Along with my water tracking this month I’m also trying to log my steps with the aim of achieving over 7000 each day. I know the recommendation is 10000 steps a day, but I can’t manage that on a regular basis at the moment. I’m setting my target a bit lower with the idea being to increase it a little more each month as it becomes part of my routine. Now I just need to think of some ways to get more steps each day.
15 ways to get more steps each day
1 – Get off the bus/train one stop before where you live or work and walk the last bit.
2 – Use the stairs instead of the lift.
3 – Go for a walk with a friend or walk the dog.
4 – Go for a nice walk in the evening instead of watching TV or browsing on Facebook.
5 – Walk one way to your destination and take a bus, or cab home.
6 – Choose one meal a day and walk briskly for 10 minutes after it. As a bonus, walking after eating regulates blood sugar and helps weight loss.
7 – Walk to the grocery store. This can save money too. You’ll buy less if you know you are going to have to carry it home.
8 – Choose a favourite song or playlist and count how many steps it takes to walk or dance the duration of that song.
9 – Walk the kids to school.
10 – Listen to podcasts while you walk.
11 – Share your journey on walking apps and get insiration for new routes. I like MapMyWalk.
12 – Walk 500 steps before going to bed. I’ve spent many an evening jogging on the spot trying to get those last steps logged on my tracker.
13 – Walk during the commercials. Grab something that belongs upstairs and tidy it away.
14 – Spend an evening playing Wii or Kinect games with the family.
15 – Walk while making phone calls.
I have a huge number of podcasts I want to catch up on so a bit of me time, out walking, listening to some of them each day sounds good. The brisk walk after a meal looks like a winner too. And when I’m at my desk for any length of time I’m going to try and play a song every hour and get moving. I’m also going to investigate how many steps jobs like cooking the dinner, vacuuming and other housey-type tasks take. The idea of hoovering and tidying will seem much more inviting when it can be done instead of going out walking in the wind and rain. Plus I’ll have the added bonus of a tidier house.
My bullet journal step tracker
I’ve tried logging my steps as part of a habit tracker, just ticking that I’ve managed to reach my goal. This month I’m actually logging how many steps I do as think visually it looks like more of an achievement.
So far so good. My step count has been between 7500 and 8000 steps. This has been on days when I’ve been working or been out and about though. It’s the days when I’m at home sat at my computer without anything specific planned that are going to be harder. Like today. It’s just gone 14.00 and I have less than 2000 steps. Time to find a podcast and get out for a brisk stroll I guess.
I’ll grab a glass of water before I go too. I’ve definitely increased my water intake this month but am not quite hitting my 8 glasses a day target. If you want to read some tips for increasing your water intake then head over to my 9 benefits of drinking water blogpost.
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