In recent years there has been a lot of buzz about taking 10,000 steps a day for cardiovascular health. Well, it turns out that this particular goal was rooted more in advertising new pedometers than in real science. The pedometers that were introduced at that time tracked 10,000 steps…
Since then, several studies have been done that show large benefits for smaller step counts.
For instance, the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology published research on how walking reduced mortality from cardiovascular events as well as all-cause mortality rates. The results might surprise you:
- People who walked as little as 1,000 steps a day showed a 15% decrease in all cause mortality.
- 4,000 steps a day decreased all cause mortality by 48%.
- 12,000 steps reduced all cause mortality by 67%!
Those are pretty high percentages!
The analysis of more than 226,000 people around the world showed 4,000 steps daily was significant enough to start reducing the risk of dying prematurely of any cause, and just over 2,300 is enough to benefit the heart and blood vessels.
In other words, you can start small but reap large benefits!
And, walking is a simple exercise that needs no special equipment and just about anyone can do it. It’s low impact so it’s easy on joints and muscles.
So, if you’ve been wanting to start exercising more but either don’t have the stamina or can’t seem to find the time for 10,000 steps, just do what you can!
According to World Health Organization, insufficient physical activity is responsible for 3.2 million deaths each year – the fourth most frequent cause worldwide. That’s a lot!
Another thing that was not considered back when the 10,000 step guideline appeared was what else counts. Modern Apple watches and similar tools measure not only the steps you take, but anything that gets your heart rate up – like vacuuming, carrying groceries in and out of the stores/house, going up and down stairs to change clothes, bringing the clean laundry upstairs, etc. All these things count as exercise!
Recommendations coming from medical universities and doctors these days are about making simple lifestyle changes to live a healthy and long life. Simple diet and exercise changes can reap huge improvements in the health of your heart, bones, and brain.
And, as I’ve mentioned before, this doesn’t mean that you can’t eat the foods you love! There are small tweaks that you can make in your daily habits that can make a BIG difference for living with less pain, less inflammation, and more FUN!
If you want to see for yourself what small changes can do for you, without feeling deprived or having to work out at a gym for an hour each day, book a free 20 minute Laser Coaching Call with me, here. You’ll be glad that you did!
Meanwhile, here’s a five minute exercise routine that really gets your heart going – try it and see for yourself!
Best of Health,
Kathi
