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Step Challenge Day 1

🕛 Estimated Read Time: 2 minutes and 34 seconds.

Welcome welcome welcome to Day 1 of the Sleekgeek 21-Day Step Challenge!!!

With a brand new year ahead you, there is a nearly endless list of things that you COULD do to improve your health and fitness.

In fact, you may even find it quite overwhelming to decide what to prioritise.

Should you run? Go to the gym? Try intermittent fasting? Cut out carbs? Buy a bunch of supplements?

Whatever you choose to do, I want to encourage you to never lose sight of the basics.

One of those basics is fighting back against modern sedentary lifestyles and getting enough steps in each day.

Getting more steps in throughout the day is one of the easiest and most reliable ways to improve your overall health, fitness, and wellbeing.

It will complement whatever else you decide to do.

Dedicating your time and energy to this 21-Day Step Challenge will not be a waste, I promise.

So let’s get started!

HOW MANY STEPS SHOULD YOU WALK?

Research for public health has established that:

  • Those who take 5,000 steps a day or less are considered “sedentary” and at a higher risk for obesity, disease, and early death.
  • Those who take 10,000 steps a day or more are considered “active” and typically have less body fat and better overall health.

For some people, 10,000 steps might seem ridiculously easy (especially if you have an active job) but for most people, it’s rather high at the beginning (and for some, it’s just about impossible).

Even us at Sleekgeek spend most of our time working from home behind our computers or on our phones… If we didn’t push ourselves to deliberately get out and walk more, we would likely only get 3,000 – 4,000 steps a day on average.

So we understand, it’s challenging! (But do-able with some effort.)

At Sleekgeek, we believe in looking at health and fitness on a continuum from better to worse. It’s not all 10,000 steps or nothing.

For this challenge, we recommend using this as a guide to aim for:

  • 4,000 steps a day (beginner – someone who lives a VERY sedentary lifestyle).
  • 6,000 steps a day (intermediate – someone who lives a moderately sedentary lifestyle).
  • 8,000 steps a day (advanced – someone who lives a moderately active lifestyle).
  • 10,000+ steps a day (elite – someone who lives a very active lifestyle).

Whichever category you choose, it should be a challenge. It should push you out of your comfort zone so that you get better.

Getting your steps in shouldn’t be a “happy accident”. You should be consciously and actively looking for ways to add in more movement and walking throughout your day such as going for walks at lunch, taking the stairs, parking in the back of the parking lot, walking the dog instead of watching TV, and so on.

If you normally walk with a watch or phone that tracks your steps, you can go look at that data to see what your daily average usually is and then aim for something that’s 2,000 – 3,000 steps higher.

HOW TO MEASURE YOUR STEPS

Option 1: Pedometer or Fitness Tracking Device:

  • If you have some kind of pedometer or fitness tracker that tracks your steps, then you are in luck.

Option 2: Smartphone:

  • Most newer smartphones have their own built-in pedometers. If you aren’t sure, just search on Google for your phone make/model + the words “built-in pedometer”.
  • You should find some websites showing you how to use it if your phone does indeed have a built-in pedometer. If you’re still unsure, ask in the Sleekgeek Health Revolution Support Group on Facebook.

Option 3: Treadmill:

  • If you are a regular gym-goer and plan to get most of your steps in on the treadmill, then most treadmills will track your steps. This is not ideal because we would obviously like you to be out and about, getting in more movement throughout the day – but it’s better than nothing!

Option 4: Estimate:

  • The average person walking at a brisk and determined pace can expect to walk these number of steps based on distance and time walked:

Don’t forget to post your Step Challenge journey in the Sleekgeek Health Revolution Facebook group using the hashtag #StepChallenge AND tick off your steps goal on the Challenge Tracker.