By Marnie Kunz, NASM-certified trainer, USATF- RRCA-running coach

If you’d like to do a steps challenge, it’s a great way to improve your health. Tracking your steps is a proven way to boost your mental and physical health, maintain a healthy weight, and increase your fitness level. As a trainer, I often give people daily step goals to help them increase their physical activity, burn calories, and improve their fitness. Participating in a step challenge can help you get motivated and stay accountable to meet your daily step goals. This guide will go over how to do a step challenge, including the benefits and logistics of step challenges and tips on how to stick to your step goals.

How Does a Step Challenge Work?

A steps challenge tracks the number of steps people take for a prescribed amount of time, often 30 days. You can walk, run, skip, or prance your way to a higher step count. Many step challenges focus on walking, but running is also an option to get in your daily steps.

Step challenges encourage people to be more active, combatting alarming statistics on sedentary lifestyles, weight, and health conditions, including:

Over 40 percent of American adults are obese, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Over 73 percent of Americans are overweight, according to the CDC. That’s almost 3 in 4 people who are carrying excess weight.
More than 60 percent of Americans do not get the recommended amount of daily activity, and 25 percent of adults are not active at all, according to the CDC.
According to the World Health Organization, sedentary lifestyles (physical inactivity) increase all causes of mortality, double the risk of cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and obesity, and increase the risks of colon cancer, high blood pressure, osteoporosis, lipid disorders, depression, and anxiety.

A steps challenge can help combat the effects of a sedentary lifestyle, help with healthy weight goals, and improve your fitness level. Long-term, boosting your daily activity by walking or running will strengthen your heart and reduce your risk of chronic diseases.

Health Benefits of a Steps Challenge

Steps challenges are an increasingly popular way to incentivize people to move and get active. Joining a step challenge allows you to gain access to a supportive group dynamic that keeps you motivated to move more. Increasing your step count offers many benefits, including:

Better heart and lung health.
Increased muscle and bone strength. Stronger bones reduce your risk of osteoporosis and improve your balance. Stronger muscles boost your metabolism and enhance athletic performance.
Improved fitness levels. Walking and running boost your cardiovascular fitness and endurance.
Lower risk of disease and death. Higher step counts are linked with lower rates of death from heart disease and cancer, according to the National Institutes of Health.
Healthy weight management and reduced body fat. Regular walking and running burns calories and helps lose weight and maintain a healthy weight.
Extra motivation and accountability. People who participate in step challenges have more accountability and motivation to stay active. Being a part of a challenge group offers mental support, encouragement, and incentives to keep moving. This is a great benefit, as many people need help with consistency when following a fitness program.

Walking and Weight Loss

If you have weight loss goals, joining a group that challenges you to increase your step count can help you make progress. If you’re wondering how to lose weight walking, the key is to be consistent and build your step count gradually. Joining a step challenge can help you stay on track with your steps to help you meet your weight loss goals.

According to experts, walking one mile (1.6 km) burns about 100 calories. The exact walking distance you need to cover to lose weight will vary depending on your weight and age. However, everyone needs to burn the same amount - 3,500 calories - to lose one pound of body weight.

For walking, to lose one pound in a week, you will need to walk about 5 miles (8 kilometers) per day. Your step count can include walking as exercise and in daily life, such as walking to do errands, taking stairs, and walking your dog. This distance in step count depends on your stride length and height, but generally, it should be about 10,000 steps per day.

Related Post: How to Lose Weight Walking

How to Track Your Steps

Tracking your step count is essential for participating in a steps challenge. Luckily, thanks to smartphones and fitness trackers, there are many ways to track your steps. Here are some popular ways to track your step count:

AppleHealth

AppleHealth is a platform built into iPhones and iOS devices to track your daily step count. If you have an iPhone or Apple watch, using the AppleHealth app is an easy way to track your daily steps.

GoogleFit

GoogleFit is another popular way to track steps. You can download the GoogleFit app to count your steps and set other health goals.

MyFitnessPal

MyFitnessPal is a free fitness tracking app that tracks your daily step count and can calculate your caloric intake if you have weight loss or maintenance goals.

Fitness Trackers

Fitness tracking devices like Garmin watches, Fitbits, and Apple watches offer convenient step tracking and other health stats to monitor your well-being. You can set step goals and more with fitness tracking devices. I use a Garmin to track my steps and enjoy having the convenience of my fitness stats on my watch so I don’t have to look at my phone all the time for updates.

Related Post: 15 Best Free Running Apps

How Many Steps Per Day Should I Do?

If you’re considering joining a step challenge or creating your own challenge, you may wonder how many steps per day are best to do. This depends on your fitness level and goals. First, make sure you have your doctor’s approval to do a walking-based workout program and some comfortable walking shoes to get started.

Many people set a goal of walking 10,000 steps per day to lose weight or enjoy the most health benefits. While 10,000 steps per day is beneficial for most people, you will want to start with a lower amount and gradually build your endurance if you’re doing just a few thousand steps per day. As your fitness improves, you can incrementally add more daily steps until you reach your goal.

Related Post: Recommended Steps Per Day By Age

Join the Runstreet Steps in the City Challenge!

If you’re looking for a free steps challenge, join our Steps in the City Challenge! Our 30-day challenge begins in January and will gradually increase your step count until we reach our goal of 10,000 steps per day. I’ll be your coach for the challenge. Find out more by signing up for our newsletter.

Tips to Stick to Your Step Goals

Sticking to your step goals may be a challenge at first, but it will get easier with practice. Here are some tips to help you get your daily steps in:

Break up your goals into milestones. If your challenge calls for walking 8,000 steps, for instance, aim to get in three 1-mile walks in addition to your regular daily activities. Spreading out your steps over a day can be easier to fit into your schedule and less daunting than doing them all at once.
Walk to do errands.
Take the stairs.
Walk your dog more.
Add an extra walk (or short run) to your day.
Celebrate your progress.
If you miss a day, don’t beat yourself up or try to double up your steps the next day. Just pick up with the next day’s step goal.
Join a challenge to keep you accountable and motivated. Peer support will also help you stay on track.
Walk with someone. Making your steps social can make the time pass by quickly and help you have fun while you’re moving.

FAQs

How do you make a step challenge fun?
You can make a step challenge more enjoyable by adding some friendly competition, with a leaderboard showing people’s step progress. You can also offer incentives and rewards for people who complete the challenge.
How long does a step challenge last?
A step challenge usually takes 30 days, but some are 60 days (2 months). After participating in a steps challenge, you may want to continue setting daily step goals on your own to keep your positive momentum going once the challenge ends.
Does walking in place count as steps?
Yes! Walking in place, on a treadmill, and up or down steps count as steps.
How can I lose more weight?
The best way to lose weight and keep it off is to combine cardio exercise (like walking or running) and strength training. Adding two weekly strength training workouts to your steps routine can help you improve your body composition and lose weight more quickly.

Do you track your step count? Tag @Runstreet on Instagram to get cheered on in your workouts. Need a training program to help you meet your walking or running goals? Head to the Runstreet Training Center for customized programs for all fitness levels. Happy stepping to you!

Marnie Kunz is a NASM-certified trainer and USATF- and RRCA-certified running coach based in Brooklyn, NY. Marnie likes helping people get and stay active to enjoy a better quality of life. When she’s not doing fitness things, Marnie enjoys exploring with her dog, a mischievous rescue Akita.

How to Do a Steps Challenge: Tips from a Trainer