Working out your walking needs

How much time should you spend walking each day? Here are some helpful figures. We’ve already noted that sedentary people walk about 3000 steps or less in a day. Assuming that this is your base level as well, here’s how much extra walking you need to do each day – measured for different paces – to reach specific step targets.

Extra walking time needed to reach:

PACE	5000 STEPS	7000 STEPS	10,000 STEPS
Slow (80 steps per minute)	25 minutes	50 minutes	87 minutes
Normal (100 steps per minute)	20 minutes	40 minutes	70 minutes
Quick (120 steps per minute)	17 minutes	33 minutes	58 minutes
Fast (140 steps per minute)	14 minutes	29 minutes	50 minutes

Important
Your goal should be to get the majority of these extra steps during everyday activities – shopping, commuting, running errands and otherwise getting about. If you spend an extra 45 minutes a day on your feet as part of your daily routine and take a brisk, 15-minute walk for pleasure after lunch or dinner, you’ll easily get to 10,000 steps.