Number of steps

I’ve just looked at my FitBit and was surprised to see that I’ve averaged 8500 steps a day so far in January.

...and if the weather outside is grim put some music on and dance. A lively boogie or a calm waltz around the house to some classic stuff works wonders for the mojo! No measurements required

I have absolutely no idea.

Not sure why I need to know tbh. I do think that being active in general is beneficial as one ages, but I don’t focus on any one particular activity.

I just keep on, keeping on☺️. I’m sat on the sofa atm though.

I’ve ever counted. However I go up and down stairs multiple times a day. For myself, but mostly for DH. His knees make it painful for him. Quicker and easier if I go.

Walked 3 miles, nowhere near the 6 thousand. Walked for another 50 mins, again not hitting the level. Gave up, as raining, again! So walked for 100 mins to no avail. Haven't counted steps in house. I don't have time to go out walking every day, probably better getting a treadmill machine to use when having the time.

SueDonim

The number of steps we do a day is an arbitrary figure, not based on science but for an advertising campaign in Japan in the 60’s.

Obviously, exercise is good for us and our health and strength but we don’t need to fret over an artificial number, we can just enjoy what we do!

This is very true.
But recent research seems to suggest that the optimum number of steps for keeping our immune systems working well and inflammation at bay is around 7500.
Interestingly the benefit reduced for fewer steps, but did not increase after more.
And to answer the OP, yes I do always try and get my steps in - 7,500 if not 10,000; I live in a big house with three floors and sometimes will go on a house walk to up the steps.

I aim for 4000. Frequently do more but not bothered if I don't reach the target. My phone and my watch record my steps and they never tally

I’ve no idea how many steps I do in a day as I don’t count them. However, I know it varies a lot, and during this wet, cold weather we’re having I know my step count will be down considerably. I suspect I do more than I think, as I’m up and down stairs frequently and back and forth to the kitchen and other rooms regularly. However, I know that I am sitting about more than I would be in the warmer weather.

Yes we do. We go for a half hour walk every morning straight out of bed and this clocks up about 4000 steps. Walking round the house during the day easily clocks up another 3000 and I often do another half hour walk if the weather is good in the afternoon, getting up to 10000. Very rarely do less than 6000 steps a day.

Well I've clearly failed miserably. I'm sitting on a comfy chair with my feet up in front. One leg is in post op plaster and I'm destined to keep this position for 6 weeks. No steps at all although I can do light lifting things with my good leg to ward off thrombosis.

Gran22boys a step counter, if it's sensitive enough, should count any steps you do. You don't have to go for a long walk and get all your steps in one go. Walking between rooms, going upstairs and down, walking to the wheelie bin and back during your normal daily activities all count...and you're not obliged to count!

I’m unable to walk very far so I do light exercise indoors. I still feel very healthy so don’t worry about it much. It might be worse to do too much so do what keeps you happy guys

No way! I have a steps counter and if I do 4,000 I’m happy. On holiday I do a lot more. Some of these wintry indoor days, I do a lot less!

81 yrs young now. Have set my watch at 3,500. Don’t always achieve this many but more than 3 times a week.
On a wet bitterly cold day I walk around my kitchen table until I get fed up! I am not a couch potato and we have stairs but I feel entitled at my age to have restful times when I feel like it!

I do not carry my phone around with me for the simple reason that my clothes do not have pockets big enough to hold an android phone properly, so I have no idea how many steps I take in the course of the day.

Including the landing and hall floors I take 15 steps each way on the staircase in the house, and I go up and down it on average six times a day, the cats want out four or five times a day and in this cold weather, I keep the cat flap on ingress-only. I imagine there are somewhere between 100 and 200 steps from wherever I happen to be to the back door.

What a waste of time this is!

I have a 2 km walk or bike ride to the nearest shops, 4 to the others, the same to church and double that to the graveyard where my husband's grave is, so by and large, I get plenty of exercise, as you can also add country dancing every Monday evening, shovelling snow up to three times a day in this weather, doing my own housework, bringing in logs for the stove and this week dusting books and bookshelves (126 linear metres of shelves)

I imagine I fulfill the norm for a woman of 74.

The other day I counted (for once) over 900 just to the bus stop!

I do sometimes think the 10,000 steps advice may be counter productive, in that some people are surely going to think, Well, I’m never going to manage all that, so it’s not worth bothering at all.

Didn’t Michael Mosley say as one of his ‘one thing’ pieces of advice, that if everybody walked for just 15 minutes a day, it’d make a big difference?

I have always worn a watch but now wear a technical one that counts steps and tells the time. The ap that comes with it recommended 8000 steps a day. Without going out of the house- just doing the normal active things around the house ( up and down stairs, putting the washing out etc) I only would only walk about 5000 steps. It’s easy to add more steps - easier if an incorporating a short walk in daily chores I aim for 8000 but average 11000 a day according to my watch.

About 2,000 and that suits me just fine.

A GP told me it’s not how many steps that count but the way you walk. She says those gadgets that measure steps are often not accurate and any slight movement can make them click on.
She said you have to walk fast enough to be slightly out of breath. Dawdling around is no good and walking a dog that stops every two minutes to have a pee is no good either.

I will be 80 this year and do around 6000 steps every day with a couple of longer walks per week. I missed a few days last week due to black ice, but otherwise it is part of my daily routine. I use an old school 3D pedometer which lives in my pocket. I have RA so think it helps to keep moving, along with a few strengthening exercises. I have a mini exercise 'bike' but find it so boring I don't use it very often, not even while watching TV.

I’m only 61 and aim for 20,000 four or five times each week. It’s usually 5 or 6 the other days just mooching about, shopping, whatever. I certainly expect be doing 10,000 at 70.

It’s something I’ve done for some years, though and if you haven’t it will seem daunting. Just start slowly and build up at a pace that you find comfortable.

I do try for 6000 steps a day. I think that many of us older folk can manage this fairly easily, dog walking, pottering around the house, a trip to the shops, and so on.
I think there might be a need to focus on a small sector of younger people who work from home, tied to their laptop. An acquaintance told me that her daily count is frequently 800 steps ..

Never counted…. I do walk a good bit and days at work I m on my feet 6/7 hours but never think it’s necessary to count every step, If the weathers bad and I don’t feel like going out then I only walk around in the house doing what we all do.
I can’t be axxxx to count every step, life’s to short. I don’t focus on ‘keeping fit’ I just think I live a fairly sensible (probably boring) life

I don't focus on number of steps but I dog walk and am pretty active. IME it's more important to focus on strength so I do several weights based classes each week with a mix of cardio. When I use the treadmill I focus on walking at speed not distance, if I can cover a kilometre in around 10 minutes, I'm happy, life is too short to spend hours on my fitness, I can do a pretty thorough workout out in 30 minutes.

Calendargirl

I think we can just get bogged down with fretting how many steps we take, how much sleep we are getting, what our stress levels are……

All these gadgets that measure them are there for a purpose, getting us to invest in them.

As someone else said, how do you measure a ‘step’? One of my steps will be different to my DH’s. 🤷‍♀️

We just need to try and keep moving and not sit about too much.

I agree, these gadgets can become an obsession. Count your steps, count your distance, count your heart beat, count your good sleep pattern, count your calories, count your life away! Of course, if there's a medical need for them, and they are interpreted sensibly, that's different.
What is "normal " for one person is not "normal" for another.
Hiving said that, my daily walk is around 2 hours, I'm forced out in all weather's by two big dogs, I in a beautiful part of the country in which makes it envigorating to do so.