Fitness Isn’t Just Steps: Why Effort Matters More Than Your Step Count

Are your daily steps really telling you how fit you are? Amy Hudson and Dr. James Fisher unpack the limitations of step tracking and explain why effort, not volume, is the true driver of fitness. From sedentary habits to the power of strength training, they reveal what actually moves the needle when it comes to improving your health and longevity.

• In today’s episode, Amy Hudson and Dr. James Fisher look at whether there’s a meaning behind taking and tracking a certain number of steps and its role within the fitness context.
• While tracking our steps can make us feel good about ourselves and being active, it’s something that doesn’t tell us the full story about our fitness.
• Tracking steps is founded on a good evidence base: a study showed that taking between 7,000 to 10,000 steps per day is associated with a lower risk of mortality in older adults. 
• Dr. Fisher talks about a recent Exercise Coach Franchise Conference and the importance he gives to tracking how much time he spends in a seated position.
• Going for a jog and a walk when attending a conference helps Dr. Fisher get some exercise done during the day and get some daylight…
• Dr. Fisher believes that tracking the number of steps taken during the day is particularly important for those with a sedentary job or inactive lifestyle.
• Knowing how little steps one takes during the day can prompt lifestyle changes. 
• The main problem with tracking steps is that we start to become quite volume-monitored, rather than effort-monitored.
• Dr. Fisher points out that, nowadays, people should aim for 12,000 steps instead of 10,000, and that “not all steps are equal.”
• Think of the difference – in level of effort – between a walk that’s more like a hike and one that’s on completely flat ground, where the heart rate stays low.
• The risk associated with tracking steps is that it doesn’t give you a good gauge of your fitness, nor of the exercise that you should be undertaking to try and maintain muscle mass and muscle fibers.
• Don’t focus on the number of steps… focus on effort level.
• 5,000 steps done as a jog are more effective than 10,000 steps done as a walk.
• Amy and Dr. Fisher discuss why strength training is the key way to stimulate our muscles, our metabolism, and myokines. 
• Dr. Fisher sees strength training as the biggest thing that’s going to shift the needle of your overall health and well-being.
• For Amy, if your goal is to change your body, to add strength, improve bone density, and your hormonal and metabolic health, you have to participate in strength training.
• Amy gives a definition of exercise: “a stimulus that causes your body to produce positive adaptations.” 
• Dr. Fisher concludes by sharing a couple of concerns and considerations related to tracking steps.

 

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