{Fit and Strong Day 20}: Let's Walk

My Pedometer

Did you have a good rest over the weekend?  I did.  In fact, I skipped my usual Sunday run.  I got tired last Saturday and I have had a major head splitting headache and I simply cannot wake up early for the morning run.  I had to take it easy for a while.  

A little later in the morning, I was feeling my usual self again, with only a dull headache.  I went to church, had lunch with a good friend and headed off to the mall.  I have some errands, that's why.  And I will do a lot of walking, for sure, so it's the next best thing to running.  Too bad my pedometer ran out of battery so I have no idea how many steps I had within the day.  Suffice to say I did a lot of walking, having visited two different malls.

So enough of the story.  We have been previously discussing about strengthening individual muscle groups.  So now we come to the next phase.  We move!  And the logical thing to start with is the easiest and most natural of our activities...walking.  Let's just say, it's a way to jump start our cardio exercise and it's something manageable to most couch potatoes, right?

When I began my walking routine a couple of years ago, I realized just how sedentary I have become in the years prior to that.  With my then normal routine, I get to walk maybe 2,000 steps a day.  And that is just a measly third of the required or suggested 6,000 steps per day to be considered active.  I've shared some tips here, in my old article when I took hold of my nephews' Pokewalker (just click the link and scroll down to the bottom of the article for the tips on walking).  Later on, I got myself a good investment, by purchasing a better pedometer.

So, start measuring your daily steps.  See how active you are, and from there you can level things up.  Experts say if you want to lose weight, you got to have a minimum of 10,000 steps per day.  I don't know about the pacing, but making that minimum count is a big step towards better health. Couple that of course with healthy foods and right portion size and you'll be seeing results.  Maybe it won't be abrupt, but it's a steady one...just one step at a time.

This is Day 20 of Steps to Fit and Strong series.