What is a good pedometer goal?

[amarbach]

I had publicly declared that I would do 20K per day. Erm...that won't be happening - at least not during the fall/winter. 10K seems a little on the low side. Has anyone found a good goal that has helped them with no s?
Thanks!

[kccc]

My goal is simply "more than I was doing."

Every person is different. Take a few days of "baseline" reading - what you normally do in a day, when you don't think about it - and then set your goal based on that. About 10% more seems to be the general advice given. Once that's "easy," you can bump up again.

For me, I'm happy every day that I reach 10,000 - and I don't on most days. My job/life is very sedentary - I have to work to fit in any walking at all. Wearing a pedometer reminds me to do that, even on days when my step-count is low.

Other people regularly hit 12-15,000. They have different daily patterns.

This is one case where the phrase "your mileage may vary" is literally true.

[wosnes]

Here's a quote from the article that got me started using a pedometer:

WHY 10K?

Where did the 10K come from? It started with a slight misunderstanding. In Japan, where pedometers are a favorite health promotion tool, pedometers are nicknamed manpo-kei, which means 10,000 steps meter. This name led to the assumption that 10,000 steps a day is a healthy idea.

It turns out to be right, according to a growing body of evidence. Research by Ralph Paffenbarger of Stanford University and others established that those who burn at least 2,000 calories in conscious activity a week (climbing stairs, walking and formal exercise) show vastly better health profiles and longevity than sedentary people.

Then Japanese researcher Yoshiro Hatano asked a simple question: How many steps a day should a person take on average to burn those 2,000 calories a week? Hatano put pedometers on regular people and found that 10,000 steps of walking burns roughly 300 to 450 calories (fast walkers burned more). This means a person averages 10K a day will over the course of a week likely end up in the health-promoting range of around 2,100 to 3,100 calories burned walking.

Though 10K is a worthy goal, it is hardly an upper limit, nor is it a magic number. Those starting at 3,000 will be making a huge improvement if they reach 6,000. Those intending to lose weight -- or maximize their health profiles -- will need 12K-15K or more.

And the instructions for how to do it:

Week 1. The goal is to measure your steps in a typical week. Don't try to walk more than normal. Each morning, reset the pedometer to "0." Set it to show steps (ignore distance and calorie counts). Keep it closed and attached to your the front of your waist to the left or right of center. Wear it all day. At night, record the number of steps you've taken and not any formal exercise; for example, "20-minutes treadmill walk."

Week 2. Your goal is to boost your average by 20%. Add the total steps taken in Week 1 and divide by 7. Then multiply by 1.2. The result is your new target number for daily steps. So, if you averaged 3,000 steps a day in Week 1, try for 3, 600 in Week 2.

Week 3. If you haven't reached 10,000 steps, or if your goal is substantial weight loss (for which some experts recommend 12,000-15,000 steps a day), then boost your steps again by 20%. Again, add your total steps for the week, divide by 7, then multiply the result by 1.2.

Ways to do it:

1. Phone time. Try pacing while you talk on the phone. In a five-minute conversation, gain 100 steps or more.

2. Virtual contact. Rather than email a coworker, walk a flight of stairs to deliver a message. Add 200 to 300 steps.

3. Watching TV. Skip a half-hour program and walk the dog. Gain 1,500 to 2,500 steps.

4. Driving. Over a quarter of all car trips are a mile or less. Pick one trip a week to walk instead and pick up 2,500 to 3,500 steps for a 1.5 mile round trip (15 minutes each way).

5. Passive socializing. With friends, do something besides talking and eating. An hour of window shopping, antiquing, or visiting an art museum even at a leisurely pace adds 3,000 to 5,000 steps.

Remember, it's ALL steps taken not just those walking for exercise. Make life less convenient. Make as many trips as you can up and down stairs. Park further away from the entrance at the mall or the grocery. Walk up and down every aisle at the grocery or big box store. Walk the dog more (mine really loves it!).

I used to live in a neighborhood where I could walk to nearly everything I needed -- all but my work, a dentist and a bookstore. I made myself a rule: if it was 6 blocks away or less, I walked. Yes, even in winter. I picked the neighborhood because of its walkability. Plus -- I walked "for exercise". Sometimes errands and walking for exercise were combined.

My work at that time also generated lots of steps -- and I made it generate more.

[MerryKat]

Like KCCC my goal per day - is some kind of exercise. For someone who really battles to fit exercise into my life, anything I do is an improvement.

[sophiasapientia]

I agree with all the good advice given so far. I think it is wise to get a baseline to see what you average and start from there.

Around the time I started wearing my pedometer again several months ago, I read a book that said that an average of 12,000-15,000 steps a day is recommended for weight loss and an average of 10,000 steps is recommended for good health. Given this info, I initially aimed for an average over 12,000 steps a day but my count was often higher. Now, I'm happy if I have over 10,000 steps a day but aim to do more than that, especially on N Days. Since I don't really care if I lose more weight and it will be a challenge to walk as much as I do in warmer weather when winter hits, over 10,000 feels realistic and enough. My overall daily average is 13,000 at this point.