Publications
Partners
On this 30 day challenge you will receive one task daily to complete in order to help you eat, move, think, and sleep better.
Today’s task is to walk 8,000 steps.
On day 2 of the challenge we asked you to walk 6,000 steps and absolutely LOVED hearing the feedback.
For some it was a walk in the park (excuse the pun) while for others it was an absolute nightmare and eye-opened at how few steps they usually take in a typical day.
Stay connected with SleekGeek on Facebook
The best part was probably how creative everyone got in getting their last few steps in. Cars were parked in the furthest corners of the parking lots, challengers helped load shed some electricity by taking the stairs instead of elevators, lucky dogs got extra walkies, and we swear the Seapoint Promenade in Cape Town seemed suspiciously extra busy for so late at night.
Anyways, here’s to Day 10’s task of walking 8,000 steps!
Moving more throughout the day is one of the easiest and most reliable ways of losing weight and dramatically improving your health.
Don’t believe us?
Sedentary behaviour and physical inactivity is one of the top factors (along with smoking, high alcohol consumption, and obesity) that strongly reduces life expectancy and health-related quality of life.
Read: Day 1: Eat slowly and mindfully
Just sitting for more than 6 hours a day already statistically increases your risk for heart disease by more than 50%. You are also decreasing your span of quality life by roughly 7 years, and of course your risk for various types of cancers, among other things, has sky -rocketed.
Even if you go to the gym for 1 hour a day X 7 days a week… If you sit on your bum behind a computer, in the car, at a table, on the couch, or in your bed for the remaining 23 hours of your day then you are STILL sedentary.
Unsurprisingly, something as simple as examining the number of steps that people take throughout the day using a pedometer or activity tracker like the Jawbone can provide a clear distinction between sedentary behaviour, active behaviour, and the associated risks or benefits of each.
Read: Day 2: Move 6,000 steps
But do not worry, you do not need a fancy device to complete today’s task. We have a list of options and everyone can use at least one of the strategies to track their steps.
According to Mark Sisson, author of the Primal Blueprint, some of the reasons you should be walking more include:
- It helps reduce body fat.
- It improves glycemic control (better blood glucose control and more stable insulin levels after eating sugary or carbohydrate-rich meals).
- It improves triglyceride levels and lowers blood pressure.
- It’s good for your brain, (cognition, memory, academic performance, creativity, and logic tests.
Read: Day 3: List 5 things that you are grateful for
- It reduces stress.
- It boosts immune function.
- It prevents falls in the elderly.
- It gives you a chance to think.
- It can be a kind of meditation.
- It keeps your buttocks engaged with the world, because excessive sitting causes glute inactivation and atrophy which brings about back pain, instability, and reduces strength.
- It’s well tolerated by people with arthritis and many other health conditions who might not otherwise be able to exercise. Remember a little bit of something is still better than nothing.
So how about we bump sitting less and moving more a little higher up our priority lists?
Read: Day 4: No caffeine after 1pm
How to track your steps?
There are options that range from basic to advanced but ANYONE can track their movement. There is no excuse. You can:
1. Use time as a measure if you have technology challenges. This will vary from person to person depending on pace and stride but we think 6,000 steps equates to an hour of walking in a day. So that can be getting up for 6 x 10 min walks, 3 x 20 min walks or one walk at the end of the day. Up to you.
2. If you have a smartphone many have a pedometer or step tracker built in. The iphone has a “Health” application for example.
Read: Day 5: Eat green veggies with dinner
3. You can download a free step tracker in the Apple and Android stores (here are a few popular ones - S-Health on the Samsung Play Store, Google Fit on Android, Pacer Pedometer App available on Itunes Store, Runtastic Pedometer, Jawbone UP, Runkeeper, The Health App already installed on the iPhone.
4. You can use a tracking device such as a Jawbone UP or Fitbit. There are many other brands and price bands ranging from a few hundred rands to R1,500.
5. Most fancy sport watches can also track steps.
Discount:
We organised a deal with our friends at www.quantifi.co.za who retail a wide variety of trackers and negotiated you a 10% discount of any item on their store. Find out how to claim your discount over here. (link http://www.sleekgeek.co.za/jawbone)
Bonus steps:
Today we are asking you to move 8,000 steps.
If you feel this is too easy, how about adding an extra 2,000 - 4,000 steps to your total? It is up to you - as long as it challenges you!
Read: Day 6: Do 50 Squats
How much should you walk?
Preliminary pedometer indices for public health have established that:
- Those who take 5,000 steps a day or less are considered sedentary and at a higher risk for obesity, disease, and early death.
- Those who take 10,000 steps a day or more are considered active and typically have less body fat and better overall health.
For some people, these numbers are ridiculously easy, and for others they might seem utterly impossible.
That is why we have set a realistic start that you are free to scale to your level.
Being mindful of your steps is supposed to get you up and moving, beyond what you normally do in your daily life. You should be actively looking for ways to add in more movement and walking throughout your day such as going for walks at lunch, taking the stairs, parking in the back of the parking lot, walking the dog instead of watching TV, and so on.
JOIN UP!
You can sign up for FREE here: Ultimate You
In case you missed these:
Day 7: Take photos of yourself in your underwear
Day 8: Get 8 Hours of Sleep Tonight
Day:9 Drink 8 Glasses of Water
DONE!
See you tomorrow for your next healthy habit.
