How many kilometers a day should you walk and who needs it?

Do you like to walk? How many kilometers a day do you walk? Have you ever thought about this? I have prepared a short material and invite you to read it in the hope that after this you will think about walking as a useful and enjoyable pastime.

We do not live in the easiest time to travel quickly, and our dependence on all kinds of means of transportation is growing every day. Cars, subways, buses, motorcycles are integral attributes of our lives, without which it is difficult to imagine moving from point A to point B. In such conditions, we forget how useful and important it is to move on our own two feet. Moreover, it’s not news to anyone that walking is an accessible, safe and simple form of physical activity. Therefore, I would like to expand on the topic of walking, reminding the reader that not only a car, subway, or bus can get to work or a store, and that saving time will not be worth the candle when it comes to health and well-being. And I must add that moving on your own legs does a good job of putting your nervous system and thoughts in order.

Why you need to walk

Let's look at a few good reasons to be convincing:

• Walking is an aerobic form of physical activity, in other words, the same sport as running, swimming, fitness, etc.
• Walking helps strengthen muscle tissue and improves the functioning of the cardiovascular system.
• When walking, the level of stress resistance , mood improves, and sleep normalizes.
• While walking, the risk of injury is extremely low.
• Walking helps burn calories .
• Walking is accessible and easy.
• Suitable for people of all ages and has virtually no contraindications.
• Walking does not require special training or equipment.
• The risk of developing a number of serious diseases, such as diabetes , atherosclerosis, glaucoma, osteoporosis, etc., is reduced.

Some useful facts

• Daily walking helps reduce blood pressure, improve the functioning of blood vessels and the heart, lungs, and digestive system, in particular the intestines.
• While walking, the muscles receive sufficient load, and the joints and bones are strengthened. And this is a good prevention of arthritis. Regular walking will not only help you stay in good shape, but also improve your mood, get rid of stress and anxiety, and prevent the development of diseases.
• Scientists have calculated that at the beginning of the 20th century, a person walked approximately 75 thousand kilometers during his life. For modern inhabitants of our planet, such a walking “route” is only about 24 thousand kilometers.

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How much do you need to walk?

Before answering this question, it is worth mentioning Dr. Yoshiro Hatano, a professor at the Japanese Kyushu University of Health and Welfare, who, while studying the problems of obesity, came to the conclusion that to achieve a fat-burning effect It is necessary to cover a distance of 10,000 steps daily.

In 1965, Yoshiro Hatano presented his device Manpo-kei - a pedometer. Literally translated, the name means 10,000 step meter. This figure is most often found when studying information that reveals the fat-burning side of walking. But the required distance for each individual person will depend, first of all, on the goals set and the initial physical condition, and only then on the kilometers traveled.

For some, 5 km is a lot, but for others, even 10 km a day is not enough. So first you need to assess your own capabilities, understand your ultimate goals and, of course, just the desire to walk.

Useful literature on walking

• “Nordic walking. Health is an easy step.” Anastasia Poletaeva
• “Nordic walking treatment. Health practices.” Dmitry Kulkov
• “Nordic walking. Healthy living habits.” Anastasia Poletaeva
• “Nordic walking heals.” Gennady Kibardin
• “Who should try Nordic walking.” Authors' team "Buffer Bay" Free

What mileage should you plan for one trip (for a day trip)

When there is clarity about the average speed of movement and the time spent behind the wheel, you can easily calculate what the maximum daily mileage can be planned for one haul.

Just multiply your average driving speed by the number of hours you are willing to spend behind the wheel without taking your butt out of the saddle, and you will get the distance you can travel in one trip.

Are you ready to sit behind the wheel for 20 hours? You will travel about 2000 km on highways, or about 1300 km on secondary (ordinary) roads in Europe, or about 1600 km in Russia (if you are an experienced driver).

Don’t want to strain yourself and think that 10 hours of driving a day is too much for you? Divide the above numbers by two, and so on.

Google maps calculate the exact travel time most accurately, and they should be used for these purposes.

When calculating travel time in Europe, it is worth adding approximately 15 minutes to the time calculated by Google for every two hours of the estimated travel time.

That is, if the maps determine that the estimated travel time is 8 hours, then to this time you need to add another 1 hour approximately (four times 15 minutes each) - you will get a fairly accurate result.

When driving around Russia, if you are an experienced driver (and drive at a speed of “sign + 20” and without unnecessary stops), then to the travel time calculated by Google, add approximately 30 minutes for every 5 hours of the estimated travel time (for trips over a distance of more than 500 km).

If you are new to long trips (or traveling with a small child), then add approximately 1 hour to the travel time calculated by Gul for every 5 hours of estimated travel time.

The features of using Google maps to calculate a trip route are described in a separate note.

As practice shows, even a relatively inexperienced driver can safely spend 10-12 hours behind the wheel (if motivated and willing).

Thus, for an inexperienced driver, the maximum distance that can be planned to be done without much stress is 700-800 kilometers in one trip across Russia. Then rest is required.

When driving around Europe, when traveling on highways, you can plan 1000-1200 km per trip, when traveling on simple roads - 650-750 km per day, as a maximum.

Planned mileage per trip

Taking into account all of the above, as a summary, I will present the following general tables reflecting the mileage standards that can be planned and actually completed on a long trip.

WHEN DRIVING IN RUSSIA (TRANS)

To perform an unnecessary “feat” and on the verge of a crime (only for experienced drivers): over 1500-1600 km in one sitting.

You can carry out hauls over 1600 km only if you have the opportunity to fully rest for 15 or more hours the next day (for example, when returning home from a trip, at the last stage of the journey - home).

If you have sufficient travel experience, a long haul (1600 or more kilometers) can also be pulled off (and “pulled” is the most appropriate word here).

You won’t get any pleasure from such a trip at all, and if you don’t kill yourself somewhere by falling asleep at the wheel, you’ll simply die from fatigue. But... if you (suddenly really) need it, then you need it.

For myself personally, I consider it quite feasible to drive 1650-1750 km long (20-22 hours behind the wheel) in one sitting, and I do such hauls quite regularly (every vacation).

But this is wrong and dangerous (and I understand that). It’s just that sometimes you don’t want to spend an extra night on the road, but your strength and experience seem to allow you... so I take advantage of it while I can.

My personal “record” is 2767 km (according to the odometer, route Brest - Orenburg) in one person without turning off the engine in 36 hours in the saddle - do not try to repeat it unless absolutely necessary!

WHEN DRIVING IN EUROPE (DRIVING)

When driving around Europe, travel experience is somewhat less important than when traveling around Russia. The restrictions are quite strict (fine for speeding from 1-5 km/h), therefore, the result depends more on the total number of stops on the road than on the overall experience.

In addition, in Europe there are highways on which driving quickly enough (in most cases the speed limit is 130 km/h and there are no problems with overtaking) is not difficult even for inexperienced drivers.

Hence the division of driving modes in the table below.

“Highway” is when most of the route is on highways. “Normal” is when the route follows regular roads. And “mixed” is when part of the route goes along highways, and part along ordinary roads.

How to determine which roads the selected route passes through and what the driving mode will be on it - see the link.

My personal experience of driving (the longest) along highways in Europe: Barcelona - Slovenian border (1410 km - 13 hours 55 minutes). Paris - Madrid (1290 km - 13 hours 15 minutes). Lisbon - Bordeaux (1200 km - 11 hours 15 minutes).

Calculate the average speeds yourself if you wish.

At what speed should you walk?

Walking speed, like walking distance, is an individual indicator. If you go simply for internal satisfaction, then speed is not important. If the goal is to lose weight by walking, then the speed of movement should be such that the pulse (heart rate) is within the fat-burning threshold.

How to calculate fat burning heart rate

• The first step is to determine the maximum allowable heart rate value. To do this, you need to subtract the age from the number 220.
• The second step is to keep your heart rate at 65-75% of your maximum. For example, if you are 31 years old, your maximum heart rate would be 220-31=189 beats per minute. 65% of 189 would be 123 or 142 if you take 75%.
• By targeting a heart rate of 123-142 beats per minute, you will be in your optimal fat-burning zone. But this method is not suitable for people whose heart rate differs from the norm, which for an adult is 60-90 beats per minute at rest.

But you should know that during aerobic exercise, which includes walking, the body begins to burn fat only after 30-40 minutes of activity in the optimal fat-burning heart rate mode. First of all, fats from muscle tissue are used, and only then fat reserves. Plus, the number of calories consumed should be less than those expended, i.e. you need to watch your diet. And if the main goal of walking is to lose weight, then a simple evening promenade at a leisurely pace will not help you lose excess weight, but it will certainly lift your spirits, improve sleep and well-being.

How to walk correctly to lose weight?

To achieve noticeable results and not harm your joints, it is important not just to walk, but to move correctly. To start training, you will need comfortable clothes and shoes with thick soles.

Healthy walking techniques require adherence to a number of points:

• While moving, your posture must be kept straight, your back should not be rounded, and your gaze should be directed forward.
• You need to straighten your shoulders and pull them back, tighten your abdominal muscles.
• Move your legs parallel to each other, stepping from heel to toe.
• Arms bent at the elbows should follow the movement of the body.
• Inhale and exhale evenly through the nose, do not take too deep or sharp breaths.

Walking speed is divided into 5 types:

1. minimum – 60 steps/min.;
2. slow – 80 steps/min.;
3. medium – 110 steps/min.;
4. high – 130 steps/min.;
5. very high – 140 or more steps/min.

Especially in the initial stages, you should move at a moderate pace, gradually increasing your walking speed. If you experience severe shortness of breath, increased heart rate, rapid heartbeat, or chest discomfort, you must stop training.

Types of walking

For a general understanding, let’s mention the types of walking in order of least activity:

Health walking

A regular walk in any area. The duration of the movement does not matter. Average speed is 3-4 km/h. The maximum speed depends on the tasks and goals of the walker.

health path

A resort and recreational activity that involves a pre-planned route in mountainous areas. Speed, distance, number of ascents and descents are determined in advance. Typically, health paths are used for medicinal purposes and are carried out under the supervision of a doctor.

Nordic walking

A type of race walking using special poles. It is an independent sport. Almost 90% of the muscles are involved in the process of Nordic walking. Much more effective than healthy walking. The duration and speed of movement are individual.

Race walking

An Olympic sport that uses a special technique of movement along a distance. The speed of movement in race walking is from 6 to 15 km/h. The distances of the courses in this discipline depend on the age, gender of the athlete and the location of the competition (stadium or highway). Usually it is 3, 5, 10, 20 or 50 km.

What rules must be followed?

Walking should be done correctly. It is absolutely not enough to simply move your feet while moving in space. The maximum effect will be obtained if you follow several recommendations:

1. You need to start the lesson with a warm-up. Muscles must be prepared for the upcoming load with the help of special exercises. They can be divided into two groups:

• initial – leg swings, jumping in place, squats;
• intense - deep springy squats, wide steps.

2. While walking, you should maintain a given pace. It may be different.

3. The lesson should be completed gradually. It is necessary to switch to slow walking and perform several special exercises to relax the muscles that worked intensively during the lesson.

To maintain optimal health, it is recommended that you spend time walking daily. For example, you can walk one stop to work or home. It is also advisable to focus not on the distance, but on the time spent on the road. For physically unprepared people, the best option is walking at an average pace for 30–60 minutes.

Habit of walking

Walking is easier than ever. This does not require a gym membership, expensive equipment or special training. You can simply use, for example, the path from home to work, replacing transport with a walk, or take a walk during your lunch break or take a walk in the nearest park before going to bed - there are plenty of options. The main thing is to form a habit.

Include walking in your daily routine, starting with short distances. To start, 2-3 km per day is suitable. After a week, add a couple more kilometers, and in the third week, add the same amount. Thus, gradually increasing the number of steps taken, get to the mark of 5-7 km per day. This is enough to feel the positive effect of walking on the body, a surge of energy, vigor and good mood.

The main thing here is systematicity and consistency.

How many steps in a kilometer

Before you start actively walking and covering distances of 10,000 steps, you should study the movement technique and find out how many steps per kilometer in your case. A modern person does not need to carefully count steps when walking, covering the entire distance. For this task, special gadgets, smartphone applications and average statistical data are used.

Averages

The length of a step, even for one person, is not a constant value and depends on the following factors:

• height, gender and weight of a person;
• movement speed;
• shoes;
• health status;
• level of physical fitness;
• the surface on which a person moves.

Statistical data allows you to use approximate values ​​for calculations:

• the average step of a person 175 cm tall is 80 cm;
• The average length of a woman's step is 70 cm.

There are several ways to calculate stride length:

1. Measuring length: Step at a normal pace, measure the distance from the tips of the toes of the foot left behind to the tips of the toes of the foot placed in front.
2. Calculation of average length: measure a distance of 10 meters, count the number of steps, divide the first value by the second.
3. Using a special formula according to which the length of a step depends on a person’s height.

Measuring distance in steps

The easiest way to determine the distance is for tall people, whose step length when walking at a pace above average will be 1 m: 1000 steps - 1 km. Other walkers without the use of special devices are recommended to use the table data:

Step distance for men and women

Thus, after taking 5,000 steps, a person will walk from 3.5 to 4 km, depending on the size of the step. Accordingly, 8,000 steps is 5.5-6.5 km, and 10,000 steps is about 8 km.

Measuring distance over time

On average, a person covers 1 km at a fast pace in 10 minutes; this value will be different at low speed and short stride length. A 7 km walk will take 1 hour and 10 minutes. The 10,000 steps (8 km) recommended by Japanese doctors can be completed in 1 hour 20 minutes at high speed.

How to calculate

For a beginner, the goal of 10,000 steps may seem unattainable, but if you convert this figure into kilometers, the distance becomes clearer. When it is not possible to use an online step calculator, trainers advise converting the movement into kilometers once and using individual data.

The average step length of a woman and a man is calculated by the formula: DS=(P:4)+0.37, where

• DS - step length;
• P—height in meters;
• 4 and 0.37 are coefficients.

With a height of 170 cm, the average value will be (1.70/4) + 0.37 = 0.79 m.

The conversion of steps per kilometer is carried out using simple calculations; let’s consider the example of a person 170 cm tall with a step length of 79 cm:

• in 100 meters - 100:0.79=126 steps,
• in one kilometer - 126*10=1,260 steps;
• 2 km - 2520 steps;
• 5 km - 6,300.

Converting 10,000 steps to kilometers is also easy in two ways:

• 10,000:1260=7.9 km;
• 10,000*0.79=7900 m.

Not so simple arithmetic

Summary data shows that the reference 10,000 steps for people of different heights moving at different speeds can range from 6 to 8 km. Calculating the length of your daily walking distance based on the indicators of fitness gadgets and applications is also difficult, since there is a possibility of program failure and inaccurate data collection. For example, some pedometers do not take into account walking in place, backwards or sideways.

Experts advise making an individual calculation of step length depending on height using a formula or using an online calculator, then converting it into kilometers. Information about how many steps are 100 meters makes it easy to determine their number in 1 km.

How to count steps and distance traveled?

It is better to entrust the recording of the distance traveled to special devices such as a pedometer, smart watch or fitness tracker. Fortunately, there are plenty of offers on the market - for every taste, color and budget, as they say. The cost of devices depends on the built-in functionality and manufacturer brand. An alternative is dedicated smartphone apps, such as Google Fit for Android or Apple Health for iOS, which can be used without wearable devices.

Advantages of specialized gadgets:

• Activity measurement accuracy is higher than that of apps.
• Possibility of measuring heart rate and sleep phase (not available on all devices).

Application advantage:

• If you have a smartphone, you can do without extra costs.

Scientific refutation - you need to walk, but not 10,000 steps

The golden mean – 7,500 steps per day is enough

In 2011, the Public Health Agency of Canada conducted a major review of 837 scientific library papers published over the past 11 years. All these works were related to studies of human daily activity and aimed at calculating the optimal number of steps that need to be taken to keep your body in good shape.

As a result of the review, it was found that a person needs to walk 7-8 thousand steps

. This amount appeared in most studies and was confirmed empirically, but there was practically no evidence in favor of the 10,000 steps theory.

Let's go to longevity - the connection between walking and the likelihood of premature death

In 2022, Harvard University Professor Dr. I-Min Lee (M.D.)

together with other scientists, published a large study in the journal JAMA Network on the relationship between the number of daily steps taken and mortality in women over 70 years of age.

More than 16 thousand women took part in the experiment. The average age was 72 years. They each spent exactly 7 days wearing the ActiGraph GT3X+ thigh-worn activity monitor. It was allowed to remove the monitor only during sleep and activities in the water. No further conditions were set for the subjects; they had to lead their usual lifestyle.

After this, a pause was made for 4 years and 3 months. During this time, 504 women died, on the basis of which the analysis was carried out. It turned out that as the number of steps increased, the greatest decrease in mortality was observed at 4,400 steps/day.

, then, up to 7500 steps/day, there was a gradual decrease, and after 7500 steps/day the indicator reached a plateau.

In other words, the greatest increase in the benefits of walking in terms of reducing the risk of death occurs when the daily norm increases from 2,000 steps or less to 4,400 steps. Between 4,400 steps/day and 7,500 steps/day, the risk of death still decreases, but not as sharply. But no difference was found between 7,500 steps/day and 10,000 steps/day.

3 x 10 is better than 10,000

Medical journalist Michael Mosley

Together with Sheffield Hallam University professor of physical activity and health
Robert Copeland,
he conducted a small experiment in 2022 for the BBC One documentary “The Truth About Getting Fit”.

The main objective of the experiment was to compare the advantages of the 10,000 steps theory

with an alternative form of physical activity
"Active 10"
. The subjects were divided into 2 groups. Participants in the first had to take 10,000 steps daily, and participants in the second had to take 3 vigorous ten-minute walks.

Based on data collected from activity monitors strapped to the wrists of all participants, Mosley and Copeland concluded that three brisk 10-minute walks each day were a more effective form of physical activity than walking 10,000 steps a day.

It turned out that the Acitve 10 group performed 30% more moderate-to-vigorous physical activity than the 10,000 steps group. It is moderate intensity activity that provides the greatest health benefits.

What is MET and why does it need to be over 600?

Currently, the WHO recommended minimum level of physical activity per week should be 600 METs

, which is equivalent to about 150 minutes of moderate activity or 75 minutes of vigorous activity.

MET (metabolic equivalent)

– energy unit for measuring the intensity of physical activity. 1 MET corresponds to the amount of energy expended by a person at rest, equivalent to the consumption of 3.5 ml of oxygen per 1 kg of body weight in 1 minute (3.5 ml/kg/min) on average.

To understand this value, you don’t need to go into calculations; you just need to understand that 1 MET is your rate of energy expenditure at rest, when you sit, lie, etc. When you start moving, this figure increases. It is known that a person with moderate exercise consumes 3-6 times more oxygen (3-6 MET, for example, with active walking - 4 MET-min

), and with high-intensity exercise - more than 6 times (>6 MET, for example, when running -
8 MET-min
).

WHO recommends adding another 600 METs to your weekly energy expenditure. To gain them, you must either walk at an intense pace for 150 minutes (600/4=150) or run 75 minutes (600/8=75).

In 2016, scientists Darren Warburton

and
Shannon Bredin
published a large review article in the Canadian Journal of Cardiology, which analyzed 93 scientific papers regarding the health benefits of physical activity (PA).

Scientists have concluded that regular physical activity is a very important way to prevent at least 25 chronic diseases. There are many studies that have proven a reduction in the risk of morbidity by 20-30%

. Moreover, tangible benefits from PA were observed even with minimal loads that did not reach the WHO recommended level of 600 METs (150 minutes of MVPA per week).

In contrast to this review article, in the same 2016, another systematic review of existing studies was published regarding the relationship between physical activity and the risk of specific diseases: breast cancer, colon cancer, diabetes, coronary heart disease and ischemic stroke.

The authors of the article (professors, scientists and students from the University of Washington and the Institute for Health Evaluation) found that the WHO recommended weekly physical activity equivalent to 600 METs has little effect on the risk of the above diseases.

Thus, activity of 600 METs per week reduces the risk of diabetes by only 2%, while increasing activity to 3600 METs per week reduces the risk by 19%. Moreover, an active decrease in the probability of the disease occurs up to 4300 MET, and then the rate drops significantly. For example, when the load increases from 9000 METs to 12000 METs, the risk decreases by only 0.6%.

Scientists have found that the greatest effectiveness from physical activity is observed up to a level of 3000–4000 METs

(for the 5 diseases under consideration), and then the benefit is greatly reduced. You can see this in the graph below.

To give you an idea, a load of 3000 METs per week is equivalent to 750 minutes of walking or 375 minutes of running. Again, the authors give this figure as a total, meaning they include all of your weekly activity, so 3,000 METs can be divided into: 10 minutes of climbing stairs, 15 minutes of housecleaning, 20 minutes of gardening, 20 minutes of running, and 25 minutes walk. If you do these steps every day, by the end of the week you will have gained exactly 3000 METS.

But there is also a lot of criticism of this article:

1. The authors did not conduct their own research, but drew conclusions based on the work of other scientists, that is, the article is observational in nature;
2. The article kept track of the subjects' entire weekly workload, and WHO recommendations imply that a person should be exposed to 600 METs of activity above normal;
3. The work focuses on only 5 diseases, but does not take into account hundreds of others, and does not analyze the relationship between physical activity and the risk of premature death from any cause;
4. Most of the trials reported in this article used activity equivalent to 600 METs as a starting point, meaning few experiments were presented between 0 and 600 METs.

Thus, an additional 600 MET

per week, recommended by WHO, can still be considered the minimum level of necessary physical activity, but you should also understand that you should not stop there, because a consistent increase in physical activity, up to
4000 MET-min
per week, will only have a positive effect on your health. health.

A 30-minute walk can save your brain

Another scientific article, already indirectly related to the issue of regular walking, but important for a full disclosure of the topic, is “Prevention of Alzheimer’s disease,” written by V. A. Parfenov, Doctor of Medical Sciences and Head of the Department of Nervous Diseases of Moscow State Medical University

.

In his work, Parfenov, citing many studies in recent years, gives recommendations for optimizing lifestyle in order to reduce the likelihood of developing degenerative changes in the brain. First of all, to prevent Alzheimer's, you should engage in regular physical activity. The author advises older people to take at least 3 walks a week, 30 minutes each. For young and middle-aged people, it is recommended to go for a thirty-minute walk every day.

A large prospective study was conducted in 2001, which included 5,925 women.

aged 65 years and older. It turned out that in women with low physical activity (PA) the incidence of cognitive decline is 24%, in women with average PA – 22%, in women with high PA – 18%, and in women with maximum PA – 17%.

How to reduce the harm from a sedentary lifestyle

In 2016, a review article by Norwegian scientists was published in the medical journal The Lancet, in which they asked whether physical activity could reduce the risk of premature death in people with a sedentary lifestyle.

The results of an analysis of scientific papers led the authors to the conclusion that people who spend 8 or more hours a day in a sitting position have a 59% higher risk of premature death.

than those who sit for less than 4 hours daily.
But at the same time, among subjects who regularly devoted time to physical activity (in total, more than 2000 MET-min
per week), the risks of premature death were almost equally small both among those who sat for 4 hours a day and among those who spent chair for 8 hours or more.

In simple terms, 60-75 minutes of moderate-intensity activity daily helps to neutralize the harm that the body receives from a sedentary lifestyle. Again, it's worth understanding that this is your overall activity level, so you don't need to spend more than an hour walking every day. You can evenly distribute 75 minutes between daily activities: walking, cleaning the house, active play with children, gardening, repairs, construction work, cycling, etc.

Hiking routes

To prevent walking from feeling boring, change your routes from time to time.

Use maps, plan your distance, look for new roads.

Parks, squares, embankments are great places for walking, but a route from one metro station to another, on the way to work and back, will also work.

Tired of asphalt - go over rough terrain. Tired of the ups and downs, you can stupidly walk in circles around the nearby stadium.

Various routes will make the walk more interesting, increase motivation, and expand geographical knowledge of the area.

Walking shoes

The main guidelines for choosing walking shoes are convenience, comfort, ventilation, lightness and durability. However, these are obvious things inherent in the selection of any casual shoes.

If you can walk 2-4 km a day on your feet, then there is no point in bothering too much - any comfortable pair of shoes will do, be it sneakers, sneakers or boots. But the longer the walk takes and the longer the distance of the chosen route, the more pitfalls will emerge if you are wearing the wrong shoes. For long walks, running shoes are the best choice, but not all running shoes are created equal or universal.

Running shoes, for example, place emphasis on cushioning in the sole to reduce stress on the knee joints. Lightness and increased ventilation are also distinctive features of running shoes. This type of shoe is also suitable for walking, but more likely in urban environments and when moving on a flat surface (asphalt, concrete, treadmill, etc.)

The main characteristics of trekking sneakers are ankle protection, a special tread shape and increased wear resistance. These shoes are designed for moving over rough terrain and are suitable for walking in forests and mountains.

Basketball and futsal sneakers are intended for the parquet floor of a sports hall and are not suitable for walking, especially long ones. Urban sneaker models from manufacturers such as Nike, adidas , New Balance, Puma , Reebok are more casual shoes and are suitable for walking on asphalt, but for short distances.

Ultimately, it is always better to check with the manufacturer about the explicit purpose of a particular model, the stated wear resistance of the sole in kilometers, the possibility of use in certain weather conditions, and other characteristics that will help when choosing walking sneakers or any other shoes.

Nike and Adidas sneaker models were used as a test The idea of ​​the dispute is to cover 1000 km on foot in the same pair of shoes in a city. The distance is recorded using the Google Fit application. The test results reveal the average daily distance that our authors (walking enthusiasts) cover in everyday life, and the correct choice of sneakers for walking a given distance.

Allow time for adaptation after increasing weekly mileage

To reduce the risk of injury, after increasing your weekly mileage, run it for some more time so that your body can get used to the new load. For example, you can add a mile and a half to each run for a week, but then you will need to run the same distance for at least two weeks. If you run four times a week, you can increase your weekly mileage by six kilometers.

There is also another rule - the distance can only be increased by 10% per week. If your standard run is five kilometers, then next week you can run five kilometers and 500 meters. You can increase the distance every week.

Walking or running?

Of course, both are better. However, running is not for everyone. Joint problems, hypertension, heart disease, excess weight are contraindications for jogging. Running is also dangerous and requires good physical preparation.

Walking, on the other hand, is suitable for almost everyone. But the downside of walking compared to running is its low calorie consumption. Running wins twice here. A gradual transition, from less to more, is the best tactic for developing physical fitness, strength and endurance.

If there are no sore joints or other diseases, but just a lot of excess fat that you want to burn, start eating right and walking, walking a lot. The fat will begin to “melt”. Weight will decrease. Lightness, energy, and a positive attitude will appear. Then you can try switching to easy running if you want, or adding other intense workouts, such as jump rope , swimming pool , strength training.

If you start running right away if you are extremely overweight, you will end up putting too much stress on your knees, which is fraught with sad consequences in the future.

The rule that is always appropriate in everything is to do no harm. Use your head, don’t rush off the bat, do everything step by step. And the result will not take long to arrive.

Norm

On average, a person walks about 5,000 - 6,000 steps per day. It all depends on his physique, type of activity, place of residence, and so on. The recommended amount (the amount needed to maintain weight), depending on age, is:

The goal of “walking 10,000 steps a day” was first introduced in the Japanese pedometer program. At that time, there were no scientific studies that would confirm the need to undergo such a number.

Later, the number of steps taken per day was experimentally determined depending on the level of physical activity:

If for women the average norm is 10 thousand steps, then for men it is reduced to 8.5-9 thousand, since they spend 10-15% more kilocalories. This is due to more developed muscles.