New year, new you, right?  If you’re like me, you hopped on a scale over the weekend and were both shocked and offended.  I looked down and saw numbers that would qualify me for a “Caution: Heavy Object” sticker if someone decided to ship me anywhere.

As January unfolds, its time for me to get back to basics, and no – that doesn’t mean I will be shelling out some ridiculous monthly fee to go to a gym and sweat all over their shiny equipment and be demotivated by Bjorn, the power-lifting Norse God over in the corner (who is effortlessly pumping a small cattle truck over his head and not even breathing heavily).

When I say “back to basics” I mean just that – and there’s no better way to get up and get moving than by doing what I’ve been doing since I was a wee toddler.

Walking.

That’s right.  Just walking.  But how much, you may ask?

Well, the CDC recommends that for general fitness, most adults should be walking around 10,000 steps per day[1].  That works out to about five miles.  Every day.  Now, if you’re job employs standing and walking during your shift, you’re probably already hitting that goal, but if you’ve got a desk job (like me), you’ll find that you’re probably getting in barely 3,000-4,000 steps a day – less than half of the daily recommendation.

The benefits of walking for general fitness have been clearly documented and published in numerous research papers and medical journals over the years.  Adults who work towards the 10,000/day step threshold have lower mortality rates, as well as lower cases of diabetes, coronary heart disease, osteoporosis, and many other ailments.

Sure, you can buy one of those fancy trackers that count your daily steps, but you can also just make the effort to walk a little extra each and every day.  Take the stairs instead of the elevator at work.  Take a walk around your neighborhood or subdivision in the morning or evening.  Locally, we have some beautiful trails and outdoor locations that are a joy to walk (the Appalachian Trail and C&O Canal are two popular ones).  I’ve counted the steps for two “routes” that I regularly plod around at the local schools, which are both well-lit and paved.  One route makes a loop of 1,100 steps while the shorter one gets me an extra 600 steps for every circuit.  The alleys in my town make a circular route of about one mile.

Start small, and then challenge yourself to add in a few more steps every week.  Before long, you’ll be hitting that 10,000 mark with ease each and every day – plus you’ll be building up good health habits that will take you into the warmer weather months.  Who knows, you may even drop a pants size or two – and there’s certainly nothing wrong with that.

So, get those steps in – and happy wandering!

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[1] Online article “How Many Steps Should People Take Per Day?”, reviewed on 2/26/21, accessed on 1/2/22, https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/how-many-steps-should-you-take-a-day