Time for walkies
September 24, 2021 11:00 AM Subscribe
How Many Daily Steps Should You Take to Live Longer? Gretchen Reynolds for the NYT. Two studies suggest the sweet spot for longevity lies around 7,000 to 8,000 daily steps or about 30 to 45 minutes of exercise most days.
The studies referenceds are Steps per Day and All-Cause Mortality in Middle-aged Adults in the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults Study and
U-Shaped Association Between Duration of Sports Activities and Mortality: Copenhagen City Heart Study.
I'll note that the The Copenhagen City Heart Study rather charmingly found that those sports giving the greatest longevity benefits were those done with other people.
These findings contradict the Glasgow Postal Workers Study, which found benefits from walking more than 15000. (NYT) (Pubmed)
The studies referenceds are Steps per Day and All-Cause Mortality in Middle-aged Adults in the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults Study and
U-Shaped Association Between Duration of Sports Activities and Mortality: Copenhagen City Heart Study.
I'll note that the The Copenhagen City Heart Study rather charmingly found that those sports giving the greatest longevity benefits were those done with other people.
These findings contradict the Glasgow Postal Workers Study, which found benefits from walking more than 15000. (NYT) (Pubmed)
Well, time to die.
I mean, if you've already watched c-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhäuser Gate...
I'm glad, looking at my fitness/health trackers, that I seem to be hovering around these numbers with my current (relatively modest but realistic and routinely achievable) goals.
posted by Halloween Jack at 11:30 AM on September 24, 2021 [13 favorites]
I mean, if you've already watched c-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhäuser Gate...
I'm glad, looking at my fitness/health trackers, that I seem to be hovering around these numbers with my current (relatively modest but realistic and routinely achievable) goals.
posted by Halloween Jack at 11:30 AM on September 24, 2021 [13 favorites]
Gotta thank my Apple Watch for keeping me on this track since I got it. Just a little nudge, a little gamification.
30+ minutes a day, whether walking or working out (or both). It's not so bad, and I do feel better.
posted by seanmpuckett at 11:46 AM on September 24, 2021 [4 favorites]
30+ minutes a day, whether walking or working out (or both). It's not so bad, and I do feel better.
posted by seanmpuckett at 11:46 AM on September 24, 2021 [4 favorites]
Halloween Jack: " I mean, if you've already watched c-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhäuser Gate..."
I haven't, but I once spent a New Year's eve with Rutger Hauer watching fireworks glitter in the dark near the Andes foothills, so I guess I'm ready for the next stage.
posted by signal at 11:54 AM on September 24, 2021 [25 favorites]
I haven't, but I once spent a New Year's eve with Rutger Hauer watching fireworks glitter in the dark near the Andes foothills, so I guess I'm ready for the next stage.
posted by signal at 11:54 AM on September 24, 2021 [25 favorites]
It's quite a stretch to take the findings of the Copenhagen study (which are about people doing sports like tennis, swimming, cycling, soccer, etc) and equate that to steps, which I think people are generally looking at as walking steps. Walking doesn't even seem to have been part of the Copenhagen study.
Does anyone have a PDF or a link to the ungated version of the Copenhagen study? The U-shaped association they claim seems counter-intuitive and I'd like to check the details.
posted by ssg at 11:58 AM on September 24, 2021 [6 favorites]
Does anyone have a PDF or a link to the ungated version of the Copenhagen study? The U-shaped association they claim seems counter-intuitive and I'd like to check the details.
posted by ssg at 11:58 AM on September 24, 2021 [6 favorites]
Is it steps or is it exercise? The two shouldn't necessarily be treated the same.
The CDC says, for adults: At least 150 minutes a week of moderate intensity activity such as brisk walking. Brisk is a key term here.
I walked yesterday for 30 minutes around the neighborhood and got around 5k steps. My watch, which tracks "intensity minutes" which requires some sort of elevated heart rate and is based on the CDC recommendations, rewarded me with a big fat zero.
It seems very likely that the postal workers aren't getting any benefit until 15000 steps because they aren't going to be sprinting from house to house. Granted, they are getting a lot more exercise than sedentary people, but in terms of heart rate it's not going to be dramatically high, especially when the body becomes very efficient at walking.
posted by meowzilla at 12:02 PM on September 24, 2021 [7 favorites]
The CDC says, for adults: At least 150 minutes a week of moderate intensity activity such as brisk walking. Brisk is a key term here.
I walked yesterday for 30 minutes around the neighborhood and got around 5k steps. My watch, which tracks "intensity minutes" which requires some sort of elevated heart rate and is based on the CDC recommendations, rewarded me with a big fat zero.
It seems very likely that the postal workers aren't getting any benefit until 15000 steps because they aren't going to be sprinting from house to house. Granted, they are getting a lot more exercise than sedentary people, but in terms of heart rate it's not going to be dramatically high, especially when the body becomes very efficient at walking.
posted by meowzilla at 12:02 PM on September 24, 2021 [7 favorites]
so you are saying I should be tripling the number of trips from my basement office to the kitchen fridge?
posted by piyushnz at 12:12 PM on September 24, 2021 [7 favorites]
posted by piyushnz at 12:12 PM on September 24, 2021 [7 favorites]
Thanks for posting these links, bq! The TikTok algorithm decided to show me treadmill desk videos back in July, right about the time my employer said we're never going back to the office, and I ended up buying a questionable under-desk treadmill from Amazon. I hated my desk chair and bought an IKEA standing desk earlier, but I found standing to be even more uncomfortable than sitting. But walking! Walking at the standing desk is a total game changer! If I'm going to be chained to my work computer doing never-ending, boring, bureaucratic bullshit while my distance learning child protests every attempt at lunch-hour neighborhood walks, now I can walk whenever I want. It is amazing, even if it's resulted in extra shoe/insole/sock expenditures.
So I found the number of steps listed in the articles interesting. 7000, 10,000, 15,000... One of the ladies of treadmill desk TikTok claims to walk 20+ miles daily, which seems like she either takes zero breaks and/or walks literally twice as fast as I do. I started tracking my steps in a spreadsheet, but I don't know how this type of physical activity really compares to other things. All I know is that it is an interesting experiment, and I desperately hope my sketchy internet treadmill doesn't die (because I will cry if I have to go back to sitting all day). I haven't lost any of my pandemic weight yet, but maybe after a couple months my pants will fit better?
posted by Maarika at 12:14 PM on September 24, 2021 [3 favorites]
So I found the number of steps listed in the articles interesting. 7000, 10,000, 15,000... One of the ladies of treadmill desk TikTok claims to walk 20+ miles daily, which seems like she either takes zero breaks and/or walks literally twice as fast as I do. I started tracking my steps in a spreadsheet, but I don't know how this type of physical activity really compares to other things. All I know is that it is an interesting experiment, and I desperately hope my sketchy internet treadmill doesn't die (because I will cry if I have to go back to sitting all day). I haven't lost any of my pandemic weight yet, but maybe after a couple months my pants will fit better?
posted by Maarika at 12:14 PM on September 24, 2021 [3 favorites]
I'm someone else who can thank an Apple Watch for getting me off my ass most days. But I wish there was a "gigging" category of workout. I'm dismayed at how little credit I get from my watch for 2 hours of load-in and set up, 3 hours of performing, and another hour plus of load out. I got more than 10,000 steps in at my band's last gig, which involved long rolls with hundreds of pounds of gear in multiple rolling cases, but my watch only gave me credit for 15 minutes of actual exercise even though I was drenched with sweat by the time I got to my car to drive myself 2 hours back home.
posted by emelenjr at 12:18 PM on September 24, 2021 [4 favorites]
posted by emelenjr at 12:18 PM on September 24, 2021 [4 favorites]
In regards to the Copenhagen study, the negative effect specified in the abstract is for over ten hours of sports weekly:
and for those with more than 10 hours (HR, 1.18; 95% CI, 1.00 to 1.39)
Ten hours is far above what normal people would consider as high. More like obsessive.
I checked some of the other runners I follow on Strava, and the guy who is always in my feed, all the time, runs on average 80 miles a week. The average weekly time running all these miles? 9 hours, 50 minutes.
When I personally was training for a marathon, all I did was go to work, eat, run, and sleep. I may have hit ten hours a week... once. There was probably a holiday or something. I barely get to five hours a week now, but it still seems like I run more than most.
People who are regularly hitting ten or more hours a week of sports are likely to be extremely competitive athletes, perhaps professional or aspiring. Maybe team sports where they have a rigid training schedule. They are going to be pushing themselves to their physical limits or beyond on a regular basis. Repeated over long periods of time, I can easily see how this would become detrimental to health. But these people are not usually doing it for their health.
posted by meowzilla at 12:22 PM on September 24, 2021 [3 favorites]
and for those with more than 10 hours (HR, 1.18; 95% CI, 1.00 to 1.39)
Ten hours is far above what normal people would consider as high. More like obsessive.
I checked some of the other runners I follow on Strava, and the guy who is always in my feed, all the time, runs on average 80 miles a week. The average weekly time running all these miles? 9 hours, 50 minutes.
When I personally was training for a marathon, all I did was go to work, eat, run, and sleep. I may have hit ten hours a week... once. There was probably a holiday or something. I barely get to five hours a week now, but it still seems like I run more than most.
People who are regularly hitting ten or more hours a week of sports are likely to be extremely competitive athletes, perhaps professional or aspiring. Maybe team sports where they have a rigid training schedule. They are going to be pushing themselves to their physical limits or beyond on a regular basis. Repeated over long periods of time, I can easily see how this would become detrimental to health. But these people are not usually doing it for their health.
posted by meowzilla at 12:22 PM on September 24, 2021 [3 favorites]
As one of those obnoxious people who is way too invested in getting "my steps in" every day, I've noticed that I'm prioritizing workouts that provide more steps over workouts that are actually more challenging. Sure, I could do a pilates or barre workout that would have me sweating buckets, but any intensity of cardio for the same amount of time "looks" better to my Fitbit.
I love the feeling of maintaining a "streak," but I also know one day that streak will inevitably break -- my plane will get stuck on the tarmac, or I'll get sick or hurt, or the tracker will die, or whatever. When that happens, I hope I'll be able to sidestep the all-or-nothing thinking errors that made me so fond of the gamification in the first place. I hope I'll recognize that the main thing is getting daily movement that feels meaningful.
posted by armeowda at 12:31 PM on September 24, 2021 [7 favorites]
I love the feeling of maintaining a "streak," but I also know one day that streak will inevitably break -- my plane will get stuck on the tarmac, or I'll get sick or hurt, or the tracker will die, or whatever. When that happens, I hope I'll be able to sidestep the all-or-nothing thinking errors that made me so fond of the gamification in the first place. I hope I'll recognize that the main thing is getting daily movement that feels meaningful.
posted by armeowda at 12:31 PM on September 24, 2021 [7 favorites]
I completely agree. This podcast from last year about the topic was intriguing -- one of the two people discussing this talks about the time he swam to Catalina. That can’t be good for you.
posted by bq at 12:32 PM on September 24, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by bq at 12:32 PM on September 24, 2021 [1 favorite]
Thank goodness for my dog and the Alzabo Soup podcast. If it weren't for them, I would be lucky to somehow grunt my way to 20 steps a day
posted by NoMich at 12:35 PM on September 24, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by NoMich at 12:35 PM on September 24, 2021 [2 favorites]
meowzilla: "Is it steps or is it exercise? The two shouldn't necessarily be treated the same.
Seriously. Thanks to my Apple Watch, I know that my walking heart rate averages 77 bpm. But my heart rate when cycling, once warmed up, is a minimum of about 115 bpm. That's a big difference. You're just not going to get the same results from one as the other.
posted by adamrice at 12:42 PM on September 24, 2021 [4 favorites]
Seriously. Thanks to my Apple Watch, I know that my walking heart rate averages 77 bpm. But my heart rate when cycling, once warmed up, is a minimum of about 115 bpm. That's a big difference. You're just not going to get the same results from one as the other.
posted by adamrice at 12:42 PM on September 24, 2021 [4 favorites]
In general, it's clear that: Exercise is good. More exercise is better. The additional benefits of the additional exercise diminish. Going from 2000 to 5000 steps provides more benefits than going from 5000 to 8000.
Where it gets confusing is whether there's a point where the curve goes flat or even goes negative. It's possible, but it seems unlikely. And really, given how few people are above that (possible) threshold and how small the differences (either positive or negative) are between exercising a bunch and a ton, it's not really meaningful.
posted by Mr.Know-it-some at 12:51 PM on September 24, 2021 [4 favorites]
Where it gets confusing is whether there's a point where the curve goes flat or even goes negative. It's possible, but it seems unlikely. And really, given how few people are above that (possible) threshold and how small the differences (either positive or negative) are between exercising a bunch and a ton, it's not really meaningful.
posted by Mr.Know-it-some at 12:51 PM on September 24, 2021 [4 favorites]
Steps are a proxy for activity, but not necessarily exercise. I can rack up a lot of steps while birding, but my Apple Watch rightly doesn't consider my meandering at 1 to 1.5 miles per hour to be exercise. But if I walk at 3 to 3.5 mph and stop occasionally to bird, it does record that as exercise. My heart rate is about 110 when go that fast, so I think it's a reasonable distinction being made by the watch.
posted by mollweide at 12:56 PM on September 24, 2021 [3 favorites]
posted by mollweide at 12:56 PM on September 24, 2021 [3 favorites]
Everyone in here should join the relay. We've walked* across the Pacific Ocean together. Now on to Vladivostok!
posted by aniola at 1:03 PM on September 24, 2021 [10 favorites]
posted by aniola at 1:03 PM on September 24, 2021 [10 favorites]
Gotta thank my Apple Watch for keeping me on this track since I got it. Just a little nudge, a little gamification.
So. When I found myself unemployed after a huge company reorg in October 2017, I made myself go for a walk every day just so I wouldn't be a lump. Get up, get dressed, get some air, then have a day that isn't just wallowing. I made the decision to do the thing, and I did the thing, but what the Apple Watch did for me is nudge me to do more. After a year of such nudges I'd lost 40 pounds. I had to start ignoring the nudges after that because I couldn't physically exert more and still be walking.
I've put a bit of weight back on because of Covid-induced changes to lifestyle, but I'm back in the habit again and already a couple pounds have come back off.
I don't think the nudge on its own is enough, but if you're already doing something the nudge can help you do more, and I think that's great.
posted by fedward at 1:07 PM on September 24, 2021 [5 favorites]
So. When I found myself unemployed after a huge company reorg in October 2017, I made myself go for a walk every day just so I wouldn't be a lump. Get up, get dressed, get some air, then have a day that isn't just wallowing. I made the decision to do the thing, and I did the thing, but what the Apple Watch did for me is nudge me to do more. After a year of such nudges I'd lost 40 pounds. I had to start ignoring the nudges after that because I couldn't physically exert more and still be walking.
I've put a bit of weight back on because of Covid-induced changes to lifestyle, but I'm back in the habit again and already a couple pounds have come back off.
I don't think the nudge on its own is enough, but if you're already doing something the nudge can help you do more, and I think that's great.
posted by fedward at 1:07 PM on September 24, 2021 [5 favorites]
People who are regularly hitting ten or more hours a week of sports are likely to be extremely competitive athletes, perhaps professional or aspiring.
Running ten hours a week is a lot, but biking an hour a day plus playing a few hours of team sports per week adds up to ten hours and is definitely not extreme in any sense. Running is very different from cycling and other activities that were counted in the study.
posted by ssg at 1:14 PM on September 24, 2021 [7 favorites]
Running ten hours a week is a lot, but biking an hour a day plus playing a few hours of team sports per week adds up to ten hours and is definitely not extreme in any sense. Running is very different from cycling and other activities that were counted in the study.
posted by ssg at 1:14 PM on September 24, 2021 [7 favorites]
Ten hours is far above what normal people would consider as high. More like obsessive.
I've been biking to work and my weekly commute comes to around 7.5 hours. Over the weekend I'll get another couple of hours of activity in doing stuff with my kids or going for a solo ride. Apart from the solo ride the rest is just exercise as part of my regular routine. If I took the bus to work it would be the same 7.5 hours of commuting and being active with my kids is just family time.
posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 1:20 PM on September 24, 2021 [1 favorite]
I've been biking to work and my weekly commute comes to around 7.5 hours. Over the weekend I'll get another couple of hours of activity in doing stuff with my kids or going for a solo ride. Apart from the solo ride the rest is just exercise as part of my regular routine. If I took the bus to work it would be the same 7.5 hours of commuting and being active with my kids is just family time.
posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 1:20 PM on September 24, 2021 [1 favorite]
The Copenhagen study seems to explicitly say "leisure time activity", which may bias some of the results. If you commuted regularly on a bike, it may not be counted as part of those hours.
posted by meowzilla at 1:23 PM on September 24, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by meowzilla at 1:23 PM on September 24, 2021 [1 favorite]
I do SO GOOD with this over the summer, getting in that many steps before breakfast... and then the school year starts and I run face-first into the whole "being a teacher" thing.
posted by kikaider01 at 1:23 PM on September 24, 2021 [6 favorites]
posted by kikaider01 at 1:23 PM on September 24, 2021 [6 favorites]
My teacher fitness plan pre-COVID involved working in a multistory building, having classes across 4 floors with minimal passing time, and having an administration that refused to hand out elevator keys. Actually worked ok. (The never eating lunch was a more questionable fitness strategy.)
posted by Wretch729 at 2:10 PM on September 24, 2021 [3 favorites]
posted by Wretch729 at 2:10 PM on September 24, 2021 [3 favorites]
Running ten hours a week is a lot, but biking an hour a day plus playing a few hours of team sports per week adds up to ten hours and is definitely not extreme in any sense. Running is very different from cycling and other activities that were counted in the study.
Yeah I came in to say this. I have had many weeks where I hit 10 hours without doing much "hard" work. Keep in mind that 120 miles at 12mph and 200 miles at 20mph are both ten hours but are separated by a vast chasm
Also since cycling is a pretty good form of commuting for some people, and running isn't particularly, lots of people can get that time in without even expending much extra time. I commuted to work 2 days/year for a long time. It took me longer than driving, but only about 50% longer. So in total significantly shorter than if I had driven home from work and then gone for the same length ride.
posted by RustyBrooks at 2:29 PM on September 24, 2021 [1 favorite]
Yeah I came in to say this. I have had many weeks where I hit 10 hours without doing much "hard" work. Keep in mind that 120 miles at 12mph and 200 miles at 20mph are both ten hours but are separated by a vast chasm
Also since cycling is a pretty good form of commuting for some people, and running isn't particularly, lots of people can get that time in without even expending much extra time. I commuted to work 2 days/year for a long time. It took me longer than driving, but only about 50% longer. So in total significantly shorter than if I had driven home from work and then gone for the same length ride.
posted by RustyBrooks at 2:29 PM on September 24, 2021 [1 favorite]
I'm someone else who can thank an Apple Watch for getting me off my ass most days. But I wish there was a "gigging" category of workout. I'm dismayed at how little credit I get from my watch for 2 hours of load-in and set up, 3 hours of performing, and another hour plus of load out. I got more than 10,000 steps in at my band's last gig, which involved long rolls with hundreds of pounds of gear in multiple rolling cases, but my watch only gave me credit for 15 minutes of actual exercise even though I was drenched with sweat by the time I got to my car to drive myself 2 hours back home.
Forgive me if this isn't helpful but -- could you choose to manually start an exercise of what feels like about the same intensity? Sounds like maybe Traditional Weightlifting one would work for load in / out, maybe Outdoor Walk for performing (maybe more strenuous, depending on how often you're doing sick kneeslides and stuff). Sucks cause it's a manual solution, you gotta turn it off too, but it could work for ya.
posted by lazaruslong at 3:00 PM on September 24, 2021 [1 favorite]
Forgive me if this isn't helpful but -- could you choose to manually start an exercise of what feels like about the same intensity? Sounds like maybe Traditional Weightlifting one would work for load in / out, maybe Outdoor Walk for performing (maybe more strenuous, depending on how often you're doing sick kneeslides and stuff). Sucks cause it's a manual solution, you gotta turn it off too, but it could work for ya.
posted by lazaruslong at 3:00 PM on September 24, 2021 [1 favorite]
I started walking during peak COVID times, just to get out of my locked-down NYC apartment where I was living alone and single and my entire industry was shut down. I eventually got up to walking about 5 miles a day without stopping. Once I got above that, it started to feel a little crazy, time-commitment-wise. I needed to do more, but faster.
In the immortal words of Chris Knight from "Real Genius," previous to this I only ran when chased. Which was never. So I started to do a couch-to-5k thing on June 1. I'm up to 10ks now, and my runner friends think all the walking was what allowed me to progress quickly.
Now I aim for jogging/running M/W/F and Peloton or actual biking T/Th. I'm in the midst of changing jobs and a bunch of life nonsense, but I think it's attainable. I've never felt better in my life, so that's nice.
posted by nevercalm at 3:01 PM on September 24, 2021 [6 favorites]
In the immortal words of Chris Knight from "Real Genius," previous to this I only ran when chased. Which was never. So I started to do a couch-to-5k thing on June 1. I'm up to 10ks now, and my runner friends think all the walking was what allowed me to progress quickly.
Now I aim for jogging/running M/W/F and Peloton or actual biking T/Th. I'm in the midst of changing jobs and a bunch of life nonsense, but I think it's attainable. I've never felt better in my life, so that's nice.
posted by nevercalm at 3:01 PM on September 24, 2021 [6 favorites]
8 hours for work + 1 hour lunch
8 hours for sleep
1-2 hours commute
2 hours for cooking/cleaning
2 hours for misc household chores/childcare
1 hour for eating
30 minutes for working out
leaves between -0.5 to 0.5 hours a day for actual rest
I'm kind of a gym rat and can head into the 10+ hour territory fairly easily depending on training frequency. A single push/pull session takes about 1.5-2 hours. 4x weekly, add in a couple hours for cardio and stretching and you're pretty much there
But I would also say that working out is a hobby of mine, and one that makes me often late to things, and I'm privileged in being able to spend the time and energy on it. But what if you want to have a different hobby or need to do, for ex, childcare? Where are you supposed to find the time then? You can cut into your sleeping time but that can be deleterious for your health and negate the benefits from exercising so where the fuck do you find the time?
With remote work some people are at least saving that 1-2 hours on commute but still, that's only 1.5 to 2.5 hours a day for actual rest/hobbies/etc
After your work day, you're emotionally drained and exhausted and you're still left with chores to do. You hear about 'weekend warriors' and people who spend their lunch working out (that's me, lol) and you have to wonder why so many people feel like they have to go to such extremes in order to achieve the lifestyle they want
The 40-hour work week was considered a progressive but feasible political cause back in 1886. We're coming up on the 135th anniversary of it and it feels like we're long overdue for a change
posted by paimapi at 3:23 PM on September 24, 2021 [12 favorites]
8 hours for sleep
1-2 hours commute
2 hours for cooking/cleaning
2 hours for misc household chores/childcare
1 hour for eating
30 minutes for working out
leaves between -0.5 to 0.5 hours a day for actual rest
I'm kind of a gym rat and can head into the 10+ hour territory fairly easily depending on training frequency. A single push/pull session takes about 1.5-2 hours. 4x weekly, add in a couple hours for cardio and stretching and you're pretty much there
But I would also say that working out is a hobby of mine, and one that makes me often late to things, and I'm privileged in being able to spend the time and energy on it. But what if you want to have a different hobby or need to do, for ex, childcare? Where are you supposed to find the time then? You can cut into your sleeping time but that can be deleterious for your health and negate the benefits from exercising so where the fuck do you find the time?
With remote work some people are at least saving that 1-2 hours on commute but still, that's only 1.5 to 2.5 hours a day for actual rest/hobbies/etc
After your work day, you're emotionally drained and exhausted and you're still left with chores to do. You hear about 'weekend warriors' and people who spend their lunch working out (that's me, lol) and you have to wonder why so many people feel like they have to go to such extremes in order to achieve the lifestyle they want
The 40-hour work week was considered a progressive but feasible political cause back in 1886. We're coming up on the 135th anniversary of it and it feels like we're long overdue for a change
posted by paimapi at 3:23 PM on September 24, 2021 [12 favorites]
This aligns perfectly with my usual amount of dog walking. He also likes to watch me do yoga, too, and it’s really cute—cute enough that I often do yoga just for the fun of doing it with him. Basically my dog is my Apple Watch.
posted by HotToddy at 4:16 PM on September 24, 2021 [7 favorites]
posted by HotToddy at 4:16 PM on September 24, 2021 [7 favorites]
Behold, I Have Returned From a Hike (archived New Yorker, Sept. 24, 2021)
posted by Iris Gambol at 5:04 PM on September 24, 2021 [4 favorites]
posted by Iris Gambol at 5:04 PM on September 24, 2021 [4 favorites]
I don’t have or want an Apple Watch but my iPhone tracks my steps and miles in the Health app, which I only recently realized. As a low-key way to motivate myself to get out more I’m logging my daily walks in the Walk To Mordor app, which is very basic and yet delightful.
posted by cali at 5:29 PM on September 24, 2021 [6 favorites]
posted by cali at 5:29 PM on September 24, 2021 [6 favorites]
I'll say this for being forced to go back to the office twice a week: I got 11,000+ steps in today just walking to work, walking home, walking up stairs, and doing a fuckton of mailing today.
posted by jenfullmoon at 5:30 PM on September 24, 2021 [3 favorites]
posted by jenfullmoon at 5:30 PM on September 24, 2021 [3 favorites]
I've been lucky in that I've been able to commute to work by bike, and have been doing so since the mid-'90s. My commute distances have ranged from 1 mile to 18 miles each way. The rest of NYC has caught on only in the past 18 months, and I'm like "welcome the water's great, but please aim your headlight slightly downward!" (And if you don't have a light, wtf.)
When I was not doing that twice-daily ride during the height of COVID, it really affected my mood and my stress levels. Taking days or weeks off for really terrible winter weather or other extenuating circumstances is tolerable in the normal course of life, but not being able to ride to work makes me miserable.
posted by computech_apolloniajames at 6:42 PM on September 24, 2021 [2 favorites]
When I was not doing that twice-daily ride during the height of COVID, it really affected my mood and my stress levels. Taking days or weeks off for really terrible winter weather or other extenuating circumstances is tolerable in the normal course of life, but not being able to ride to work makes me miserable.
posted by computech_apolloniajames at 6:42 PM on September 24, 2021 [2 favorites]
13,660 tonight. One night in late August I did 21,000 plus. Even on a slow night I'm probably doing over 10,00. My job is my health club.
posted by vrakatar at 7:35 PM on September 24, 2021 [3 favorites]
posted by vrakatar at 7:35 PM on September 24, 2021 [3 favorites]
I just replaced my generic exercise step counter thing with a fitbit. I'm seeing that the other one had started undercounting steps quite a while ago. I replaced it after it told me I took 500 steps on a brisk 30 minute walk. I'm averaging about 10K a day. I like the reminder every hour to try to get in 250 steps. This morning I actually jogged around the house in a circle to make it.
Those who like gamification with little pressure, try World Walking (iOS, don't know about Android). And definitely join us in our IRL walk to Vladivostok.
posted by kathrynm at 8:18 PM on September 24, 2021 [3 favorites]
Those who like gamification with little pressure, try World Walking (iOS, don't know about Android). And definitely join us in our IRL walk to Vladivostok.
posted by kathrynm at 8:18 PM on September 24, 2021 [3 favorites]
How many bloody marys are allowed after each segment of the walk, and are they allowed to have bacon and/or tiny hamburgers on top of them?
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 8:58 PM on September 24, 2021 [3 favorites]
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 8:58 PM on September 24, 2021 [3 favorites]
Coincidentally, this adjacent thread has a link to a short SF story on what's hopefully not actually the future of personal training, but who knows.
posted by Halloween Jack at 10:00 PM on September 24, 2021
posted by Halloween Jack at 10:00 PM on September 24, 2021
totally anecdotal, but "i'm going to throw up, i'm going to die" level exertion for me seems to be what it takes to stay in shape. one on one basketball. boxing. sprinting. short of that, it doesnt deliver the same feeling. and you do NOT have to be a great athlete to do this to yourself. i am not. you just have to resign yourself to being bad at something that keeps you healthy.
posted by wibari at 10:26 PM on September 24, 2021 [3 favorites]
posted by wibari at 10:26 PM on September 24, 2021 [3 favorites]
Gretchen Reynolds is the most monotonous writer in the world. I know most of us should get more exercise. Not much more needs to be said. Stop nagging, Gretchen!
posted by PhineasGage at 10:59 PM on September 24, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by PhineasGage at 10:59 PM on September 24, 2021 [2 favorites]
Seriously. Thanks to my Apple Watch, I know that my walking heart rate averages 77 bpm. But my heart rate when cycling, once warmed up, is a minimum of about 115 bpm. That's a big difference. You're just not going to get the same results from one as the other.
The first study linked here actually fails to find a significant effect of intensity, while finding one for step count.
posted by atoxyl at 11:17 PM on September 24, 2021 [4 favorites]
The first study linked here actually fails to find a significant effect of intensity, while finding one for step count.
posted by atoxyl at 11:17 PM on September 24, 2021 [4 favorites]
When I was a teen, I damaged my knee in a sports accident, and since then it has become increasingly difficult to run or even bike at a level that brings up my heartbeat. I should have gone swimming, but it is much more of a project for daily exercise. But at about the same time as fitbits became affordable, research showed you can retrain your knee by walking. So that is what I have done. But in all those years, this month is the first where I have reached the 10.000 steps (there was a broken ankle in there at some point including wrong treatment).
What I want to say is that though I know the longevity effect peaks at about 7-8.000 steps, the sense of well-being is quite different at the 10.000 (+) steps. I am going to continue with this, for sure. With the dog's help.
posted by mumimor at 1:09 AM on September 25, 2021 [3 favorites]
What I want to say is that though I know the longevity effect peaks at about 7-8.000 steps, the sense of well-being is quite different at the 10.000 (+) steps. I am going to continue with this, for sure. With the dog's help.
posted by mumimor at 1:09 AM on September 25, 2021 [3 favorites]
atoxyl: "The first study linked here actually fails to find a significant effect of intensity, while finding one for step count."
Fair point. This is looking at mortality, and I was thinking of other training effects.
posted by adamrice at 6:29 AM on September 25, 2021
Fair point. This is looking at mortality, and I was thinking of other training effects.
posted by adamrice at 6:29 AM on September 25, 2021
Sometimes I feel like I want to outlive all of humanity just for the closure but then I think about stuff like this and I guess I'm just not willing to do the work.
posted by bleep at 11:22 AM on September 25, 2021 [7 favorites]
posted by bleep at 11:22 AM on September 25, 2021 [7 favorites]
To echo some others in the thread regarding the 10 hrs: when I worked retail, I was essentially walking at a slow pace for 40 hrs a week just for work, plus about 45 mins. a day of walking to and from bus stops. And that was before any leisure activities like bike riding, jogging, hiking, etc. I wasn't sporty, just poor.
posted by tofu_crouton at 1:23 PM on September 25, 2021 [3 favorites]
posted by tofu_crouton at 1:23 PM on September 25, 2021 [3 favorites]
When I can, I like to do my walking on trails that have some elevation changes (not hard to find here) and some parts where I have to clamber over rocks or something like that - it seems like I'm doing more work for the same distance, this way. And it's nice to be off in the woods. Can't do that every time, though.
I don't track any of it, I just try to go and do it every day, even if I don't feel like it. Not 100% successful at that, but, if I miss two days, I can really tell the difference.
posted by thelonius at 2:24 PM on September 25, 2021 [2 favorites]
I don't track any of it, I just try to go and do it every day, even if I don't feel like it. Not 100% successful at that, but, if I miss two days, I can really tell the difference.
posted by thelonius at 2:24 PM on September 25, 2021 [2 favorites]
How many bloody marys are allowed after each segment of the walk, and are they allowed to have bacon and/or tiny hamburgers on top of them?
If you hurry over to the latest IRL thread, you can make a decree about that.
posted by aniola at 6:06 PM on September 25, 2021 [2 favorites]
If you hurry over to the latest IRL thread, you can make a decree about that.
posted by aniola at 6:06 PM on September 25, 2021 [2 favorites]
Then you are an official participant and will feel obligated to contribute at least one submission to the relay log.
posted by aniola at 6:07 PM on September 25, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by aniola at 6:07 PM on September 25, 2021 [2 favorites]
3:20 pm and only at 1700 steps. I did church and then took a nap. Now I"m on here. Guess I need to get my butt in gear. I hate breaking streaks.
posted by kathrynm at 12:20 PM on September 26, 2021
posted by kathrynm at 12:20 PM on September 26, 2021
An average work day for me is around 14,000 steps with a band between 10K and 18K. A non work day rarely breaks 10K. There certainly is for me a major difference in how tired I feel at around 16K. But with the exception of a couple of kilometers back and forth to work (about 3000 steps or so) those steps aren't at a brisk rate. So who knows how that shakes out in the 6-8K brisk steps metric.
posted by Mitheral at 6:43 PM on September 26, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by Mitheral at 6:43 PM on September 26, 2021 [1 favorite]
Gotta thank my Apple Watch for keeping me on this track since I got it.
Hard same. "Check your rings... You can still do it!" Some days it's like, hey, I'm sick today, all right? I'm sitting this one out. Other days it's like, "-sigh- fine. If it'll get you to shut up about it, fine, I'll go." Thankfully, after more than a year of building the habit, most days the watch never gets the chance to bug me about it. ;)
posted by xedrik at 7:54 AM on September 27, 2021
Hard same. "Check your rings... You can still do it!" Some days it's like, hey, I'm sick today, all right? I'm sitting this one out. Other days it's like, "-sigh- fine. If it'll get you to shut up about it, fine, I'll go." Thankfully, after more than a year of building the habit, most days the watch never gets the chance to bug me about it. ;)
posted by xedrik at 7:54 AM on September 27, 2021
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posted by Going To Maine at 11:12 AM on September 24, 2021 [29 favorites]