Goodbye to the 10,000-steps regimen: much fewer every day are sufficient to keep fit
We can't hide from one basic truth: getting some exercise every day is a fundamental rule for staying healthy. How much exercise? What is the minimum to guarantee the benefits without having to sacrifice precious time?
We've often heard that walking a total of 10,000 steps a day is the ideal "recipe", and it certainly is a valid and excellent guideline to follow. But even less than half this amount of movement can be an ideal for keeping certain healthy. Furthermore, there is also a best time of the day to do this exercise. Read on to find out more:
First things first: one of the landmark studies that estimated the ideal daily amount of exercise to be 10,000 steps was one published by the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). This exercise was "scientifically proven" to have positive effects in reducing the risk of developing dementia and cardiovascular disease. And it can even significantly reduce the risk of getting one of 13 different types of cancer. When the body moves, it burns calories, builds muscle mass and makes us leaner and more athletic.
So, this 10,000 steps remains a valid form of exercise - but it does take up a lot of time. While it is true that it is not necessary do all the steps in a single session, even dividing the total amount into different times of the day, takes at least a couple of to complete.
The smallest but still effective threshold is, however, only 4 thousand steps:
In this regard another study has been done - this time conducted in the United Kingdom, according to which the same benefits can also be achieved with about 4,000 steps a day - provided that these steps are walked with greater intensity. Sometimes, this brisker pace is called "power walking" - a sustained walk, almost like a sort of march.
4,000 steps are equivalent to a distance of approximately 3.2 km and is in line with the recommendations of the WHO, (according to which a minimum of 150 minutes of exercise should be done each week). Let's do the calculations: to walk 3.2 km every day takes about 30-45 minutes on average. If you did this every weekday, and excluding the weekend, you will use up only 150-225 minutes a week.
The best time to exercise:
A lot depends on your lifestyle (when you go to sleep, what you do all day, eating habits and more). But it is generally believed that the best time to exercise is as soon as you get up, on an empty stomach. The ideal is therefore to wake up, drink a little water, go for a walk (or run, or do some other exercise) and then have breakfast about an hour after getting up.
In the company of a dog - which will be happy to stretch its legs with you - this can be a pleasant habit... Going out for a walk every morning can make a difference in the present; and protects us from diseases in the future!
