pedometer to encourage you to exceed your goals. By setting goals and using a step counter like the Striiv smart pedometer, you’re more capable or hitting 10,000 steps per day. Think like a Hadza, walk everywhere.
Take the stairs, park further away, walk down the hall every 15 minutes, jog instead … make the change.