Manic Monday ~ What is a step worth?

We have all known about the craze of fitness trackers. Whether it be Fitbits, Garmins, Polars, or the simple pedometer, these are all tools to track activity. The most popular measure to track is in steps. And you've probably heard the number, 10,000. This number seems to be the universal goal of steps to achieve each day. And in fact, I hear friends talking about reaching their 10,000 steps for the day with comments like, "gotta go get my steps in!" And off they go. Although I think it is a great accountability tool, I also think that 10,000 steps is an average milestone. I believe (this is my own opinion) that those 10,000 steps mimics our average American cardiovascular standards which are stated by many accredited organizations. The "average" standard seems to be 30 minutes of cardiovascular exercise for 4-5 days per week. But, in my experience with clients, that suggested requirement for health only goes so far. It's a GREAT standard to set for beginners and revisited when goals are achieved and one is looking to maintain. The real results tend to appear when individuals dedicate 45-60 minutes a day 5-6 days a week. Even further, my clients had optimal results with cardio regiments that were in 60-90 minutes for at least 4 days a week. Now, intensities are a big part of this. There is no reason to work at a high intensity for 60-90 minutes. I am talking intensities that are low should be geared to 60-90 minutes. And steps tend to be more on the low side. In the tracking world of calculating steps,this includes daily activities. So what is in your step? That's what brings worth to your measurement.

I recently read that those who wanted to achieve better results with the fitness step trackers should shoot for 15,000 steps. Because that would ensure your daily activity stepping was just that, daily activity. And the additional 5,000 steps would ensure a dedicated time to a cardiovascular session that would promote a higher exercise heart rate and therefore have better cardiovascular conditioning. So if 10,000 steps is ROUGHLY 5 miles, another 5,000 steps is 2.5 miles. See we should be performing daily activities that include 5,000 steps... and use the 10,000 as our cardio given this is ALL low intensity. Very different situation if this included high intensity daily activities or work outs.! So what are your steps worth??

Check out MVP's fitness classes and incorporate a variety of steps!! I'm positive that you will enjoy a change up!!

Have a GREAT week!

~Rachel Zimmerman