A few years ago, many people were buying pedometers and trying to reach 10,000 steps per day, including all the normal walking they did plus any additional fitness walking. Health officials determined that at that level of activity, most people would lose excess weight, vastly improve their level of fitness and reduce their risk of many lifestyle-related diseases such as diabetes and high blood pressure. And, it is still a great benchmark for reaching a basic level of healthy fitness.

10,000 steps will be on average, 5 miles. Of course, as an “average”, it’s not the same for everyone. For instance, for me, 4.75 miles equals 10,000 steps. Regardless of how far 10,000 steps is for you, it is a good level of walking to improve and then maintain a basic level of fitness.

If you are sedentary, meaning you mostly sit and get little physical activity, you are probably well under 10,000 steps. One way to find out is to wear a pedometer throughout the day. If you are like most people who have desk jobs, you will probably find you walk under 5,000 steps per day.

Wear the pedometer for a few “normal” days, including days you are at work and days you are not. Track the resulting “steps per day” to find an “average” for you. Then, you can plan on increasing it get more steps. Start increasing by 10 to 20 per cent above your average. If you walk 5,000 steps per day, add 500 to 1,000 per day for the next several weeks. Continue adding steps slowly like this until you reach 10,000 on average.

Another way is to simply take a 30 minute fitness walk every day. It may sound like a lot of time that you just don’t have, but ask any walker and they’ll tell you they get double the energy from their walks. So, you spend 30 minutes walking, but you are much more energetic and efficient for the next few hours.

And, you can get more steps by doing more walking during your normal activities. For instance, park farther away from the door to your office or the mall or the grocery. Take the stairs instead of the elevator and you’ll not only add steps but expend and more effort. Go to the bathroom in another wing or on another floor. Walk to a copy machine or fax machine farther away. Skip email and go talk with a colleague. Walk to a water cooler refill your water bottle every couple of hours. Spend your coffee break walking. Add in a short walk after lunch and dinner.

Every step counts and once you start trying to get more steps, you’ll find they add up quickly.

All you need to start the 10,000 steps to fitness program is a pedometer (and good walking shoes). The pedometer I currently use (and love) is the Omron HJ-112 Digital Premium Pedometer

Click here to read my review of the Omron Pedometer