Articles · Moving

Ten easy ways to add 2,000 steps to your day

Two thousand steps is about a quarter of an hour on your feet. Here are ten ways to fit them into an ordinary day without a gym, a plan or spare time.

· 3 min read

Two thousand steps sounds like a lot. It's about a kilometre and a half, or roughly 15–20 minutes of walking. Spread across a day, that's a few minutes here and there. Why bother? Because in large studies of step counts, each extra thousand steps a day went with a lower risk of dying early, and the biggest gains were for people who moved least to begin with.

So where can you find them?

Ten ideas, no gym needed

  1. Walk while you talk. Take phone calls on your feet, at home or outside. A 10-minute call can be up to 1,000 steps.
  2. Get off one stop early, or park at the far end of the car park. It's built-in walking you can't skip.
  3. Take the stairs for a floor or two. Climbing is one of the most demanding things we do all day, so a minute of it goes a long way.
  4. Walk after dinner. Ten minutes after the evening meal also helps the body handle the rise in blood sugar that follows it.
  5. Deliver the message yourself. At work, walk to a colleague instead of sending a chat message, at least now and then.
  6. Make one meeting a walking meeting. Fewer slides, more ideas, and nobody checks their email.
  7. Set an hourly nudge. Two or three minutes of walking every hour you sit adds up to well over 1,000 steps in a working day.
  8. Shop on foot. Walk to the local shop for small things, or carry the bags in two trips.
  9. Take the long way. To the coffee machine, the toilet, the bus stop.
  10. Make it social. A family walk after Sunday lunch, a friend you meet for a walk instead of a coffee, a dog who insists.

Think about it: Which three of these would fit into your tomorrow without changing anything else?

Wanderer above the Sea of Fog, painted by Caspar David Friedrich
Wanderer above the Sea of Fog, Caspar David Friedrich, c. 1818, Hamburger Kunsthalle, Hamburg. A walker at the top of a climb, looking out over the fog. It's the most famous walk in art, and it took some effort to get there. Good news: your 2,000 steps can start at the kitchen door. Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

How to know if it's working

Your phone probably counts steps already, as long as it's in your pocket. A watch does it more reliably. Check your daily average for a week first: that's your starting point, not the day you went hiking.

If you connect a watch on SustainBite's Watches page, your steps appear on My Plan next to the day's food, so you can see both in one place.

Try this: Raise your target by 1,000 steps a day for two weeks, then another 1,000. Small, steady steps up are easier to keep than a big jump.

Quick quiz

About how long does it take to walk 2,000 steps?

Around 15–20 minutes at an ordinary pace, or a few minutes at a time through the day.

Who gains the most from adding steps?

People who move the least to begin with. Going from 3,000 to 5,000 steps a day matters more than going from 12,000 to 14,000.

What's a fair way to set your starting point?

Your average over a normal week, not your best day.

Sources

General information, not medical advice. If you have a health condition, are pregnant or take medication, ask a doctor or dietitian what is right for you.