We quickly achieve this goal if we take every opportunity to get active.
While the 10,000 steps per day mark is not an official recommendation from the World Health Organization, walking enough during your day helps you stay healthy. “For a significant effect, particularly on the cardiovascular level, the minimum to do is at least 4,000 steps per day. But of course the more we walk, the better” insists Dr Catherine Monpère, cardiologist and member of the French Federation of Cardiology (FFC), whom we interviewed previously. But it’s not always easy to walk enough every day, especially when you work remotely or have an office job. Any active sequence is good to take to break the sedentary lifestyle. If we take every opportunity to get active and take a few extra steps, we quickly reach 10,000 steps. The first thing to do -and it’s within everyone’s reach- is to walk when you’re talking on the phone, whether in the office, at home or on the go. “Mobile or landline, we have freed the phone from its wires, take advantage of it and don’t go chaining yourself to your chair, couch or armchair.” advises Dr. Eric Griez, psychiatrist, author of “Walking therapy against stress” (ed. Eyrolles). We take around 100 steps per minute, so if we stay on the phone for 15 minutes, we will have taken 1,500 steps. In addition to this good tip, the following, just as simple, will make you walk without even that you realize it.
► Prefer the stairs to escalators or the elevator. “The stairs make you do one step per stepand this step is all the more effective as it requires the additional work of moving your body in the vertical plane“, he continues.
► In transport, rather than waiting motionless for your bus or train, walk back and forth at the stop, or on the platform, or in the station. Likewise, consider getting off the bus one stop earlier and taking it one stop further.
► By car, park further away. “If you are in a parking lot, put your car as far away from the pedestrian exit or the store entrance as possible. You will find a free location more easily and you will have the possibility of walking a few tens or hundreds of meters.“
► At work, Get into the habit of using the toilet furthest from where you are. Use the printer across the hall. The same goes for the water fountain. Have standing meetings. Prioritize travel rather than calls or chats with your colleagues.
► At the supermarket, go from place to place in a haphazard manner instead of going through the shelves logically.
► In front of the TV: “a cardiologist gave this advice to his patients: instead of carefully keeping the remote control within your reach (which, unfortunately, it was designed for), always remember to place it far from you. This will force yourself to have to get up to change the channel. Better yet: take a detour to pick it up.“
► At home, spread out your household chores rather than cleaning from top to bottom for a whole day, you spread out your physical efforts: one day, you vacuum (with music to help you move even more), the next day, you do an ironing session (you stomp but that counts), the next day, it’s the turn of the windows and so on…
In general, remember that the most important thing is to move at least a little each day and to have the reflex to get up as soon as you have been sitting for too long.