Dancing your way to 10,000 steps a day
A lot of us spend the work days sitting at a desk. One day I decided to put on a pedometer just to see how many steps I took in a day. Just normal walking around, climbing basement stairs etc. I logged on around 3500 steps. Not near enough for my satisfaction. Since I country dance 2-3 nights a week that's where I logged on the most. 10,000 steps = 5 miles. That's what I dance each time I hit the dance floor. It's great exercise without going to the gym. Just taking a waltz class is a great health benefit.
The 10,000 Steps-A-Day program was developed in Japan in 1965 by Dr. moving and to have people start thinking about leading an active
lifestyle in all that they do.
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Why 10,000? The Surgeon General for years has advocated that people get at least 30 minutes of exercise, equal to brisk walking, a day. The Cooper Institute calculated that brisk walking (3-4 mph) 7,000 steps a day (minimum) to 10,000 steps a day (optimum) would easily meet the lifestyle goals of 30 minutes a day of moderately intense physical activity, the level also recommended bythe U.S. Surgeon General. |
The great aspect of the 10,000 Steps-A-Day program is that it
creates a lifestyle of being active, instead of trying to block
out a time each day to get your 30 minutes of exercise; you can be
active all day in your normal daily activities.
Below are some simple lifestyle activities that you can incorporate
into your routine to help you achieve the 10,000 Steps-A-Day
lifestyle.
Activities and ideas that help you reach your goals!
* Spend an evening dancing instead of at the movies
* Spend time with friends and family, walking at the zoo, at the
museum,through the botanical gardens, or a park
* Take the long route at the supermarket, even when you only need
milk.
* Walk to the store instead of taking the car.
* Take up dancing with your partner; it's great fun and dancing
Country/Western is a great and fun workout.
* Take a 3 minutes walk around the office every hour. Not only will
this stop you from getting repetitive strain injury (RSI)
it will also remind you to move away from your computer and do
other things.
* Park a little further from the entrance whenever you go somewhere.
Studies by Stanford University and the Cooper Institute for Aerobics
Research yielded the following information:
A normal workday spent mostly at the computer, including walking
around the and walking a couple of errands, but not making a
conscious effort to exercise, logged 3,000 to 4,000 steps.
An hour of dance instruction equals approximately 4,800 steps.
Dancing an hour of two-stepping and line-dancing through a country/
western dance equals 7,000 per hour.
If the treadmill is boring, try dancing.
And you'll make new friends in the process.
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