Yesss 10,000 steps is bad for you!

amt101!

unfortunately owing to very severe arthritis in one knee [currently boner rubbing on bone] i am unable to walk very far at all. maybe 40 steps out to the car and back again and very few in between. thank goodness for the mobility carts in testo and asda. i can just about manage to walk from the car to the shop and back out again later but it takes me at least a day to recover from this!
sofa surfing doesn't do anything for the amount of steps or the weight loss.

I try to do 30 to 40 mins walk 4 to 5 times a week. Just get my coat on straight after breakfast and get going! Clears my head, settles anxieties and sets me up for the day. Nice hot shower when I get home, hot coffee and ready for most things! Xx

Regarding the concern of walking 10000 steps and the effect on those with dodgy knees, I have been led to believe (by OH) that the overall aim was to build up the muscles around the knees which would help support the weakening joints. We did a 4 mile + walk to the rugby match last Saturday and the next day I was absolutely cream crackered and OH was in pain with his knees and was walking slower than I was (which was a first). I must admit that I have not been attempting my 10000 steps of late as I find it hard to motivate myself in the winter months. I do however walk rather than drive wherever I can if I'm not getting too much at the shops, and make use of my Freedom Pass at every opportunity. We have a real parking problem here as we are right next to the station so it is a real pain trying to re park once we use the car so I don't bother driving most of the time and make the most of my Freedom Pass. Better for the environment they would have you believe too so it's a WIN/WIN to use that annoying phrase.

I walk the dog every day for about 45 minutes, doing just under 5000 steps. We don't generally walk fast though, it's more a case of slow, slow, sniff, sniff, slow ...

I like the comment above saying that the fitness tracker goes on the dog's collar.

I too have arthritic knees so I use a pair of trekking poles to enable me to take longier walks in rural areas. Apparently they can take unpaid to 40% of weight from knees and lower back as well as giving us some upper body work out. Dunno if I believe the hype but they really do make a difference once you get used to them.

I do about 40mins per day on 3 days per week and 60mins on the other 4 days, though I try to do more at the weekends and that usually amounts to 10k steps. I just love walking.

All fool anyone that decides on a target that is not achievable for them. Having an Up band is a great motivator for me. It also means I walk rather than drive wherever I can, initially to reach my target but now a habit. My aim is 10000, DH's is 7500. More than anything it gives feedback & makes you understand how little you move or how much when not purposely exercising eg when cleaning the house. If I don't feel up to it, I do less & often find I've done more. Both research & media reporting are best taken with a big dose of scepticism. You are in charge believe it or not.

I share your limitations Jane 10 it would be wonderful to be able to go out without the fear of falling over......I get so tired just ding the husework, shopping etc because pain is debilitating.

Once on a long hike in Scotland with my sister my step counter informed me I had taken 28,000 steps.I was very pleased with myself but have never managed to to that many again!!!!

Does anyone think that exercise bikes are worth bothering with,dont get out much anymore.

I easily average 16,000 steps a day walking to the shops, walking to my Course, walking to Choir and Church etc. Love it as it keeps me fit and supple. Hate sitting around doing nothing.

DH and I went on a 4 day walking holiday a couple of years ago along the Derwent Water trail from Ladybower reservoir to Derby, and the highest number of steps that we walked during a day was around 17,000 which was walking about a mile to the bus stop, the stage of the walk over about 4-5 hours with lunch and then the walk back from the bus stop. So you'll excuse me if I feel a little dubious about some of the numbers I'm seeing on here. Now I used a pedometer which was attached to my waistband not on my wrist - I'm not sure whether that had anything to do with it.

I can't see a problem with aiming for 10,000 steps a day, unless of course you have a condition which would preclude much activity. I do have a fitbit and enjoy the fact that it gees me up to getting moving during the working day when it's easy to just sit. Oh and several times last Summer I clocked up the 10,000 on the day I look after my 2 year old granddaughter and on one occasion I didn't venture further than the house and garden! Being active doesn't have to mean going for very long walks, although they help!

I'm not knocking people's enthusiasm for walking - I think it's great and healthy exercise. But I wonder if they are actually walking what their fitbit says. I've just googled fitbit accuracy and there are a lot of people out there who are questioning number of steps, and pointing out, as some on here have done, that arm movements seem to add more steps than have actually been done.

I once complained to my GP that walking gave me back ache and he said. That's true! Its not always a good thing.

Thank you to him. Since then I concentrate on my 3 flights of stairs in the house.

The idea of spending time doing 10,000 steps is ridiculous. Is that what life is for? If we have reached old age then we have done a lot better than those who died of heart attack at 50 so lets enjoy Life. Its the only life we are going to get.
Back to my coffee before it gets cold, Its sunny so I might spend 10 minutes just looking out of the window.

Surely the main point is that movement is good for you, if you do not (yet) have any conditions that would prohibit such movement. Walking is pleasurable and a hell of a lot healthier than sitting.

Fitbits and step counting are not essential. It's all about what makes you feel good...and keeps you healthy. I do not think that age necessarily comes into it, MargaretX.

For some of us, much enjoyment is found in movement, although we also like staring out of the window at times. One thing does not preclude the other.

I think most people will have checked out the information on their fitbits, and the accuracy of them. I have a bog-standard pedometer and checked and set my stride length on it when it arrived. 2000 of my steps make a mile, give or take a couple. I've just walked to and from town and pootled around the shops for half an hour. Google maps tell me the walk itself was 3.4 miles. I've done 8200 steps and it's taken me an hour and 40 minutes. Seems about right to me.

And it was very pleasant. Blew the cobwebs away a treat. I appreciate that I'm lucky to be fit and well and want to keep it that way. I don't average 10000 though - some days I barely get off the couch, and others I walk a long way very slowly with a 3 year old.

The days when we do most steps tend to be when we're on a city break, particularly when we're in London - 25000 or more. We just set off and walk everywhere. You see so much more than you do hopping on the tube.

The idea of spending time doing 10,000 steps is ridiculous. Is that what life is for?

I agree Margaret, that is if the steps are achieved by going up and down your three flights of stairs! However, I get my exercise by being out and about and there is pleasure in that, regardless of any health benefits.

This morning, as most days, I did a two-hour walk alongside the Thames with my best friend, in glorious sunshine. .

Followed by a pub lunch!

I dont purposely excercise, I am fed up with everyone going to the gymn and talking non stop about it, quite hysterical I think, I do normal everyday things which keep me fit, an soon it will be garden time, and THAT definately keeps me going, I have reached the grand age of 75, and I am not doing so bad, just got a frozen shoulder but perfectly healthy otherwise, Dont get caught up with this 10, 000 steps lark.

I can see the reasoning about walking to build muscle tone. For the last six months, until I had the Cortisone injection last week, I've had severe bursitis in the opposite hip to my worst knee meaning I couldn't walk very far at all. Even with two hike sticks. Couldn't climb stairs. Now, although pain free in the hip, I'm still struggling to climb the stairs because my muscles are so depleted. So, as I still can't walk far before my knees stiffen and I turn into a penguin, I'm ploughing up and down the stairs to try to regain some strength.

I heard a talk on the radio the other day about fit bits. Apparently they're so inaccurate as to be practically useless. One tester found hers even recorded 400 steps while she was asleep!

Jane10, swimming is excellent exercise (I go once a week to a ladies only group). It puts no strain on knees and hips but exercises the whole body. The gym is so expensive and I know I would not stick with it.
My GP told me "30 minutes a day" so I walk as much as I can. The chiropodist told me jogging puts a strain on the joints and joggers are storing up problems for later life!

Oh flaxwoven I was a twice weekly attender at Aquafit before my TKR. I hope to return one day but can't imagine how I'd manage the ladder into and out of the pool right now. In fact even getting into my bathing costume (note not swimsuit!) is a real struggle. Life is complicated when you can't bend bits of you that used to bend. These days if one joint doesn't hurt another takes its place . Attention seeking I suppose.

I've never had a fitbit but tried a pedometer for a while. As I never trust technology I started to count my steps when out for a walk. Unfortunately it made me start to drop off to sleep while on the move!!

When I did manage to stay awake I found the pedometer (on the waistband) only measured about half of the steps. I think its best to have a brisk walk for a certain amount of time and gradually build it up. We don't need to measure steps or distances.