I was the Founder and Director of a health club, Jovenus Fitness Pvt Ltd [2010-2016], and most of my time was spent doing marketing for my gym. This required me to be in front of the computer for most of my working hours.

Besides this, writing has always been my hobby, and at that time [2014], I seriously considered writing a fitness book (by the way, it’s now available on Amazon). ¹https://www.amazon.in/Fabulous-Body-Muscle-Optimize-Health-ebook/dp/B01B4DJZL6/ref=as_li_ss_tl?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1484758958&ref_=tmm_kin_swatch_0&sr=8-1&linkCode=sl1&tag=fabbod-21&linkId=a086f4efea1280200145daae60cf159c

The app on my iPhone told me that my average daily steps were 2,500. I was not really concerned as I trained with heavy weights a few times a week and performed a few HIIT sessions. I didn’t smoke and was a social drinker. My diet was super-healthy, consisting primarily of plant-based foods.

Then one day, I was reading a book by Tom Rath (which sold more than 6 million copies and was a New York Times best-seller), and he stated.

“Sitting more than six hours a day greatly increases your risk of early death. No matter how much you exercise, eat well, avoid smoking, or add other healthy habits, excessive sitting will cause problems. As soon as you sit down, electrical activity in your leg muscles shuts off.

The number of calories you burn drops to one per minute, and enzyme production, which helps break down fat, drops by 90 percent. After two hours of sitting, your good cholesterol drops by 20 percent. Perhaps this explains why people with desk jobs have twice the rate of cardiovascular disease.”

Another study, this one conducted by Rory Heath and published in the British Medical Journal, stated, ²https://blogs.bmj.com/bjsm/2015/01/21/sitting-ducks-sedentary-behaviour-and-its-health-risks-part-one-of-a-two-part-series/

During waking hours, 65% of an average person’s day is spent sedentary; that is 9-10 hours for adults. Sitting at work accounts for 60% of total daily sitting on a weekday, but even on weekends, people still sit for 8 hours.

Positive associations between cancer risk and sedentary behavior exist and suggest.

– Lung cancer risk increases by 54%

– Uterine cancer risk increases by 66%

– Colon cancer risk increases by 30%

The risk of anxiety and depression is significantly higher in those who sit more, while increased activity shows better subjective mental health and vitality.

Woo! That was all I needed to ingrain the fact that besides heavy lifting in the gym a few times a week, staying active overall is the key to good health.

The very next day, I ordered Fitbit from Amazon. But unfortunately, I lost it soon enough, and since I didn’t have another INR 10,000 ($150) to spare, I started looking for a cheaper alternative.

I came across GOQii and was pleasantly surprised to know they even offered health coaching along with the band. Although I didn’t need coaching (since I was a health coach myself), I decided to order the band as it looked great value for money, INR 2,000 for the band and 3 months of coaching (This may not be the exact figure as I bought it a few years back)

The Concept Of 10,000 Steps A Day

Our genetics was formed a few million years ago, and if you realize, our forefathers were almost never obese. With the recent mega-success of the paleo-diets, I think it makes sense to turn to our ancestors for some advice.

James H. O’Keefe’s comprehensive research on the activity of hunter-gatherers states.

“A large amount of daily, light-to-moderate activity, such as walking, was required. Although the distances covered would have varied widely according to hunting and foraging routines, cultures, weather, seasons, ages, etc., most estimates indicate that the average daily distances covered were in the range of 6 – 16 km.”

The equivalent of 6-16 km is approximately 3-10 miles. The average person’s stride length is approximately 2.5 feet long. That means it takes just over 2,000 steps to walk one mile, and 10,000 steps are close to 5 miles. A sedentary person may only average 1,000-3,000 steps a day.

We need to focus on taking at least 5,000 steps every day and gradually increase it to 10,000 steps.

Here are a few things you can start doing every day to come close to taking 10,000 steps.

1) Buy A Fitness Band

There are many options available on Amazon. Go-Qii, by far, is one of the best options available as off now (I only recommend something that I have tried long enough to understand its value, both in terms of cost and quality). ³https://www.amazon.in/GOQii-Fitness-Months-Personal-Coaching/dp/B00O1LDXY4/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&qid=1484759244&sr=8-1&keywords=goqii&linkCode=sl1&tag=fabbod-21&linkId=2e2b0353bd7999e70f52f82a514bc0b9

You are more likely to walk more when you have a specific target to work towards and means to measure it throughout the day. This systematic review has confirmed this fact. ⁴https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/article-abstract/209526

2) Make Small Changes In Your Routine

-Take stairs instead of using a lift whenever you can.

-Walk to your grocery store if it’s within a mile distance of your home.

-Similarly, walk to your gym if you think you can.

-If you have kids, make sure you choose activities that require everyone as a family to move around, even if it is within the house.

-Use a standing desk. According to this study, chronic sitting is touted as the new smoking. As a result, the use of standing desks (and sit-stand desks) is widely getting acceptable in offices around the world.

-Whenever you watch TV, make it a point to get up when a commercial comes.

-Stand and walk while talking on the phone.

Final Thoughts

It’s been over two years since I have been wearing my Go-Qii fitness band, and not one day has passed since I removed it from my wrist (Not even while sleeping; I am serious).

My step count averages in the range of 7,000 to 10,000 per day, and overall I feel energetic throughout the day. I always aim to stand at least 50% of the time when working on a computer using my standing desk.

These combined habits have allowed me to burn an extra few hundred calories and drastically improved my health.