Running, walking, whatever...we all just need to move more

You know that whole thing about getting 10,000 steps a day and how important it is? Yeah, that's actually real.

Not the exact "10,000" number. That's kind of arbitrary.

It's the idea of moving a whole lot more than we Americans do now. We tend to be a very sedentary people. Not all of us, of course, but a whole lot of us.

I'll bet that most people overestimate the number of steps they get in a day unless they wear a pedometer and already know. Because if you're going to go for that 10,000 steps (which again is a good target if not a scientifically precise minimum), you'll find that it's actually quite a distance.

Stride lengths differ, but on average, 10,000 steps means five miles. Do you move five miles in a single day? I'm talking throughout the whole day, whether it's part of an intentional exercise session or not. You probably don't.

But you should.

Eat less, move more. If we did that, we would spend a LOT less on health care. And we would be happier. And fitter. And wouldn't have to shop in the "Husky" section for our clothes.

As it turns out, it doesn't matter much how you get those steps: Run, walk, whatever. Just go.

I happen to be both a walker and a runner these days, depending on my mood and how my muscles feel. Running is more efficient in terms of getting your requisite number of steps in a relatively short period of time. But the downside of running, of course, is that you have to be smart about it. Unless you're genetically programmed to withstand a good dose of daily stress to your joints and leg muscles, you need to take rest days, and you need to be strategic about the way you warm up and the pace at which you run.

Which is why so many people opt instead for walking. Even brisk walking isn't nearly as hard on your body as running is. It's just that it takes longer. You can get essentially the same benefits as you would on a run assuming you're willing and able to invest the time.

Honestly, I think your doctor will tell you it's not how you get your steps in every day, it's that you actually do it. Stay active. Schedule walking/running time, yes, but also include the little things in your day. Take the farthest parking spot that forces you to walk a little more. Climb stairs instead of taking an elevator. Occasionally walk what might otherwise be a short car trip for running errands. Stuff like that.

And do it every day. Every. Single. Day.

I don't like to be preachy about this stuff, but I'm going to do it anyway. I lost a father and a sister to heart disease, and while I realize we're all going to die in the end regardless, I would rather have you all around for as long as possible, if that's OK.

So get off your computer or your phone and go take a walk. Or a run. Whatever. Just move.

10,000 steps a day? How about 1,000 steps? Would you settle for that?

By now you've heard the recommendation that we should all take at least 10,000 steps every day to maintain health, avoid an early death, stave off bubonic plague, clear up our skin, save the whales, and ensure world peace.

Or at least that's how it seems. According to many health bloggers – and trust me, I read a lot of them – 10,000 steps a day is the key to eternal life.

There are at least two things that should be noted about this 10,000 steps guideline:

(1) There's honestly nothing scientifically significant about 10,000 steps. The whole thing started in the 60s as part of a Japanese marketing campaign to sell pedometers. (A helpful rule of thumb in life is that if something seems crazy, the Japanese are probably involved.) 10,000 is a nice round number, but they could just as easily have said 9,000 steps or 11,000 steps. But 10,000 looks a lot better in an ad than those other numbers, so 10,000 it is.

(2) 10,000 steps is said to equate to about five miles of walking for the average person, though common sense tells you that some people's strides are longer than others and that therefore 10,000 steps will translate to different distances for different people. But what's certain is that 10,000 steps is a long way for most of us.

I'm a runner. Not a highly competitive one by any stretch, but I'm consistently out on the road running 4-5 days every week, virtually without exception. I like to think that fact makes me a healthy person, but at best I cover 15-20 miles a week. If 10,000 steps = 5 miles a day, it should be noted that 5 miles a day = 35 miles a week. And I haven't run that far in a long, long time.

Some will tell you that running is different and that you don't have to run as far to be credited with 10,000 steps than you do just walking. Whatever. The point is, I personally know maybe two people who regularly propel their bodies anywhere close to 35 miles a week, and both of them are certifiably insane endurance athletes.

Does that mean the rest of us are doomed?

Maybe. The 10,000-step advocates will point out that you don't have to get your steps in all at once, and that they can (and even should) be accumulated throughout the day by keeping busy via housework, yardwork, walking breaks at work, etc.

I don't know about you, but I sit at a desk all day. Sometimes for 9 or 10 hours at a stretch with only a few trips to the bathroom that maybe get me an additional 250 steps. And as we've found out recently, constant sitting is "the new smoking." It will kill you as easily as that cheeseburger will.

So what's a person to do? Personally, I'm opting for panic. There's no way my schedule will allow for a consistent 10,000 steps every day, so I've settled on constant worry as my coping mechanism while the specter of a sedentary death looms over me.

Which, ironically, will also kill you. Stress, I mean. Stress and sitting all day are bad for you. As is smoking. As are trans fats. As is everything else in the universe.

I'll think about that the next time I'm walking from the TV to the kitchen for a snack. By the time I get back to the couch, I'll only have 9,950 steps to go that day!

How depressing.