10000 of them a day.
One of the ways I'm Getting Real this year. I actually wear the pedometer I bought last year. For a few days I wore it without trying to move much, to see where my baseline was. Just around 6,000 steps. So, one of the things I'm actually doing, and enjoying, this year is getting in that 10,000 steps. When I'm home, this is a breeze. But I took this on as a thing I had to do because my current working life interferes with exercise, and my body is paying the price.
I think I'm a good example of how this easy concept of getting 10000 steps in a day is surprisingly hard for the average American corporate type - at least those of us Of a Certain Age, and with long commutes or other complications. My day begins at 5 a.m., I have an hour commute each way, and I sit at a desk all day. The work day, counting the lunch hour, is 9 hours + 2 hours in the car. I have to get to bed early to survive that 5 a.m. alarm, and if I go to the gym in the evening it really screws up my sleep. (God knows I tried, but I am a morning workout person. Evenings just screw me up.) And I need at least 7, and 8 is better, hours of sleep every night, so an evening session on the elliptical machine leaves me tired at 3 the next afternoon. You can do the math - my life is largely spent on my ass, and 10,000 steps takes actual, conscious thought.
But it's kind of fun - I wear my pedometer everywhere, including at the office (discreetly concealed by a sweater or jacket). It's a constant reminder to Get OFF My Ass and MOVE - walk down the hall, take the long way to the kitchen, take the stairs, take a couple of laps around the office complex at lunch. This is a do-able thing in my current life. I am counting my steps, and it's FUN.
I do the same thing. I've been wearing my pedometer for just over a year now and I'm finally able to get 10,000 steps in, even on most workdays, but like you say, it takes concerted effort during the week. I don't do an eliptical, I do a treadmill.
ReplyDeleteAwkward tip - IF you have a cordless phone, and IF you do not have to take notes, stand up and pace while on phone. Very effective. Really helpful when explaining technical stuff to an airhead - the exercise is calming.
ReplyDeleteGae in Callala Bay
Gae, really helpful if you have an office, as well as a cordless phone. In my current veryshittyjob, I have a small greige cube, and phone with cord. It's a depressingly different world from my former life.
ReplyDeleteI'm not surprised how much of a challenge 10K steps are - Good for you for pushing yourself.
ReplyDeletei have been spending a good portion of my breaks on the phone lately (my mom had a ministroke, so i've been coordinating care for her) so, instead ofsitting on my ass in the breakroom (which is noisy anyway) i walk the hallways. it works. i'm not the only one who walks the hallways, lol. (my lunch is only 1/2 hour, so there's really not time to eat AND walk, a nd i have to eat or i get a migraine)
ReplyDeleteHow is the walking (steps) going? You really do have a lot of unwelcome sitting going on, and I hope you've found new ways to break it up during at work days. I got a pedometer a year or so ago, but now forget to wear it. Thanks for blogging about this.
ReplyDeletelella