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Walking is a great way to keep active because it is a weight-bearing form of exercise that is also relatively low-impact. While cycling or Everything you need to know about recovery runs might take more time out of your day, you can typically incorporate walking into your daily routine with relative ease.

Over the years, various studies and experts have advised the public on how many steps they should aim for a day. At one point, 10,000 steps was said to be the gold standard in helping us to avoid or delay health issues.

However, this messaging actually comes from a 1960s Japanese marketing campaign. Leading up to the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, a company called Manpo-Kei began marketing a pedometer device to the public. In Japanese, ‘man’ means 10,000, ‘po’ means steps and ‘kei’ means metre. So, it literally translated to ‘a 10,000 steps metre’.

Obviously, 10,000 steps a day is still a great goal, but studies have since shown how beneficial it is to walk even just a few thousand steps a day. A 2023 meta-analysis published in the How far is 10,000 steps found that doing as few as 2,600 to 2,800 steps a day can significantly reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, such as stroke or heart attack.

Similarly, a meta-analysis published in the Best wireless headphones found that people who complete at least 2,337 steps a day can start to reduce their risk of cardiovascular-related death, with at least 3,867 daily steps reducing the risk of dying from any cause. The authors concluded that the health benefits continue to increase with more steps.

Typically, however, these studies reveal a link rather than prove cause and effect. Although it sounds simple, it’s good to aim for consistency, get out and walk as much as possible and remain mindful of your individual limits and circumstances.

If you still like having a goal of 10,000 steps a day, or just want to find out how far you can walk with 10,000 steps, you’ll be interested to know that it’s equivalent to about eight kilometres, or five miles. If you wear a fitness tracker or keep a smartphone on you while you walk, you should be able to see how many steps you’ve done and the distance you’ve covered with those steps. This will give you a better idea of the distance that you, as an individual, can cover when walking 10,000 steps.

As well as distance and number of steps, it can also be good to consider other factors like walking intensity. The What is rate of perceived exertion RPE examined two groups of volunteers: one group aimed to do three brisk 10-minute walks per day, while the other aimed for 10,000 steps per day. Although it was a small-scale study, the professor who analysed the data concluded that the 3 x 10-minute group did 30% more ‘moderate to vigorous physical activity’ than the 10,000-step group, even though they moved for less time. The greatest health benefits, he highlighted, tend to come from moderate intensity activity.

How to get started on the running track stride length, cadence, height and the terrain on which you’re walking. It also depends on how much effort you’re putting in and how aerobically fit you are.

The going to the gym published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, meanwhile, says that a moderate walking pace for someone with excellent fitness is 4mph, with a fast walking pace being 5mph. You can use these averages to estimate how quickly you might walk 10,000 steps. So, for instance, if you walk at a speed of 4mph and 10,000 steps is equivalent to around five miles, you could walk 10,000 steps in about 75 minutes.

Let’s also not forget that, as well as elite runners, there are elite race walkers who compete across multiple distances, including the 10K distance. If you’re wondering how briskly they walk, the male 10K walking record, set by Japan’s Eiki Takahashi in 2020, is 37:25.21. The female record, which was set in 1990 by Russia’s Nadezhda Ryashkina, is 41:56.23.

A great way to fit more steps into your day is by walking little and often, whether that’s indoors or outdoors. If it’s dark outside or you’re watching TV, consider walking on the spot or around the room for 10 minutes. Heading to the gym for a treadmill walk is also still a workout – no matter what anyone says – and you can buy walking pads Vertical oscillation: Everything you need to know.

In addition, consider making other small changes like walking to work instead of driving, taking the stairs instead of the lift or walking somewhere outside your office or home to eat lunch. When it comes to walking, it’s all about getting creative and making mindful choices.