How Many Steps?

Wife, Patty, has a fitness tracker watch. Don’t ask me the brand name. But it measures blood pressure, heart rate, number of steps taken in a day, and a whole bunch of other things, even sleep patterns. Patty is high-tech. Me? I still straddle the 20th and 21st centuries.

What's curious is that her purchase occurred at about the same time I was reading that doing 40 push-ups indicated heart fitness; now she’s wearing a watch that measures steps-per-day as an indicator.

How indicative of heart health and fitness are these measurements? Either of them. Honestly, I don’t know. Certainly being able to do 40 push-ups in a row demonstrates a good degree of upper-body strength. Those who can do them should be pleased. Still, the credence given the 40 push-ups test as an indicator of actual heart health is, to me, at least a bit questionable.

Another recent measurement (supposedly scientific) claims some longevity predictability can be based on one's ability to rise from the floor, with legs crossed, to standing, without assistance. Certainly strong legs and a good degree of flexibility are required. But is it a predictor of life span? (Note: women, generally, may be at a somewhat anatomical disadvantage doing this test, though it is not mentioned in what I read.)

Back to the other measurement tool, fitness tracker watches. It has become a common belief that one’s goal should be taking 10,000 steps per day. There’s nothing wrong, of course, with doing that much walking. But where did this figure of 10,000 come from? Is there good science to back it up? Maybe. Maybe not. Could the fitness-watch manufacturer have had a hand in coming up with that exact number? Widespread belief in it would certainly sell a lot fitness watches. (Recently, the 10,000 number was questioned and is now revised downward to 7,500 steps.)

I hope any longevity measurement skepticism on my part doesn’t lead anyone to think I’m discounting the value of doing push-ups, or taking a lot of steps-per-day. I love push-ups (though at my age I do resistance band chest presses instead) And I walk. But how many steps per day should be taken for cardio health and fitness? Let’s agree that all movement is good. But maybe we should be a little suspicious of the exact numbers passed around as predictors of longevity.

In any event, if striving for exact numbers helps people achieve fitness, I’m all for it. Patty loves techie devices, and it fits her personality. I, on the other hand, tend to trust how a number of repetitions feel when deciding how much I do. When I was younger, I was a meticulous keeper of training journals, with precise records of sets, reps, pounds lifted, and distances traveled.

But not so much anymore.

In my beginners’ program for seniors, I recommend starting out with a five-minute walk, and adding five minutes on each subsequent outing until regular 30-minute walks are achieved. How many steps are taken during the walks? I don’t know. It’s individually determined, depending on each person’s pace and distance traveled. As one becomes more fit, however, pace and distance should gradually be increased.

But for those who insist on knowing their exact numbers, a steps tracker might be just the ticket.

Logan

Senior Exercise Central

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Logan Franklin
The Gray Iron Fitness Newsletter
www.senior-exercise-central.com