Wikipedia puts the "preferred walking speed" around 3 miles per hour, so that would be 2 hours of walking per day. So with 8 hours of sleep, 8 hours of work, 2 hours of walking, 1 hour of hygiene, 1 hour of commuting, and 2 hours for meals, you'd still be left with 2 hours of personal time to do all your extracurriculars like cleaning, parenting, spousing, hobbying, shopping, repairing things, etc.
You are neglecting the optimizer approach of working while walking; etc. Also, hygiene during the commute - just shave and brush your teeth on the bus. And sleeping while bathing is a real time saver.
> you'd still be left with 2 hours of personal time to do all your extracurriculars like cleaning, parenting, spousing, hobbying, shopping, repairing things, etc.
In what way is parenting an extracurricular activity?
3mph is a pretty slow stroll - 5 or 6mph is more normal for purposeful walking on the flat - so it’s more like 1:10 of walking, which could take the form of a 35 minute walk somewhere, and a 35 minute walk back.
As for cleaning, repairing things, parenting, shopping - those are all things which can readily incorporate walking and physical activity.
I get about 6000 daily steps from my commute[0] plus about 2000 from miscellaneous movement around the house and office. The extra 4000 are pretty easy to fill in with a lunchtime walk and some housework.
I don't think most people are going out and just walking for an hour and a half every day. A couple I know like to go for a walk with their morning coffees, for example. They've added walking into something they'd be doing anyway. Other people own a dog, or take their kid to the park each day, or do some other regular activity which integrates walking.
[0] 3000 each way, which is 2km and takes me about 20 minutes at a moderate-to-fast walking pace.
12k steps is about 2 hours. It helps a lot to have a walking pad (basically a mini-treadmill), and possibly standing desk.
I do 45 minutes of Anki per day on the walking pad, and then if walking around the city hasn't gotten the other 1.25 hours, I can fill the rest with watching TV on the walking pad.
You can get 3k-4k steps easily just by moving a bit more during your day. The other 8k can be done in an hour walk. You can jog as well if you're short on time but it's probably nice to spend an hour outside every day anyways?
[Loads up Fitbit]
Yesterday, I did 15,686 steps which it reports as 6.5 miles.
I always aim to get above 10K.
Due to an illness I currently have digestive problems, so I walk (stroll, rather) after eating as it provides relief.
I allow an hour after breakfast and also after the evening meal to do somewhere between 3K and 5K steps. This is at home. It’s not tedious as I listen to podcasts, audiobooks, talk radio, or music. As someone else mentioned, if you do it on a walking pad you could watch video. The rest of the steps stack up naturally as you go about your daily business.
Then jog that much in zone 2. I’ve done exactly that, replaced 10K steps a day with < 30 mins jogs if I can’t hit the target for any reason (I work from home so it happens quite often unless I’m mindful about moving).
“Ideal” outcome here is likely a lot more time investment than the 95%ile-effectiveness “good enough” outcome; and in any case, an effective exercise prescription is as personally specific - perhaps even more so - than many pharmaceutical ones, to account for physiology, morphology, age et cetera.
For example my knees are too old for shuttle runs or whatever the intended HIIT might otherwise be, but I can happily go do 500W hill efforts on the bike.
The walking is the only true daily exercise commitment here, and 10k steps is a classic goal. Close enough for me would be reinterpreting this as "walk about an hour a day".
Otherwise, I think once-a-week HIIT and once-a-week strength training sounds very reasonable and easy to maintain for just about anyone.
An hour is only 5k, maybe 6k steps for me (I'm sure it varies by individual). 12k is two hours of walking minimum, six or seven miles, which is a pretty big chunk - I did that much in college walking to class, and when I briefly lived in a city, but no way I'm getting that in on a daily basis out here in the suburbs.
I'm pretty sure steps count when you get up and go to the toilet...
When I did my masters, we were in a Chemistry wet lab 8 hours a day and during the first month I would come home completely exhausted. I realised later that this was because I wasn't used to being on my feet all day walking around even though it didn't feel like I was being active shuffling from machine to machine, fume hood to sink etc
So much depends if you work remote or not. Before covid, I would hit 10k steps with just a 30 minute walk after work because the office involved so many cumulative steps.
Since going remote, it is very difficult with a 60 minute walk. Walking 90 minutes after work is not going to happen so I just focus on my nutrition all the more now.
I work remote and live in a very car-centric suburb. I still somehow average about 10k steps a day with just daily chores and errands.
Maybe I should thank my parents for raising me the way they did because there's zero effort on my end other than the desire to take breaks outdoors, keep things clean indoors, and eat well. On that last point I try to cook most of my meals with fresh ingredients and enjoy shopping in person instead of delivery or pick up.
There's a difference between aerobic and anaerobic exercise. For many people, that manifests as walking being different from running. Which "zone" your heart rate is in (as compared to your maximum heart rate for your age group) tends to be a good indicator of which kind of exercise you're doing. It's important to do both kinds of exercise, with an 80/20 rule being pretty commonly followed.
The 80/20 rule is kind of bullshit unless you're a professional endurance athlete. People who are only exercising a few hours per week will probably benefit from spending more than 20% of that time in higher intensity zones.
Combine it with other commitments: walk the dog, do small-scale shopping (walk to the store and back), have a lunch break in a few minutes of walk from your office, etc.
This is, of course, most easily done in a proper walkable city. Elsewhere biking around could work, probably.
Even if you don't live in a particularly walkable area, about 5k of those steps would come naturally even to a young-ish sedentary person in the form of basic daily activities.
this is why i love walkable cities! You don’t need to “schedule” time every week to meet basic fitness goals. You just walk to the subway, bus stop, etc. Walk to lunch. Walk to the park, Walk to buy groceries, etc.
For those living in suburbs, I hear dogs can be a good excuse to walk more. :)
It's typical/not difficult in major metro's - I do about 8-10k steps per day if I commute to and from my office without any lunch walks etc. Do any lunch/dinner/evening activity and you'll go over 12k.
I don't know how to replicate this in a car centric environment.
