In the 1960s, professor Yoshiro Hatano invented the 10,000 step rule after he became interested in figuring out the most impactful method for preventing heart disease and obesity.
Hatano theorised that taking 10,000 steps a day, the equivalent of about five miles, would result in 20 percent of burned calories for the average person. The idea spread to the U.S. and other countries and became the recommended health standard in several organisations.

History of the 10,000 step rule

Health

Everyone's activity needs are different depending on their fitness goals. On average, inactive people will take about 5,000 steps per day, active people between 7,500 and 10,000 steps and very active people over 12,500 steps per day. Determine your fitness goals:<ul><li>Track how many steps you naturally achieve per day using a fitness tracker, then increase your daily steps goal using a realistic timeline.</li><li>Listen to your body. Doing too much too soon can leave you sore, overly tired, or injured.</li></ul>

Setting your unique step goal

Walk, walk, and keep on walking. There are many ways to get short and long walks into your day.<ul><li>Try parking farther from the grocery store than usual.</li><li>March in place between Zoom meetings.</li><li>Get off the subway a stop earlier and walk home.</li><li>Choose the stairs over the escalator.</li><li>Take your dog on a longer stroll.</li></ul> Doing 300 minutes of brisk walking a week will be similar to 150 minutes of light-to-moderate intensity exercise. That is only 45 minutes of walking a day.

How to get your steps in

Here's what you need to know about this important fitness number, from how many calories 10,000 steps burns, how many miles it is, and whether you really should be hitting it every day.

Why 10,000 Steps? Here's Where This Daily Fitness Goal Comes From-and Whether It's Worth Following

According to a massive RunRepeat study based on over 34 million race results, the average running times are:
<ul>
<li>35 minutes for a 5K</li>
<li>One hour and two minutes for a 10K</li>
<li>Two hours and 14 minutes for a half-marathon</li>
<li>Four hours and 26 minutes for a full marathon.</li>
</ul>
We should keep in mind that the data is collected from race results. It doesn&#39;t mean every runner is racing or running as fast as they can.

The average human running speed

Any numbers regarding the maximum running speed of humans are mostly speculation. Because Usain Bolt holds the title of the world's fasted runner, we can assume that his top speed of about 28 miles per hour is as fast as humans can run. But scientists believe humans may be able to run at a speed of up to 40 miles per hour. A 2010 study using computer models show that based on the pounds of force that human muscle fibres can withstand, humans have the potential to run faster.

The maximum human running speed

<ul><li>Your effort</li><li>Your shoes</li><li>Whether you have any external weight on you, such as a hydration vest</li><li>The terrain you're running on</li><li>The weather conditions</li><li>Your hydration status</li><li>If you had adequate rest the night before</li><li>Your training volume</li><li>The type of training you do. (E.g. weightlifting or cross-training.)</li><li>How much running experience you have</li><li>Genetics and physical factors, such as the length of your legs</li><li>Your mood and the music you listen to can affect your running performance</li></ul>

Factors influencing how fast you can run

Run training that can help you become a faster runner: <ul><li>Tempo runs help to develop your anaerobic or lactate threshold. Run at an easy pace for five to 10 minutes, then run about 10 seconds slower than your 10K pace for 15 to 25 minutes, then finishing up with another five to 10 minutes of easy running.</li><li>Interval runs include segments of fast running followed by segments of easy running or walking.</li><li>Fartlek runs are like interval running, except that it's based more on how you feel.</li></ul>

How to become a faster runner

<ul><li>Hill runs. Running up and down hills helps to strengthen your legs and lungs.</li><li>Trail runs allow for a varied terrain that can make you a faster runner on roads.</li><li>Distance runs sprinkled here and there will improve your endurance.</li><li>Sprinting sessions once or twice a week can improve your speed.</li><li>Easy runs help you to adapt to all the training you are doing.</li></ul>

How to become a faster runner (continued)

The average human running speed is surprisingly fast. Find out the average mile and 5K run time and how to be a faster runner.

How Fast Can Humans Run? Plus, How to Be a Faster Runner

Many people are too terrified to go to the gym because they&#39;re afraid of being judged by other people, but the reality most of the time is that nobody really cares.
If you&#39;re able to push yourself to get past through the discomfort for a couple of sessions then soon after you&#39;ll be changing your perspective of the gym.

Don't Be Ashamed

If you can find a reason to exercise, then it would greatly help you get motivated to keep fit and healthy.
For many, they work our for the aesthetics; while for some they exercise for their family. It depends on what works for you!

Find a Personal Incentive

When we go to the gym feeling super pumped and excited to work out, it&#39;s tempting to go on a full-throttle fitness kick, but doing so is counterproductive. It&#39;s not realistic and you probably won&#39;t be able to keep up after that session or two.

Don't Overdo It

If you dislike running or find weight lifting boring, then don&#39;t do it. Doing something you don&#39;t find personally enjoyable won&#39;t help you get back into anything.
Find something you like and start there. It will also help build your confidence and this goes hand in hand with motivation.

Find Something You Enjoy

There are many ways to exercise without going to the gym. Exercise is not just about weight lifting and running on the treadmill.
Going on a walk regularly is exercise. Getting up and moving around more is exercise.

Don't Obsess About The Gym

Incremental gains can be really motivating. It could help you gain more motivation if you write down your progress and see it often.
Among others, you could also motivate other people with it. Learn to understand what motivates you and work on that.

Measure Your Progress

Take workout sessions that are manageable and don&#39;t overcommit. It&#39;s better to have shorter sessions than bulking in classes and then eventually dropping out. 
Your workout needs to be consistent and realistic, otherwise it gets overwhelming.

Be Consistent and Be Kind To Yourself

The pandemic has left many of us feeling tired, out of sorts and beaten. But it is possible to get your exercise rhythm back. Here’s how

Do what you love – and take it easy: how to get back lost fitness and motivation

Whenever you move to do stuff, that&#39;s physical activity. Exercise, however, is a voluntary physical activity that one undertakes for the sake of fitness.
Exercise is a modern behavior. Humans, for many ages, were only physically active when it was necessary or when it&#39;s rewarding. Gathering food among other survival activities are considered necessary while playing, dancing, and developing skills, are rewarding.

Myth: It's normal to exercise

Our ancestors evolved to avoid needless exertion so don&#39;t feel too bad about the natural instincts we still carry. Learn to accept that it is a natural behavior and that it is difficult to overcome it.
Physical activity costs us calories and up until recently, we were always short of supply. Back in time, food was limited and every calorie spent on physical activity was a calorie not spend on critical functions like body maintenance, storing energy, or even reproducing.

Myth: Avoiding exertion means you are lazy

Let us not demonize normal behavior. It is true that too much physical inactivity is unhealthy, but sitting is not as bad as people make it out to be. It is only leisure-time sitting that is strongly associated with negative health outcomes rather than work-time sitting.
Those who sit actively by getting up every other 15 minutes and so wake up their metabolisms and enjoy better long-term health than those who don&#39;t.

Myth: Sitting is the new smoking

Our ancestors&#39; lives were certainly not easy, but they were not super-strong or super-fast. Most of them were reasonably fit for hunter-gatherers, but they were moderately strong and not especially fast.
On the average our ancestors only spent 2 to 3 hours a day doing moderate-to-vigorous physical activities.

Myth: Our ancestors were hard-working, strong, and fast

Every diet benefits from including exercise into the routine.
You can lose more weight much faster through diet rather than exercise. However, for longer durations and higher intensities of exercise, it has been shown to promote gradual weight loss.

Myth: You can't lose weight walking

Running, walking, and other activities have been proven to keep knees healthy. Knees and other joints aren&#39;t car shock absorbers that wear out over time with use. If anything, you&#39;re less likely to develop knee osteoarthritis with running.
The main solution to avoiding knee pain is to learn how to run properly and train sensibly.

Myth: Running will wear out your knees

We all evolved to be grandparents to be able to provide food for our children and grandchildren.
Exercising and staying physically active as we grow older actually stimulates myriad repair and maintenance processes that keep our bodies groovy. Plenty of studies claim that exercise is healthier the older we get.

Myth: It's normal to be less active as we age

Many medical professionals follow the World Health Organization&#39;s recommendation of at least 150 minutes a week of moderate exercise or 75 minutes a week of vigorous exercise for adults.
However, their recommendation is only an arbitrary prescription because the exercise an individual need depends on many factors such as age, injury history, and other health concerns.
Regardless, no matter how unfit you are, even a little exercise goes a long way and it&#39;s better than none.

Myth: There is an optimal dose of exercise

A lot of people don&#39;t like to exercise because they have natural tendencies to avoid it and it&#39;s hard to overcome.
To promote exercise we must make it a necessity and a rewarding activity. A way to accomplish this is to make exercise a social activity, where you&#39;ll be obliged to show up and you&#39;ll have fun but still be held accountable.

Myth: The 'Just do it' approach works

The absence of physical activity makes us vulnerable to many illnesses, both physical and mental.
Exercising is not a magic bullet that guarantees good health for every person who chooses to exercise but doing so slows the rate of aging and substantially reduces your chances of getting a wide range of diseases.

Myth: Exercise is a magic bullet

We all believe we should exercise more. So why is it so hard to keep it up? Daniel E Lieberman, Harvard professor of evolutionary biology, explodes the most common and unhelpful workout myths

Just don’t do it: 10 exercise myths

We become unfit much quicker than it took to get in shape. To understand how the body becomes unfit, we need to understand how we become fit. 
The key to becoming fitter is to do more than our body is used to. The stress from this makes us become more tolerant, leading to higher fitness levels. Some studies show that just six sessions of interval training can increase maximal oxygen uptake (VO2 max) and improve the body&#39;s ability to fuel itself.

Losing fitness

Cardiorespiratory fitness - shown by a person&#39;s VO2 max will decrease around 10% in the first four weeks after a person stops exercising. The rate of decline continues but eventually evens out.
Highly trained athletes (like a marathon runner) will maintain a VO2 higher than average. But the average person will fall back to pre-training levels in less than eight weeks.

Cardiovascular fitness

Blood and plasma volumes can decrease by as much as 12% in the first four weeks after a person stops training. Plasma and blood volume decrease due to the lack of stress put on our heart and muscles.
Plasma volume can reduce to about 5% within the first 48 hours of stopping training as less blood is pumped around the body with each heartbeat.

The reason VO2 max declines

Some gains in muscle force can appear in two weeks, but gains in muscle size won&#39;t be seen until around eight to 12 weeks.
12 Weeks without training causes a significant decrease in the amount of weight we can lift, but only a minimal reduction in the size of the muscle fibres. We will maintain some of the strength we gained. We lose muscle strength because the muscles are not put under stress, effectively becoming &quot;lazy&quot;.

Strength training

For weight training, it takes just 12 weeks for the amount you can lift to decline significantly – but some of your original strength will linger on.

cardio

History of the 10,000 step rule

Why 10,000 Steps? Here's Where This Daily Fitness Goal Comes From-and Whether It's Worth Following

The average human running speed

How Fast Can Humans Run? Plus, How to Be a Faster Runner