10,000 steps

Moving in any way will help

The 10,000 steps goal, while widely recognized today, has a fascinating origin and a significant cultural significance. As mentioned earlier, it was first popularized by Dr. Yoshiro Hatano, a Japanese researcher, in the 1960s. Dr. Hatano was concerned about the rising levels of inactivity in Japan and wanted to find a simple way to encourage people to be more physically active.

Dr. Hatano’s research was based on the concept that an average person takes about 2,000 to 3,000 steps in covering one mile. Therefore, by walking 10,000 steps a day, individuals would be covering approximately five miles. This distance was deemed sufficient to counteract the sedentary lifestyle that was becoming prevalent in Japan and many other parts of the world... More here.

I have only averaged 10,000 steps per day in one year and that was the year in which I lost more than 100lbs in weight. Strict dieting and other exercises helped a lot, but at the core of the change were the steps I completed.

The dubious marketing-led introduction of 10,000 steps as a target can be largely ignored because simply doing more steps can only be a good thing, but any movement can change your life.

I have been working from home for some time and earlier this year I started to suffer from sever upper back and neck pain. A visit to my osteopath changed things when he simply showed me a set of exercises I could do each day at my desk while working. Shoulder rolls, neck stretches and simple spins worked for me and to this day I still do them multiple times a day.

In a time when we move less than ever, it is hugely important to move as much as you can, and all of us have the opportunity to move a lot more than we do today.