Staying active is an important aspect of a well-rounded and healthy lifestyle. Living a sedentary life can put you at risk for many uncomfortable and even life-threatening health conditions. It doesn’t matter how you move, it just matters that you move!
Believe it or not, walking can be great exercise, plus it’ll be easier on the body than a vigorous routine. You can burn calories and contribute to your overall health and wellness without straining your body or committing too much time to working out.
A committed mind is a determined mind, so it may be helpful to set a goal number of steps for every day. That way, you have a motivator and a baseline for your daily physical activity. Walking 15,000 steps a day isn’t an outlandish goal, and, with a stable routine, that is a productive foundation for body goals like muscle tone or weight management. In this blog, we’ll find out how many calories burn in 15000 steps.
What Does Walking 15,000 Steps Achieve?
Simply put, a lot! While it may feel like a mundane activity, walking for exercise can activate impactful regulatory effects on the body. Over time, someone who commits to walking 15,000 steps a day may see improvements in many areas of their general health, including but not necessarily limited to this list.
Cardiovascular Health
Light exercise such as walking every day can significantly improve cardiovascular health. The heart is responsible for circulation throughout the body, and regular walking strengthens the heart muscle, allowing it to pump blood more efficiently. Walking every day will strengthen the heart, reduce blood pressure, and increase oxygen delivered to muscles.
Calorie Burn and Weight Management
The calories burned in 15,000 steps may not be noticeable after just one day, but consistency is the key to success! The exact number of calories you burn will be different from the next person’s, as it is dependent on various factors other than just distance. You lose weight by burning more calories than you consume, so, over time, 15,000 steps a day can contribute to an overall calorie deficit.
Increased Muscle Tone
One of the most relaxed ways to tone your muscles without straining tender joints is to walk! Heavy weight lifting and gym equipment may be fast-acting solutions but the workouts can leave you sore and sensitive. You can achieve the same toning effects with the calories burned by 15,000 steps. Without strain and pressure, walking engages the major muscle groups in the legs, glutes, and abdomen, while striding movements will also activate arm muscles. Over time, consistent movement will strengthen and define these muscles.
Improved Digestion and Metabolism
Taking a walk after a meal can aid the digestive process by stimulating the stomach and intestines, which makes the digestive process quicker and smoother. Turning this habit into a routine can also promote a faster metabolism because regular movement encourages the body to convert food into energy instead of fat.
Mental Health Benefits
Going on walks can be a positive tool for your mental health. Walking is linked to a reduction in stress hormones like cortisol and can release endorphins which promote happy feelings. While taking a walk might not fully treat anxiety or cure depression, it may help! Exposure to fresh air and sunlight can also contribute to a better mood, so walking outside could enhance these benefits even further. On top of that, time spent outside can help regulate an unbalanced circadian rhythm, promoting better quality sleep and an improved mood.
How Long Will It Take To Walk 15,000 Steps?
One of the major reasons why many popular workout routines fail for a large majority of people is because they take too much time out of each day to realistically commit to. It makes sense because the key to weight loss and calorie expenditure is consistent movement, but hours of gym time aren’t practical for the average person.
Another positive benefit of walking for exercise is that it shouldn’t dip into your day too much. In fact, you could even incorporate exercise into your daily tasks and errands by walking. 15,000 steps in calories is about 2 hours and 20 minutes of walking. However, you can break that up into many sessions and include the steps you use to simply carry yourself around.
Walking 15,000 steps every day doesn’t need to be a 2.5-hour commitment. You can get your daily steps in by making small decisions like walking to the convenience store instead of driving or taking a breezy walk after a meal. To monitor how many steps you take during your normal daily routine, use a fitness tracker. Most commonly, you can find apps or watches that will accurately measure your activity level while the device is on.
Caloric Expenditure from Walking 15,000 Steps
The exact amount of calories you can burn from walking 15,000 steps per day will vary depending on a few controllable and uncontrollable factors, including:
- Walking speed: There is a definitive difference between a leisurely stroll and a power walk. A faster pace will lead to a higher caloric burn.
- Age and metabolism: Someone with a slower metabolism will burn calories less quickly. As we age, our metabolism naturally decreases, so older adults may find calories a bit more stubborn to burn than they were as kids and young adults.
- Environmental factors: Even the weather can impact the calories you burn during a walk! In more extreme climates like hot or cold weather, the body will work harder to regulate temperature and, in turn, burn more calories. Other factors like terrain and elevation may play a role in the calories burned walking 15000 steps.
Strategies for Reaching 15,000 Steps Daily
If you don’t reach your goal every single day, don’t be too quick to sell yourself short. On average, the typical person in America walks about 4,000 steps a day, or two miles. Reaching 10,000 or even 5,000 steps will put you above the average.
To put your best foot forward every day and reach that 15,000-step goal, try these tips for healthy walking habits:
- Invest in good shoes: High-quality footwear will make a difference in your posture, pressure points, and comfort level while walking. It is normal to feel sore after a long day of walking, but it shouldn’t be unbearable. Neglecting your feet when you walk will only leave you with more serious consequences for your body later. Investing in running shoes or insoles that are designed for active people can prevent injuries like blisters or tendonitis.
- Stay hydrated: Walking 15,000 steps isn’t generally a one-sitting workout. You’ll walk throughout the whole day, spending energy on every step. Keep yourself hydrated by constantly replenishing with water. Because 15,000 steps are above the national average, you’ll also need more than the average amount of water to sustain hydration loss during exercise.
- Always remember to stretch: It may be easy to forget to stretch, but your body won’t be as easy to forgive! Stretching warms up the muscles and joints for physical activity, and skipping this step can cause stiffness and a higher risk of injury. When you don’t stretch, you’re less flexible and more prone to strains or tears in the muscles and tendons.
Your 15,000 steps are a unique journey every day. In these 15,000 steps, you can work, run errands, or enjoy the outdoors while transforming your body and uplifting your mind.
