2000 Days of 10,000 Steps or More

A few years ago, after I mentioned my morning workouts in conversation, a co-worker looked quizzically at me and said, “You work out?” Yes. I do. I may not be buff, slender, and sculpted, but I am fit. I work out every day. I have worked out daily for more than thirty years – and I hate it. 

When I began working out, I went to a gym on my way home from school. I was self-conscious and nervous, but I didn’t have any equipment at home and I didn’t know what I was doing. I needed the trainers to show me how to use the weights and machines. 

In addition to weights, I swam. I like swimming, partially because it doesn’t feel like I am sweating when I am all wet. It is clear that I am when I stop. I thought of swimming as my aerobic exercise. 

One day, I got to the gym and found that the pool was under construction. It would be under construction for a long time. Impulsively, I got on one of the stationary bikes and used that instead. I found that I liked the bike. I watched the news on the gym televisions or listened to music. It was clear to me that I was getting a better workout on the bike than I got in the water. Then it occurred to me: I could buy a stationary bike and work out at home! 

From that moment, I did at least a half hour on the bike every morning. I worked hard. It was my concession to physical fitness. It was like taking vitamins or eating vegetables. But watching my recorded TV shows made it tolerable and I didn’t have much time to watch TV.

A few years ago, I figured out that my iPhone was counting my steps. It didn’t count steps when I was on the bike, but it did keep track of my steps throughout my day. So I made a goal to get at least 10,000 steps daily. I realize that 10,000 is an arbitrary number, but I needed some kind of benchmark. 

After a year of doing this, I wanted to do better. I increased both the number of steps I took a day and the average steps per week and month. And I started using our home treadmill in addition to my stationary bike in the morning. 

I got a majority of my steps at school. I would have about 9000 steps by the end of sixth period. My last two periods of the day were usually my freshmen. They needed a lot of attention. When the day ended, I would usually have about 13,000 steps. Yes, flying around classrooms with students who needed attention was worth around 4000 steps! 

When I retired, my goal was to maintain my amount of movement. I had more time, so I increased the length and intensity of my treadmill walks. I walked longer and, as the walk continued, I increased the speed. 

During the pandemic, my children came home. My daughter brought her dog and I became a dog walker. In addition to my treadmill workout in the morning, I walked the dog at least two times a day. Even after my daughter and her dog went back east, I still take one or two additional outdoor walks each day in almost all weather. 

Since the end of January 2017, I have walked at least 10,000 steps a day. My monthly averages have gone up steadily and now are in between 16,000 and 18,000 steps a day depending on the season. It is sometimes too cold or wet for outdoor walks and I will take an easier treadmill walk in its place. My neighbors joke that I need a dog. No, thank you. 

I still don’t look great in a bathing suit. I am not a muscular hunk. I am a little flabby, but when the nurse took my EKG at my physical, she said, “You must be a runner!” I told her, no, I am a walker!