Are you looking for an easy way to improve your health, lose weight, or just be more active in your everyday life? Tracking your daily steps is a simple but powerful habit that can help you achieve those goals and more. In this comprehensive guide, we'll cover everything you need to know about how to track your steps, including:
The benefits of tracking your steps
How many steps you should aim for each day
The best tools and methods for step tracking
Tips for increasing your daily step count
How to stay motivated and make step tracking a lasting habit
By the end of this article, you'll be equipped with the knowledge and strategies to start tracking your steps effectively and using this valuable data to enhance your health and wellbeing. Let's get started!
Why Track Your Steps?
Before diving into the specifics of how to track your steps, it's important to understand the why. What are the benefits of this simple practice? Here are some of the top reasons to start step tracking:
It's an easy way to be more active. Tracking your steps helps you be more mindful of your movement throughout the day and motivates you to be more active overall. It turns everyday activities like walking into exercise.
It aids in weight loss. Walking more and increasing your daily activity level is an effective strategy for burning calories and dropping excess pounds. Studies have shown that people who take more steps per day tend to have lower BMIs and body fat percentages.
It improves cardiovascular health. Walking is a form of cardio exercise that elevates your heart rate and strengthens your heart and circulatory system. Regular walking is linked with lower blood pressure, reduced heart disease risk, and better cholesterol levels.
It boosts your mood and mental health. Exercise like walking triggers the release of endorphins, serotonin, and other feel-good brain chemicals that improve your mood. Walking in nature especially is associated with reduced stress, anxiety, and depression.
It enhances creativity and focus. Taking brief walks throughout the day can give your mind a recharge, sparking creative ideas and improving concentration when you return to work or studying. Walking meetings are a great way to brainstorm.
It connects you socially. Going for walks with friends, family members, colleagues or even your dog is an easy way to fit in some face time and feel more connected with others. You may also meet neighbors or make new friends while out for walks in your community.
It's low-impact and accessible exercise. Walking is a gentle but effective form of physical activity that most people can do regardless of age or fitness level. It's easier on your joints than higher-impact exercise like running.
It helps you sleep better. Moderate exercise during the day is correlated with improved sleep quality and duration at night. However, avoid intense exercise too close to bedtime as it may be overstimulating.
As you can see, the simple act of walking more offers a host of powerful benefits for physical and mental health. Tracking your steps is the easiest way to incorporate more walks and overall movement into your daily life.
How Many Steps Should You Aim For?
Now that you're convinced of the value of walking, you may be wondering: what's the magic number of steps to aim for each day? Is 10,000 steps really the gold standard it's made out to be? Let's look at what research says about step count targets.
The idea that we should take 10,000 steps a day originally came from a Japanese marketing campaign for a pedometer device called "manpo-kei" in the 1960s. The number was chosen mainly because the character for "10,000" looks like a person walking. However, scientific studies have since investigated how many steps are actually optimal for health.
A 2019 study by researchers at Brigham and Women's Hospital found that for older women, taking as few as 4,400 steps a day was linked with significantly lower mortality rates compared to taking 2,700 or fewer steps. Risk of death continued to decrease with higher step counts up to around 7,500 steps, at which point the effects leveled off. Younger adults and children likely need even higher counts.
Current physical activity guidelines from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recommend that adults get at least 150-300 minutes per week of moderate-intensity exercise, or 75-150 minutes of vigorous activity. In terms of step counts, the HHS says adults should aim for these daily goals:
Generally fit people: 10,000+ steps
Pregnant women: 7,000-10,000 steps
Post-partum and healthy adults: 7,000-8,000 steps
Adults with chronic conditions or disabilities: 5,000-7,000 steps
Adults aged 65+: 7,000-10,000 steps
Importantly, any amount of walking is beneficial, even if you don't hit these targets. Rather than fixating on achieving a certain threshold, it's best to focus on moving more than you currently do and slowly building up to higher step counts over time. Your perfect number depends on individual factors like age, health conditions, occupation, and more.
If you're currently very sedentary (getting fewer than 5,000 steps a day), try to increase your movement gradually to avoid injury or burnout. Aim to add an extra 500-1,000 steps per day each week until you're consistently hitting your personal step target. Also keep in mind that other forms of movement like biking, swimming, or playing sports have health benefits too, even if they don't register steps.
The Best Tools and Methods for Step Tracking
With your personal step goal in mind, let's look at some of the most convenient and effective ways to actually track your daily steps and mileage.
Smartphone Apps
Most modern smartphones have accelerometers and GPS capabilities built in, which allow them to track your steps and distance traveled automatically throughout the day. Both iPhone and Android phones come with native health apps (Apple Health and Google Fit) that display your daily, weekly, and monthly step counts.
You can also connect your phone's native health app to a variety of popular third-party fitness tracking apps like Fitbit, Strava, MyFitnessPal, MapMyWalk, Pacer, and more. These apps offer additional features like coaching, challenges, routes, and integration with wearables. Some good free options include:
Pedometer++ (iOS)
Stepz (iOS)
Walker (Android)
Using your phone to track steps is highly convenient since you likely always have it on you. Make sure to keep your phone on your body (like in a pocket) and enable motion tracking and location permissions in settings for the most accurate counts. However, a phone may not pick up all your steps if your arms aren't moving, like if you're holding a shopping cart or stroller.
Smartwatches and Fitness Trackers
Wearable devices like smartwatches (Apple Watch, Samsung Galaxy Watch, etc) and dedicated fitness trackers (Fitbit, Garmin, Xiaomi bands) use similar accelerometer technology as phones to count your steps, but they tend to be more accurate because you wear them directly on your body. Many can also track stairs climbed, distance traveled, heart rate, sleep stages, and other valuable health metrics.
The main advantage of wearables over phones is their 24/7 tracking capability - you don't have to remember to keep your device on you all the time. They're great for tracking non-active periods like sleep, but keep in mind they can also pick up "steps" from arm movements so accuracy can vary. Some popular fitness tracker options at various price points include:
Fitbit Charge, Versa, Inspire
Apple Watch
Garmin Vívosmart, Vívofit, Forerunner
Xiaomi Mi Band
Withings/Nokia Steel HR
Samsung Galaxy Fit
When choosing a fitness tracker, consider factors like comfort, look, battery life, price, and additional features you want like heart rate, sleep tracking, waterproofing, etc. Make sure it syncs with your other devices and apps. The companion apps of wearables tend to provide the most data and trends over time compared to phone apps alone.
Pedometers
Finally, basic pedometers or step counters are simple devices that are clipped to your waistband and count your steps throughout the day. They've been around much longer than high-tech options and are very affordable, with many available for under $20. However, they only track steps (no distance or other metrics), their accuracy tends to be lower, and you have to remember to wear them.
Some options to try:
3DFitBud Simple Step Counter
OZO Fitness SC2 Digital Pedometer
Omron HJ325 Alvita Ultimate Pedometer
For the most data, you can use pedometer in combination with a phone app or wearable, but for most people just using one or the other is sufficient to get a good estimate of daily movement. The key is finding a tracking method that's easy, comfortable, and motivating for you to use consistently.
Tips for Increasing Your Daily Step Count
After you've chosen your preferred step tracking method, the next question becomes: how do I actually increase my daily step count to hit my goals? Here are some simple but effective tips:
Take the scenic route. When walking to a destination, choose a longer route instead of the most direct one. Take the stairs instead of the elevator. Park your car farther away. Opting for the less efficient path is an easy way to get more steps.
Use a treadmill desk or under-desk pedal exerciser. If you have a sedentary desk job, consider investing in a treadmill desk or a small pedal device you can use while working at a regular desk to get more movement.
Schedule walking meetings. Suggest having your next one-on-one meeting with a colleague as a walk around the block instead of sitting in a conference room. Walking meetings are great for discussing ideas or catching up informally.
Take housework and gardening as an opportunity to move more. Doing active chores like vacuuming, mowing the lawn, or gardening gets you a great step boost. Put some music on and intentionally take more trips than you need to increase the count.
Do walking phone calls. Pace around your home or office while taking phone calls instead of sitting. Catch up with a friend or family member while you both walk in your separate locations.
Go somewhere new. Visit a new neighborhood, park, shop, or attraction and spend time wandering and exploring it by foot. Discovering new places is a great step-booster and prevents boredom.
Walk a dog. Dog owners tend to get much more steps than non-dog owners because of the daily dog walking necessity. No dog? Volunteer to walk a neighbor's or friend's dog or start a dog-walking side hustle.
Join a walking group or do step challenges with friends. Having social support and accountability helps you stay consistent. Join a local walking Meetup or ask friends or coworkers to join you for regular walks. Compete against each other or cheer each other on.
Walk for a cause. Sign up and train for a charity walk to raise money for an organization you care about. Having a meaningful reason to walk and a specific event to work up to will keep you motivated.
Listen to a great podcast or audiobook on your walks. Save an engrossing podcast series or audiobook to enjoy only while walking. You'll have something to look forward to and a reason to go for longer walks to hear more.
With some experimentation, find the step-boosting strategies that are most enjoyable and sustainable for your lifestyle. The key is choosing things you genuinely like doing so it doesn't feel like a chore. Mix it up and keep your step routine varied to stay engaged.
How to Stay Motivated and Make Step Tracking a Habit
Finally, some tips for getting the most out of step tracking and sticking with it long-term:
Set a step goal that's realistic for you. Consider your baseline daily count and choose a goal a bit above that to start. Increase about 10% each week to build up slowly. If 10,000 steps feels out of reach right now, that's okay - any increase has benefits.
Use the reminder, notification, and celebration features in your phone app or wearable. Set it up to buzz or ding when you hit a certain count for the day, when you've been idle too long, or when you achieve a milestone or streak. Little nudges and rewards encourage you to move.
Combine your step goal with other health aims. For example, if you're also working on stress relief or weight loss, tap into how walking supports those goals too. Appreciating multiple benefits of exercise is motivating.
Involve others. Share your goals and progress with supportive friends or family members who will cheer you on. Even better, make it a group effort where you check in on each other regularly or work towards a shared goal. Everything is better together.
Treat yourself when you achieve step milestones. For example, when you hit your first 10K day or 100K week, reward yourself with some new walking gear like a fanny pack or sneakers, or a favorite show, meal, or outing. Positive reinforcement helps lock in the habit.
Notice how you feel. As you increase your steps, pay attention to positive changes in your energy levels, mood, sleep, focus, and other indicators. Feeling good is the ultimate motivator to keep up any habit. Step tracking is really about using numbers as a tool to support your wellbeing.
And there you have it - your complete guide for how to track your steps for better health and fitness! By now you should feel equipped with the knowledge, tools, and motivation to begin this essential health habit and start reaping the many benefits of an active lifestyle.
Remember, the key is consistency over intensity. Any amount of increased movement has positive effects in both the short and long term. Listen to your body and increase your goals slowly over time. Just keep putting one foot in front of the other and celebrate your progress along the way. Happy stepping!
