Pick Up The Pace

If you follow the 10,000 step program and try every day to reach your goal, why are you still feeling out of shape? Many people have adopted this popular approach to fitness but you can only get so far walking at the same speed each and every day. It could be time for you to pick up your pace.

37-year-old Celina Huang* of Vancouver was tired of being out of shape. Her doctor suggested she buy an inexpensive pedometer and over time try to walk 10,000 steps every day - a goal she finally reached after a few months. The days ticked by and the kilometers continued to add up (10,000 steps is approximately 8 kilometers or 5 miles depending on one's stride). Celina did lose a couple of pounds but she complained that she still couldn't climb a flight of stairs at her subway station "without huffing and puffing my way to the top".

A closer look at Celina's walking pattern confirms that she is indeed reaching her daily goal of 10,000 steps 5 and sometimes even 6 days a week. "So why am I still out of breath whenever I exert myself?" she asks. "The pedometer shows I reach 10,000 steps pretty much every day. I really don't think I can walk much more than that."

Research suggests pedometers do help people get active. In one small study scientists evaluated nine overweight people with Type 2 diabetes who were sedentary. Given pedometers they increased their walking with the average walk time rising to 34.3 minutes daily. They kept it up even two months after the study although their total walk time dropped to 22.6 minutes a day.

"The 10,000-step or pedometer-based walking programs are great for people--but to increase the effectiveness one must add some intensity to their exercise".

Therein lies the answer to Celina's dilemma. It isn't just how far you walk that counts but how fast you walk an underwhelming conclusion perhaps but one that makes the difference between a stroll and a workout.

"Generally low-intensity activity such as walking alone is not likely going to give anybody marked health benefits compared to programs that occasionally elevate the intensity" said Dr. Vicki Harber lead author on the Health First study which was presented recently at the American College of Sports Medicine annual conference.

Dr. Harber and her colleagues at the University of Alberta in Edmonton were concerned that while people with health issues are encouraged to increase their volume of activity such as walking there didn't seem to be much focus on the effort that needed to go into the activity.

The test

The Canadian study put the popularized pedometer-friendly 10000-step exercise program to the test against a traditional fitness program which incorporated cardio-based activities on equipment such as treadmills and stationary bicycles. The traditional group was asked to complete exercise at a moderate intensity a level allowing for one or two sentences of conversation with ease. Intensity was not set for the walking group; they completed their daily exercise at a self-selected pace.

The results

"When we matched the two programs for energy expenditure we found that the traditional fitness program improved aerobic fitness and reduced systolic blood pressure more than the 10000-step lifestyle program" Dr. Harber said.

Of the 128 sedentary men and women who completed the six-month research program those who took part in a more active traditional fitness regimen increased their peak oxygen uptake an indicator of aerobic fitness by 10 per cent. Those who took part in the walking program experienced a four per cent increase. Systolic blood pressure also dropped by 10 per cent for the traditional fitness group compared to four per cent for the group who just walked.

"Our concern is that people might think what matters most is the total number of daily steps accumulated and not pay much attention to the pace or effort invested in taking those steps" Dr. Harber said. "The 10000-step or pedometer-based walking programs are great for people--they are motivating and provide an excellent starting point for beginning an activity program but to increase the effectiveness one must add some intensity to their exercise".

Dr. Harber emphasizes that she is not recommending that people start out at a faster pace nor does she say they should always keep the intensity at a high level.

"If one goes too hard or too long the entire activity routine may be dropped" she cautions. "Instead work with the idea of progressive overload to give your body a chance to adapt to the challenge. Across your day while you are achieving those 10,000 steps take 200 to 400 of them at a brisker pace."

When told of the study and its findings Celina Huang immediately knew what she had to do. Because she had already laid a solid foundation with her 10,000 steps a day she was easily able to increase her pace.

"Now I'm huffing and puffing when I walk around the neighbourhood" she says "but that's ok because I know it means that one day I won't be huffing and puffing up those stairs at the subway station!"

Want to try the 10,000 step program? Try this schedule courtesy of www.walkinginfo.org.

Week 1: The goal is to measure your steps in a typical week. Don't try to walk more than normal. Each morning reset the pedometer to "0." Set it to show steps (ignore distance and calorie counts). Keep it closed and attached to the front of your waist to the left or right of center. Wear it all day from the moment you wake up until going to bed except when immersed in water. At night remove it record the number of steps you've taken in the log and note if you did any formal exercise (wear your pedometer then too); for example "20 minute treadmill walk." Also note if anything caused more (museum tour) or fewer (all-day meeting) steps than usual in your day. Attach your pedometer to your shoe if you bicycle and the pedometer doesn't seem to count your pedaling.

Week 2: Your goal is to boost your average daily steps by 20%. Add the total steps taken in week one and divide by seven. Then multiply by 1.2. The result is your new target number for daily steps. So if you averaged 3000 steps a day in week one try for 3600 a day in week two. How you reach your goal is up to you. Most physical activity counts including formal workouts (a brisk walk using most exercise machines) and informal exercise (taking the stairs instead of the elevator or even pacing on the subway platform).

Week 3: If you haven't reached 10,000 steps or if your goal is substantial weight loss (for which many experts recommend 12,000 to 15,000 steps a day) then boost your steps again by 20%. Calculate your second week's daily average and multiply by 1.2. If aerobic fitness is a goal try boosting the speed of at least 2000 to 4000 of the steps you're already doing.

Additional Resources:

10000 Steps Campaign

Canada's Physical Activity Guide

Active Living Coalition for Older Adults

*Names of individual patients in this article have been changed to protect their identity.