sunday funday. this week has flown by but i have to say it was a fit one (finally). i haven't been doing the best with my workouts. life got busier, school is crazy, and somehow i feel like i have less hours in the day then everyone else. but, i am getting back into it finally. and i still am keeping my resolutions (though my workouts have been pretty wimpy, i have kept the resolution!) anyways... here is my fit report for the week
monday: 40 minute on the stair stepper
wednesday: 30 minutes yoga, 20 minutes treadmill
saturday: *this only half counts as a work out* pedal pub around minneapolis for 2 hours
sunday: yoga sculpt
though i am really enjoying working out, the more i read about health and the lifestyle of other countries, the more i realize that i (and the majority of americans) do not move half as much as the rest of the world. we get into our cars, drive to work, park in ramps that are steps away, and sit at a desk all day. (and then we wonder why our country struggles with obesity). then we go to the gym, slave away for an hour, and then go home and sit on the couch. our mobility is so low that though we have worked out, we still aren't moving as much as we were designed to do. hence, weight gain.
however- this could all be solved by simply increasing how much we walk. just walking!
the average american walks 2,000 steps a day, while researchers show that europeans walk 10,000 steps a day. that is five times more then us americans, and they their obesity rate is SIGNIFICANTLY lower then ours. and they don't even go to the gym! amazing i tell ya.
so with that. i have decided to do a walking challenge. i have found a few fun pedometer apps on my phone so i can keep track of how much i am going to be moving and am going to be trying to reach the 10,000 step mark every day. i started this a few weeks ago and have been playing with the apps and found that they don't always record very accurately/turn off sometimes. so i decided while i will still use these apps to record my movement am going to compare the apps to a regular pedometer to see if the difference is significant or not (and i will do a pro/con list in a few weeks).
the last few weeks i have been doing trial runs seeing how many steps i am taking on a daily basis and i have found that i average 4,000-5,000. so i am only halfway to the what health professionals recommend. yikes. so tomorrow starts a new challenge, the 10,000 step challenge. i am going to try walk 10,000 steps a day at least three times a week. it will get a little easier now that it is getting warmer out but i really think that if i am moving more, i will have more energy, feel better, and maybe even loose a few pounds.
so who is with me with doing a little more walking? ;)
i love this idea. i find that even living in a country where walking places is easy, i still don't take advantage of this because either of laziness or convenience. i know that i noticed such a huge difference when i lived in chicago, walked everywhere and lived on the third floor with no elevator. little changes can make a huge difference!
ReplyDeleteThis is such a good idea...and living in St. Paul, I can't ever complain about not having gorgious places to be walking through!
ReplyDeletethat is such a good idea! That's crazy we only walk that much on average compared to Europeans!!
ReplyDeleteThis is great Heather! I am always looking for more ways to move and be active! It is so true the more you move the more energy you have! I am hoping to incorperate biking to work into my days once the weather turns!
ReplyDeletewalking is about all i can do these days so I'm totally with you ;) love the light in your pic!
ReplyDeleteI would love being able to walk more! When the weather starts warming up, I'd definitely be up for this challenge.
ReplyDeleteI lost a good chunk of weight by just walking when I was 21. The guy I dated at the time, that was how we spent our time. Hours a night were spent just walking around the high school track in our town. Like 2-3 hours and I lost about 40 pounds. Unfortunately that's all the time I have in the evenings after a full day of work and commuting now so I just can't fathom only spending my time; working, sleeping, walking and eating. Good luck! It would be interesting to see how many steps I do take a day, now though.
ReplyDeleteThis is a great idea! I lived in London for a semester during school and we walked EVERYWHERE. I hardly noticed how much we were doing it, but we all got in really good shape.
ReplyDeleteAnd I totally think that a pedal pub counts as a work out :)
whoaa i was definitely not aware of this. makes sense--other countries allow for easier walking travel while we rely heavily on cars to get us everywhere. such a good idea!
ReplyDeletexo,
kristyn
Wow, this is such a great idea! I def need to get more walking/moving around in my life. I do sit a lot during the day!! Thanks for posting this and sharing all this great information, I would love to do better with walking, even though I may not reach 10,000 like you, some is better than none :)
ReplyDeletexo,
Shio
Great challenge! Since I'm currently injured, I can't partake but I want to keep this in mind for the future!
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