Well, I am running woefully late on today’s post. Actually, I am not running anywhere!! My feet are killing me. I went downtonw with my son, Jordan, yesterday and we walked for miles. Literally, too many miles and, apparently, these feet were not made for walkin’!! Oy vey….can I really be this old? I’m not sure but I do know that I have been hurting all night, but….I did log 9,000 steps on my Fitbit. For some, 9,000 is the norm. I get that. For me, though, 9,000 not only surpasses my goal for each day but is also a new high for me. (If you recall, I have only had/become victim to my Fitbit since April.) In fact, last night I was informed by my very friendly wrist assistant that I had obtained a badge. A helicopter badge. Huh? Hooray for me, I suppose. Honestly, I was a bit more excited about all those steps – oh but is the price to pay for every such “victory”??
All of this preoccupation with steps has me both amused and thinking. I think most of us step-counters either use 10,000 steps as the magical number or, at the very least, have heard that number mentioned as the ultimate daily goal. Obviously, each of us has unique situations but, who decided 10,000 was the best goal for the general public? Where did 10,000 steps come from? Well, let me answer my own question straight from the trusty internet. It is leftover from a marketing campaign. A campaign from the 1960s!!
“However, thinking that 10,000 steps is healthy is not entirely true. It is a myth that originates from an advertising campaign that took place in 1964, after the Tokyo Olympics. It was in this country, Japan, where the first pedometers or step counters were developed. A company called Yamasa Tokei created Manpo-kei, one of the most successful commercial pedometers. In its advertising campaign, the figure of 10,000 daily steps was indicated. Its launch and publicity was so popular that this figure remained in the collective imagination.” (bold print original to article)
I just find it interesting the things that we assume and/or blindly follow as being the best for us simply because – Because it is popular opinion. Because it has been done that way for years or even decades. Because science, our best friend, a doctor, or (well) you fill in the blank told us it is the best for us. But is it? Honestly, I am not on a rant, although I could easily start one. I am, however, mentally reviewing some of the things I accept and even do, but am not exactly sure why I do them…or do them in a particular way. I’m curious what habits or particular way of doing things would fall into that category for you?
Whether you walk 600 or 6000 steps today and whether you track them or not, I hope you have a great day. Take this little intro to a discussion as just that – just some food for thought and completely light-hearted! Happy Hump Day, friends!!
I have an Apple Watch and I enjoy seeing if I can reach certain goals. Sometimes yes and sometimes no. I seldom make 10,000 steps but I think I’d like to. I seem to be more often between 5,000-7,000. Your research was interesting. Really I just want to make sure I move some everyday. Hope your feet feel better soon.
Interesting. While I don’t blindly follow “The Science” since Covid, I do believe that all the experts who say that moving and walking as much as possible is good for us. Common sense tells us this and history attests to time periods when movement was more common and people were more healthy (though other factors were certainly at play there). So 10,000 steps as a goal rings true to me as a good thing. The company that made the pedometer could have said that 2,000 steps were optimal; the point of the marketing campaign was (presumably) to get people to buy the product. Once that was accomplished, it didn’t matter to the company how many people adhered to or agreed that 10,000 steps was ideal. I do agree with you that it is easy and common to believe something “just because”- because others believe it or tout it as the truth.
Congrats on all those steps!
Yes! My husband and I Googled that whole “10,000 steps” things years ago and found out that there is no science behind that magic number. My mother in law gets 20,000 each day– it boggles my mind! When I wore my step counter I found that most days I averaged around 6 or 7 thousand and only reached the 10,000 when we were hiking or touring places while on vacation. Hopefully your feet will be feeling better soon.
I too heard that 10,000 steps was just made up for advertising.
As you know on my daily morning walk I take 12,000 – 13,000 steps. Combining the rest of the steps I take during the day I average about 17,000 or so. If I go for another walk it isn’t hard to get my step count up to 20,000 or more.
I don’t have any goal I just love to walk. 🙂
so cool to know! I’ve enjoyed my fitbit for years now! Obviously not the same one lol, but I’ve had this one (I think its called the Luxe?) for awhile now! I average about 6,000.. I only get more when I make myself get on the treadmill in the mornings lol! My husband averages more like 12, but he works out 5 days a week. I think anything for accountability is a WIN for me, but I do miss the “challenges” on the app I used to enjoy!
I’m glad you found the origin of that 10,000 step goal. I’ve often thought about how gullible we all are! We see something on the internet or a friends says this or that, and the next thing you know, it’s become the truth.
I’ve only made 10,000 a few times in my years of wearing a fitbit. But what it does do for me is remind me to move more. It also, every now and then, tells me to “get a move on!” and then I want to throw it across the room 🙂
And also…my feet hurt. Every night. At this age, lots of things hurt.
Happy Thursday!
Well, congratulations, YOU!! Helicopter Badge or not, you walked a lot. And that rhymes. Hope your tootsies recovered nicely by the next day. Might be time to look for some new walking shoes. I need to follow my own advice. Probably time for me to do the same. My feet a LOT, just about everyday but there is something not right with the right one…that sounds weird. And the left one is beginning to act up, too. Isn’t it all too much fun? But that walking is good for all the rest of us, even if the feet aren’t happy. Good job!! Off to shoe shop.