Written by
John Carter
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Study after study has found that people who walk more tend to live longer, weigh less, and have fewer health problems. Walking more is also much easier than committing to an entirely new fitness or exercise plan that requires going to the gym or buying expensive equipment. Sometimes walking more can even save us money on gas or public transit!
Your smartphone almost certainly keeps track of your steps - just look in the "Health" section. This area will give you a sense of how many steps you average on a weekly and daily basis. If you don't like carrying your phone on walks, consider buying one of the many brands of fitness-tracking bracelets.
It's best to focus on a weekly goal. It's fine to walk more some days and less on others. Consider taking your current weekly average and creating a goal of 25-50% more than that. Write this goal down on your phone. Tell it to your partner. Text it to a friend and ask them to check in at the end of the week to see if you stuck with it.
The easiest way to walk more long-term is to build walking into your day. If you possibly live within walking distance to work, try to do that at least once a week. Walk to and from the grocery store. Go on a daily walk when you get up, right before dinner, or right after dinner. The more walking that is hardwired into your daily plan, the less effort required to stick with the habit.
Rewards can make habits stick. Perhaps you have a favorite podcast. Listening to it is a daily treat. Starting now, tell yourself that you will only listen to this podcast while walking. A good audiobook could work too. Or maybe, you'll take a relaxing bath with a nice bath bomb in the evening, but only if you exceed 10,000 steps in the day.
Write out a plan to increase your steps gradually, perhaps just by 10% every one or two weeks. A good goal to shoot for might be 10,000 steps per day/ 70,000 steps per week.
