Why Walking 10,000 Steps a Day Is a Bogus Benchmark
Or any number, for that matter.
Photo by Jeremy Bishop on Unsplash
With the advent of fitness tracking devices also came this notion that taking 10,000 steps a day was the gold standard.
For example, Fitbit says it starts users off with a 10,000-step goal because “It adds up to about five miles each day, which includes about 30 minutes of daily exercise — satisfying the CDC’s recommendation of at least 150 minutes of moderate exercise per week.”
Why this didn’t work for me
The problem with this (and I guarantee many a person at Fitbit knows this, too) is that having a daily goal tied to a superfluous number can really start to mess with some people’s heads. I know it damn-well did mine.
I swear, I’d look down at my device every five minutes to take note of my progression. If I wasn’t pacing well toward my 10,000-step goal, the negative thoughts would start spewing through my brain.
“You’re really slacking today.”
“Ugh, you were doing so well. WTF happened?”
“You’re a runner. This shouldn’t be so hard.”
It was never enough
But even if I did hit 10,000 steps, I wasn’t celebrating by any stretch of the imagination. I was way too competitive to only meet the standard. Next thing I knew, I was aiming for 12,000, then 15,000, then 20,000. If it was a long run day, 40,000 was the benchmark.
I became absolutely obsessed with the six inches of elastomer strapped around my wrist. The number it flashed at me dictated my mood, and nine times out of 10, the result was unfavorable.
My Fitbit — much like the scale I once stepped on 10-plus times a day — owned me. Exercise and movement of any kind became such a chore.
I couldn’t find the enjoyment in taking a hike on the most picturesque fall day, riding my bike down the most scenic nature trail, or even going dancing (which I freaking love) without thinking about how my activity was inching me closer and closer to a ridiculous number I would only feel a need to surpass the following day.
I was an extreme case
Not everyone hinges their self-worth on what their tracking device says, but I also know I’m not a totally isolated case, either. For the last 10 years or so, I’ve heard at least one person on a weekly basis make some kind of disgruntled comment regarding their daily step status.
“Ugh, I’m only 2,200 steps in, and there’s no way I’m going to have time today to get in another 8,000.”
“It’s been like a week since I hit my step goal. I need to get back in the groove.”
“I don’t understand how some people seem to so easily get in 15,000 steps every day. I struggle to hit half of that.”
There is really nothing positive going on with any of these statements. Each one has an element of disparity or defeat. How is feeling like a slacker or a failure supposed to make the act of pursuing a goal at all pleasurable? Some might argue they don’t have a goal because they like to exercise but because they know they need to exercise.
It’s true — we all do need exercise
But why should it be based on the confines of an electronic device that monitors our every movement? I get that, for some people, there is comfort in having something on you, at all times, to keep a pulse (pun entirely intended) on their daily activity.
For example, my mom wears a FitBit not only to track her steppage, but also to keep tabs on her sleep patterns. She doesn’t have any specific daily activity goals but does know that if she’s only tracking 1,500 steps in a day, she probably needs to up the ante a bit.
Despite people like my mom, I’m still convinced fitness tracking devices hinder more than they help.
I say this not from a place of malice or resentment. I do believe there are some good intentions behind them and the universal 10,000-step benchmark. Rather, I say this as someone who, over time, forgot how to listen to her body.
Then one day I had an epiphany
“What if I just take the damn thing off?” This was a scary thought more so than anything else. “Would I just end up becoming a lazy POS?” Ya know, because when things are out of sight, they’re out of mind. “Would I just let myself go altogether?”
Quite the opposite happened.
Rather than putting so much credence in a number, I started to let my body guide my movement. If I felt sluggish, stressed, bloaty, or backed up, or experienced little to no appetite, I took those as signs that I needed to get moving.
On the contrary, if I felt physically depleted, perpetually hungry, and had to hit the bathroom more than a healthy number of times in a day, I knew I needed to ease up on my activity.
Learning to trust my body, and not some foreign object, to navigate how much or little I do has reaped so many benefits for my health and well-being.
I’m no longer doing obligatory jumping jacks in my living room at the end of the night.
I now embrace my surroundings when I’m out moving in the world.
I don’t have a seafoam-colored band strapped around my wrist that clashes with 97 percent of my wardrobe.
I don’t berate myself or feel guilty if I don’t hit my usually unreasonable goals.
I have maintained my weight (whatever that is) because clothes don’t lie.
I no longer have chronic hunger pangs from the relentless energy exhaustion.
Mostly, I feel free.
Deciding if it’s time for you to unstrap
Just because ridding myself of my Fitbit did nothing but positive things for me does not make it right for everyone. But let me ask you these few questions:
Do you regularly feel disappointed in yourself if you don’t hit your daily step goal?
If you reach your goal, do you feel a constant need to set a more aggressive one?
Does wearing a fitness tracking device take away from the joy you would otherwise experience from a walk, run, or living room dance session?
Do you disregard physical activity that doesn’t adequately contribute to your step goal, such as yoga, weightlifting, household chores, standing at your desk, rock climbing, or doing that thing consenting adults do?
Are you frequently comparing the number of steps you take with others and feeling like you a) need to have a higher number; or b) aren’t disciplined enough.
If you answered yes to any of these, I recommend disarming your device for a week or so and seeing what happens.
You have nothing to lose
It’s easy to forget that there was a time when none of us had a mechanism to tell us whether or not we’d done enough for ourselves on a given day. All we had was our body, which is a whole helluva lot more credible, in my opinion.
Point being, no one knows our bodies, our interests, our schedules, our constraints, or our desires like we do.
Rather than putting so much stake in an electromagnetic field-radiating apparatus that, in large part, just wants our personal data and money, we just might get all of the things we’re seeking by having a little more faith in our own wondrous temples.
