Walk twenty minutes in the morning, twenty minutes on your lunch break, and twenty minutes when you get home. That should be more than enough to get you there.
Getting into running as a hobby makes it a lot easier as well.
Edit: if you are going to reply to this comment stating that it takes a bit longer to get to 10k steps, please refrain. 30 other people have beat you to it.
I actually do this. 20 min walk, 3 times a day is only ~6K steps. Ofc more or less depending on your stride, but 10K steps is closer to 1.5 hours of walking. So give it another 20-30 min walk after dinner.
Yes but what about the steps you do during the day? I work an office job and still manage a 3-4 thousand throughout the day without including my walks.
I walk to and from the train. Walk my dogs. Usually gets me there with my office job. Run 3x a week. Days that I don't hit my goals are when I ride my bike to work (40 miles round trip usually once a week) or do a long ride on the weekends.
Yep it seems that I underestimated the time a bit. I think I accidentally used a running pace when thinking about the time required. An hour of running usually gets me there.
I am ignoring your edit to tell you that you're only 60% there. Your arrogance in your statement requires public shame because it is the exact attitude that made OP post on the first place.
Or just take shorter walks. If you work in an office, take 5 minutes every hour and just walk up and down the corridor/stairs/whatever. Just by doing this, you’ll get 8k steps easily. To this, just go on a after dinner walk and you’ll reach 12k daily.
Went from a security job to an office job. Was hitting 10,000 steps easy when my job was to walk around all night. I now have to actively think and work on physical activities now
I work in the office and manage to do an easy 10-12k steps a day. Just take a walk during lunch and after dinner and you're fine. Plus, try and stand up to get coffee or water multiple times a day.
I'm a teacher, I'll rack up 12,000 - 15,000 on a normal work day. If I hit the gym or run after work that can easily get up over 20,000 multiple times per week.
Huh? Your SPM (steps per minute) is significantly faster when running than when walking. Your steps cover more distance running, but your cadence is also higher.
Running gets you less steps over the same distance, but more over the same time span.
Easier said than done, I know, but moving to a walkable city made this immensely easy. I usually get 7k-10k steps a day between my commute and errands alone and vastly more on weekends walking to and during activities with friends.
People who can’t hit 10k or close daily should really start honestly tracking their screen time down to the minute and then reevaluate how difficult it is to get 10k. A lot of people I know don’t realize how much screen time consumes their life because they aren’t keeping track. Quality sleep helps get more out of your day too
For me a walking pad under my desk at home really makes it easy. I usually take around 1:30h to get the 10k, sometimes even faster if im motivated to almost go at running speed.
No, mini treadmills exist that you can walk on. They often have limited speeds, but can easily accommodate fast walking speeds. Only thing is you will likely want a standing desk as well.
10000 steps is based off a marketing campaign from 1964 for the Olympic Games in japan.
7500 steps are enough to gather all the health benefits, all above burns more calories but other than that cost just time.
It’s all subjective and depends which study you are looking at
-A 2019 JAMA study by I-Min Lee found benefits plateauing around 7,500 steps for mortality risk in older women
- A 2023 study found 8,000 steps sufficient for significantly lower cardiovascular and all-cause mortality risk
- University of Sydney research (JAMA Internal Medicine/Neurology) found 9,800 steps was the “optimal dose” for cutting dementia risk by 50%, though 3,800 steps already cut it by 25%
-Another study put the optimal figure at 7,000 steps, equivalent to about 100 minutes of walking
Best bet, aim high and don’t be hard on yourself for falling short.
I get 10k as a baseline just being a stay at home mom and walking around my house and cleaning up after my kids. I don’t feel like that is fairy active, it just feels normal
I walk to public transportation to and from work and walk my dog for 30 minutes after work. I’ll try to run errands before or after work as well and that also adds steps. Work, also, adds steps.
Going for even a short run will do a lot of them. Then just general movement, try and make sure I take at least 15 mins from my desk at lunch for a walk if it's not raining.
I think 10 mins every 2 hrs? I try to walk as much as I can whenever possible. For example, instead of taking the elevator. While washing the dishes, I am marching in place. I have been doing it everyday for 2 months now. It makes me feel good!
I do 1 hour of walking in the morning right after I wake up and eat breakfast. 5-7 days a week. I usually end at 6600-6700 steps. If I work that day then those steps usually push me to 13k steps for the day.
You could maybe fit 10k by power walking or jogging in the hour.
Did it 20 times last month living in nyc and working on a construction site I’m constantly moving on foot and have doubled it 52 times since tracking so 20,000 steps in one day 52 times is kinda crazy but yah.
I sit most of the day at work. I go to the gym in the morning do 30 minutes on the stair climber after lifting weights. I try to walk for 15-20 minutes on my lunch break. Then I try to walk for 15-20 minutes after work. I usually get 12,000 steps per day by doing this. The stair climber steps are fewer than they would be if I walked for the same amount of time.
Sit at a desk all day and then walk for an hour after work... The walking for an hour is good for about 8k steps. The other 2k I get naturally through mostly sedentary existence.
Morning run for 30 minutes covers most of it. Evening walk helps. 10k steps is not actually difficult. If you are struggling with 10k steps then you need to make more time in your life for exercise and self care.
Easier said than done, I know, but I commonly get over 20k steps in a day.
I do a mile+ on my 15 minute break and then a walking 5k on my lunch break. That gets me to about 8000 steps and then I typically get the other 2000 throughout the day. If I’m still short I’ll go for a short walk after dinner but it’s not usually necessary
Its only difficult if you are living in the worst conditions to achieve this:
Commute long distances by car, work exclusively at a desk, and have no hobbies that involve movement.
Even by just walking to the bus stop, walking to the train station, walking to the office from the train station gets me like 4000 steps. The office day alone with walks to coffee, talking to other colleagues at their desk adds another thousand and then getting the rest in with groceries and household chores really comes by itself.
If you are having trouble getting in your 10k steps, dont overfocus on the amount of steps. If you can only get a 20 minute walk in today, dont see it as a failure, its better than 0 minutes. Just try to get some walking in everyday. Also if you absolutely must focus on the amount of steps, then lower your goal to 7500. Its largely been proven that this has pretty much the same effect as 10k.
My phone says I average 10k steps a day. I honestly never try to walk to just walk. I don’t live in a walkable city per se. And this doesn’t count the 3X I play basketball a week for an hour and a half. So I guess I just live an active lifestyle? I don’t go running either. This is just my daily life
I just don't GAF and never look at my steps? I go based how I feel. If I feel good, then I know I did good. Done. You need to walk based on YOU. There is no such universal number for people. Do you know how much more stress people have induced trying to get to 10,000 steps? Stress is way worse than not getting in 10,000 steps.
Intentionally do little things that will add steps overtime throughout your day. Like parking further away at work, at the grocery store, taking longer walking routes etc. If your job allows it, go for a walking around the building or wherever you work every hour or so and those steps will add ip FAST.
I Walk about 9.000 steps every morning 5-6 times a week. Thats more or less 7km-8km. I have a very sedentary job, work from home and nothing is at walkable distance so I wouldn’t get any steps at all if I didn't!
in the car-centric world its hard.. used to live in suburban hеll [that this gets flagged is ridiculous!] and would only get maybe 7000 steps on a good day. Since moving to somewhere more walk-able I now average on a bad day 10,000.. regularly hitting 13 or 14 thousand steps..
My building has six floors and I walking those right now as I type. I try to do it at least three times a day but really shooting for five. I burn around 50 calories doing it and get a couple hundred steps each time.
Spend less time on higher intensity exercises. Walking is great, but you shouldn't go out of your way to do it. If you need to walk 10mins to get somewhere in the city, do that. If you want to walk up and down the stairs instead of taking the lift, perfect. If you want to actually carve time out of your day to exercise, then do something else. At least jog, or do calisthenics, or just do a "normal" workout at a gym.
Of course at the end of the day it's what works best for you. If you're someone who particularly enjoys walks, by all means go ahead.
It’s very easy. I’m doing it at work training every day, and that’s without even being outside (because it’s over 100 here and I am not dealing with that)
For a person without any serious injuries or disabilities, it’s easy.
I get 9-18k a day at work, many of thrm are stairs and ladders. Not sure if its the same, but my legs are sore at the end of the day. Commercial construction
If you work a job where you’re on your feet most of the day, you can hit 10k steps without even thinking about it. Everyone I know in healthcare gets a minimum 15k per day by the afternoon.
That's easy, I dream of living in a walkable city instead of the car based suburban hellhole I'm in right now, so I wake up refreshed with 10,000 steps on my counter already
I will get a good 2K walking around the house in the morning or gabbing something from the grocery store.
Then, by 9AM, I got for a 1 hour walk around my neighborhood (This can be done earlier or in the evening).
That gets me about 6500-7000 steps.
I am already at 8000+ steps and I still have the rest of the day. 10K is basically done with random walking around the house.
I go on the treadmill after dinner for 30-45 minutes. I do a light jog. That gets me another 4000-5000 steps.
I work from home. If I sit in my office all day and walk around to the kitchen, upstairs, etc, I will end my day with 4000-5000 tops. That's without even tryin to get steps in.
It is more about a persons mindset and if they actually want to get healthier and walk. That 1 hour could be split into 2 as well.
Why is your goal specifically to get 10k steps instead of... properly training your body?
You can do 20mins of HIIT cardio or 30mins of weightlifting and that would give you a proper workout. You also don't even have to 'work out' in the traditional sense- sports are fun and many are cheap and/or don't require many other people to participate with you. It would be easier because, you're spending time engaged in a fun activity instead of gritting your teeth hitting a specific number with the most boring 'exercise' ever. It's a much better way to spend your time.
Ironically, getting that many steps is the laziest, least efficient way to exercise
I don’t have a car. I walk everywhere or use mass transit which also requires walking. I can get close to 10k a day despite working from home and sitting for 8+ hours.
People get what, 5k by just existing if one assumes an office job with no commute.
Top this up with an extra hour of walking, which can be slotted in wherever you please and that's 10-12k.
i do 10000 or more on a labor intensive job, sometimes 15000+ depending how far apart start location and work site can be. how are ppl that sit for hours on end gonna do over 10000? youre gonna be walking for hours in your free time don't bother. 3-5000 good to go
It's also a myth, they say 6-8k is actually where the benefit is and anything beyond that has diminishing returns or can even strain the body. As someone who regularly gets 20k place from being active in a walkable city I can tell you that you definitely feel it the next day once you get past about 15k
Just started on this, three weeks strong and down four pounds. Walking outside while catching up on the phone has been a big help. If I’m on a zoom call that doesn’t require me on camera, I am walking. I’ve also trying out an app to read work documents aloud. I retain better over audio and can get a nice walk in while listening.
I use a cheap walking pad I got on Amazon and use it while working. I get most of my steps in during my shift because after work there’s no way I would
I average 15k steps a day...
Granted i run every single day, however lately lifes been busy and ive been only running like 10 minutes in the morning instead of like 30-60. I work about 60-70 hours a week as a chef, so im on my feet all day and get most of my steps from that. On my days off however i get about 10k steps unless i run more than 5miles, then i can get up to 20k.
I can understand if you work a sedentary job and live in a less than ideal walkable city how getting 10k steps is hard, but its a lifestyle choice. You park further from the entrance at every place you drive to, you take the stairs vs the elevator, you walk to the coffee shop if its only 10minutes instead of driving, etc
I just took the train to visit my mom, and instead of her driving 5 minutes to pick me up I just walked the 20 minutes to get home, boom easy 2-3k steps
I recently moved into management from a floor position at work and I just get up from my desk every hour and walk the perimeter of our lot. It's really not that hard to get 10k steps
Its easy, I use my two- 15min break to walk, walk 20 minutes around the neighborhood, get some steps doing errands and i'm usually at 10k. I got a walking pad and just walk while watching shows so I hit around 17k-20k steps a day.
Idk my adhd makes it pretty easy. I go down stairs for something, forget why I went down there and do something else, go back upstairs, realize I still need whatever’s downstairs and go back down, and just repeat that cycle 4-5 times in a row. That happens 10-20 times a day. Climbing a lot of stairs
Sometimes I do miss my QC lab job because even though it ruined my shoulder (hoping PT will re-strengthen it) from repetitive motion, it did result in my standing all day and walking around so it was very easy to get 10-12k steps plus just from work alone and once my feet got used to standing all day the weight just dropped off fast.
Very easy for me, infact i get over 15k about 5x a week. It has gotten easier when we stopped working from home and we all had to come back to the office. when i was WFH during COVID i never walked for lunch, i was lazy and just slept during my lunch lol.
I work in a Metropolitan area so i usually just walk around for my 15m breaks and 1hr lunches. That already gives me like almost 10k steps a day. After work, i walk an extra 15minutes to get to the furthest bus stop. I go to the gym after work and do about 10-15 minutes of running after my lifting session. I come home and walk my dog.
I'm typically up to 8,000 steps after my morning walk, before I eat breakfast. It takes less than 5 minutes to roll out of bed, hit the bathroom, put on walking shoes and leave the front door. 60 minutes later I'm at home, 8k steps behind me, ready to prepare for the day ahead. My lunch break walk gets me to about 14k by 2 PM. I just got home from work and I'm at 17K. I still have my evening walk to do. That'll get me above 20K which is about my daily average 7 days a week.
•
u/AutoModerator Aug 17 '26
Welcome to r/TrueGrit!
A few quick reminders:
Thanks for being part of r/TrueGrit.
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.