Here are my top takeaways from all those extra milesthe great, the good, and the admittedly tedious.
Why 20,000 steps?
I’ve always liked walking a lot.
(Not to mention, it’s a great time to listen to music and podcasts.)
Before this experiment, I’d already been walking 10,000 on most days.
But I started to wonder what would happen if I walked significantly more.
How long would it take?
How would it feel?
To find out, I reached out to mobility expertKelly Starrett, DPT, for some guidance.
Starrett is a coach, physical therapist, and author who champions walking as a restorative daily practice.
“That’s how important walking is to the system.”
“There’s some real magic that happens when you walk past 90 minutes,” Starrett explains.
With this in mind, I settled on my challenge of walking 20,000 steps a day for two weeks.
How long is this in miles?
But even with all this walking, I didn’t get much more than 10,000 steps a day.
It took me about four hours to walk all 20,000 steps each day.
More importantly, Ifeltfit and had more energy throughout the day.
Whenever I needed a boost of energy, I’d walk.
I now better understand this universal truth: Walking helps us think.
As someone who struggles with anxiety and racing thoughts, my long walks were soothing backgrounds for contemplation.
Theendorphins from walkingprobably didn’t hurt, either.
Then 6:30 p.m. rolled around, and I felt a bizarre desire to…walk.
But for the most part, I felt excited and privileged to spend so much time walking.
