Let me start by saying that I am not a walker. I weight train at the gym, but avoid the treadmill like the plague. And while I sometimes walk with my best friend on the boardwalk, it’s not enough to consider myself someone who walks. Usually, my average steps range from 1,000 to 3,000 steps a day.
That being said, I’ve always heard about the wonders of walking 10,000 steps a day. Though 10,000 originally started as a marketing gimmick to sell pedometers in the 1960s, there is evidence that walking a certain number of steps a day helps lose weight and improve your heart health.
🩺SIGN UP for tips to stay healthy & fit with the top moves, clean eats, health trends & more delivered right to your inbox twice a week💊
Plus, I recently profiled a woman who lost 95 pounds from walking and went on to become a bodybuilder. When it comes to convincing myself to walk more, I can’t think of anything more motivating than that.
With all the success and hype of walking 10,000 steps, I gave it a whirl and committed to walking as my main physical activity for March. It wasn’t easy, but were the benefits worth it? That’s debatable.
Related: How Many Miles Should I Walk A Day? Trainers Explain
Week 1
I started by weighing myself to get a baseline of what’s changed and committed to not looking at the scale until the end of the month. I also logged my feelings in an online journal for the day to see if my mental health had also changed from the experience. Then I put on my sneakers and got to moving.
I found the first week to be an adjustment period. I experimented with the best time to walk, where to do my walks and the pace. The initial motivation wore off after the third day, and I was having internal fights with myself on whether to go, justifying that there’s no harm in missing a day.
I still hit my 10,000 steps daily that week, but I found myself procrastinating until the last two to three hours of the day to finish. Apparently, that’s a common feeling among people who embark on this challenge. “There are numerous studies that show 10,000 is a number that can discourage participation as it is a big time and musculoskeletal tolerance demand,” says Dr. Milica McDowell, DPT, an exercise physiologist and vice president of operations at Gait Happens.
Dr. McDowell was right, as I felt soreness in my calves for the first few days of walking. I also felt an unexpected soreness in my lower back. It wasn’t until the end of the first week that my body adapted better to the constant movement.
Related: The Shortest Amount of Time to Walk to See Results
Week 2
At this rate, I knew I wouldn’t last long on sheer willpower. My procrastination had me walking very late at night, sometimes just reaching 10,000 steps minutes before midnight. So, I needed a better plan.
Instead of overwhelming myself by squeezing in 10,000-step walks with strength training and aerial workouts, I planned to do the bare minimum. This week, I focused only on walking. Anything else was a bonus.
I also told everyone I knew I was doing a walking challenge for work. Having accountability made a huge difference, and it’s also something science says is effective when it comes to committing to a plan. People are also more likely to make an effort towards their goal when they tell someone whose opinion they highly value.
In my case, my best friend kept me in check with constant reminders or accompanying me for these dreaded walks, and my siblings made sure to shame me if I spent too much time on the couch.
Jocelyn Solis-Moreira
By the end of the second week, I felt some changes in my mental state. I still procrastinated on doing my 10,000 steps, but I knew I could do it, since I already had two weeks under my belt. The internal debates to avoid walking didn’t completely go away, but they were less frequent by the end of the second week.
I also began pushing myself to do a little more after every walk. With a burst of energy after every walk, I would stay extra to do some pull-ups or pick up some weights to complete the 10,000 steps.
Depending on what time I went, I found myself in a better mood during the day or easily falling asleep at night.
Related: This Is the Best Time of Day To Work Out, According to a Fitness Expert
Weeks 3 & 4
By the third and fourth weeks of walking, I had more stamina. I felt I had a clearer mind and felt more joyful overall—something my friends and family picked up on as well.
Physically, I felt stronger and more motivated than ever to hit the ground running every day, prioritizing movement in the first 30 minutes of waking up. My mindset shifted from procrastinating on walking to getting small movements in every hour for five to 10 minutes. By 4 p.m., I was now amassing 5 to 6k in steps with plenty of hours to complete the rest.
What 10,000 Steps Did for My Body
Now, appearance-wise, I felt improvements in my overall posture. My shoulders and back were not as hunched as before. But what about weight?
Before the walking challenge, I weighed 165.1 pounds, and afterwards I weighed a grand total of: 167.6 pounds.
Yes, you read that right. I was shocked too. Despite all I’ve read about how walking helps with weight loss, Igained weight. I remember drafting a half-written email to my editor explaining that this story cannot be published.
So, why the weight gain? Well, I got my answer a week later.
I was at the gym with my other best friend when I weighed myself again, this time using a scale that provides more in-depth biometrics. And I saw a change in the statistics.
My body fat stayed largely the same as the last time I scanned myself, which coincidentally happened before March. But it was my muscle mass that had me do a double-take. My muscle mass increased by 1.7%, slightly inching me into the above-average category for someone my size.
Related: The 3 Daily Habits Sabotaging Your Belly Fat Loss, According to Trainers
Verdict: Should You Walk 10,000 Steps a Month?
Daily movement is important, and I credit the extra muscle I gained in March to walking 10,000 steps. I don’t think walking 10,000 steps is as physically transformative as people claim, but it did wonders for my mental health and overall mood.
Still, there is some merit in striving for a lofty goal like 10,000 daily steps.
Research shows people who set ambitious fitness goals work out more, even if they don’t always hit their targets. In other words, having a goal to reach 10,000 steps a day is okay, but you shouldn’t be discouraged if you only reach 7,000 to 9,000 steps.
One thing I’ve taken away from the experience is that while 10,000 steps sounds daunting, it’s doable. Last month, I pulled between 7,000 and 10,000 steps daily. And I’m not planning to lose momentum.
Because if there’s anything I’ve learned during March, my body is much more capable than I ever imagined.
Up Next:
Related: I’ve Been Walking With a Weighted Vest for Months—Here’s How It’s Worked for Me
Sources
- Dr. Milica McDowell, PT, MSPT, DPT, C-EP is an exercise physiologist and vice president of operations at Gait Happens.
- When goals are known: The effects of audience relative status on goal commitment and performance. Journal of Applied Psychology.
- Goal setting and achievement for walking: A series of N-of-1 digital interventions. Health Psychology.
