The average American walks 3,000 to 4,000 steps a day, or roughly 1.5 to 2 miles. It's a good idea to find out how many steps a day you walk now, as your own baseline. Then you can work up toward the goal of 10,000 steps by aiming to add 1,000 extra steps a day every two weeks.
Walking is a form of low impact, moderate intensity exercise that has a range of health benefits and few risks. As a result, the CDC recommend that most adults aim for 10,000 steps per day . For most people, this is the equivalent of about 8 kilometers, or 5 miles.
A brisk 10-minute daily walk has lots of health benefits and counts towards your 150 minutes of weekly exercise, as recommended in the physical activity guidelines for adults aged 19 to 64.
Distances ranging from 1/8 mile to a mile or more are found in planning studies, with ¼ mile being the most commonly used standard for determining walkable access.
Popular fitness trackers and pedometers encourage people to take 10,000 steps per day, and one 2016 study agrees that 10,000 steps are ideal. This works out to roughly 5 miles of walking. People interested in walking for weight loss should consistently hit at least 10,000 steps each day.
In a new study, which looks at activity tracker data from 78,500 people, walking at a brisk pace for about 30 minutes a day led to a reduced risk of heart disease, cancer, dementia and death, compared with walking a similar number of steps but at a slower pace.
One of the most effective ways to reduce belly fat is to regularly take part in aerobic exercise, such as walking ( 19 , 20 ). In one small study, women with obesity who walked for 50–70 minutes three times per week for 12 weeks, on average, reduced their waist circumference and their body fat.
Average walking speed by age:
20-29 years: 3.00 mph (4.83 km/h) 30-39 years: 2.82 mph (4.54 km/h) 40-49 years: 2.82 mph (4.54 km/h) 50-59 years: 2.75 mph (4.43 km/h)
Everyone walks at a different pace, but as a guide most adults can walk at around 2.5 miles (4km) an hour without accounting for stops. If you're new to walking or recovering from an illness, allow yourself more time. Experienced walkers will often walk faster than this and walk further in an hour.
The CDC recommends that adults, including older adults, get a minimum of 150 minutes of aerobic activity, such as brisk walking, per week. A brisk pace translates to roughly 100 steps per minute.
Know the benefits
For example, regular brisk walking can help you: Maintain a healthy weight and lose body fat. Prevent or manage various conditions, including heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, cancer and type 2 diabetes. Improve cardiovascular fitness.
7 Things That Happened When I Made Myself Go For A Walk Every Single Day For A Month. For a such simple, approachable activity, walking certainly does deliver some remarkable health benefits. Studies show that a daily brisk walk can help lower blood pressure, reduce belly fat, increase energy levels, and improve mood.
What does 10,000 steps look like? Ten thousand steps equates to about eight kilometres, or an hour and 40 minutes walking, depending on your stride length and walking speed.
There is no set number of miles that is considered too much (or too little) for all walkers. However, it is wise to start with shorter walks and gradually increase mileage as fitness goals are met.
Typically, rest days aren't necessary for light cardio. This includes activities like leisurely walking or slow dancing. It's safe enough to do every day, unless your doctor says otherwise. But if you're doing moderate or vigorous aerobic activity, rest days are essential.
10 kilometres is just over six miles - that might sound long, but most people can walk it in under two hours - just like a stroll in the countryside!
Recovery Time: If you notice that you're taking longer and longer to feel normal again after a walk, you may be overtraining. Everyone reacts differently to walking, but if you're taking more than 15 minutes to recover from a walk, you may want to dial down the intensity for a bit.
Generally, older adults in good physical shape walk somewhere between 2,000 and 9,000 steps daily. This translates into walking distances of 1 and 4-1/2 miles respectively. Increasing the walking distance by roughly a mile will produce health benefits.
Beginner walkers can try out a speed of 5 km per hour to start the habit of going for a walk everyday. Intermediate-level walkers can take on anything from 6 to 6.5 km per hour. Try this for at least 40 minutes a day with one or two days of slightly longer durations.
Walking every day is good for your body in many ways. It not only contributes to weight loss and management, but it lowers your risk of heart disease, dementia, Alzheimer's, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, several cancer types, and mortality. It also improves sleep, cognition, and mental health ( 19 , 20 ).
The first place men typically lose weight is the belly, while women tend to lose weight all over, but hold onto weight in their thighs and hips, Dr. Block explains.
After 3-4 days of walking: you will notice the “better fit” or more room in your clothes! After 7 days of walking: real changes are happening! You have used body fat as energy (fat burning!) Muscles feel more toned!
While research suggests walking for distance may be the better option, it's only beneficial so long as it works for you. If you find it easier to track your walks according to time, then, by all means, continue to do so. The key to achieving any fitness goal is consistency, first and foremost.
Walking too much without proper rest can cause old injuries to flare up, like a bad knee or a sore lower back. The CDC and other health organizations generally recommend at least 30 minutes of walking daily, 5 days a week. That's a total of 150 minutes of exercise weekly.