How to reach 10,000 steps a day when working from home

The huge rise in working from home may have been great for improving people’s work/life balance, but unless you’ve taken up a serious lunchtime running habit, it probably hasn’t been as good for your daily step count.

Whereas previously those daily steps racked up quickly through commuting, stomping round the office and heading out for a lunchtime mooch in the shops, now you could quite easily get through the day only reaching a couple of thousand steps, especially if those long lockdown walks have put you off ever completing another circuit of your local park.

How to increase your daily step count when working from home

Diaries your exercise

Schedule exercise into your day just like you would a meeting.  Aim to do a 30-minute workout or walk. Try and replace your regular commute time with a quick workout.

Use your watch to keep you on trackmo can then also use it to help set regular reminders to move, helping you stick to them. Aim to walk up and down the stairs or around the house at each interval .Habit tack

Habit tacking is a great technique when trying to make healthy changes.  Take an existing habit and tack a healthy one on to it.  For example, when you break for a cup of tea instead of standing by the count, try pacing your kitchen as you wait for the kettle to boil.

Be less efficient

Having everything to hand can make us lazy so create reasons to move.  Pop your water bottle on the opposite side of the room so you have to get up and walk to it every time you take a drink.  If you are carrying out household chores on WFH days, be less efficient and double up on trips upstairs.

Walk and talk

If you spend a lot of time having regular phone conversations or conference calls, use that time to get your steps in. Pace the house or get outside and walk while you talk. Create a standing desk

Add a desk riser to your workstation or swap your desk for the kitchen breakfast bar.  Standing at your workstation enables us to make movements and take steps without having to get up from a chair.

Be realistic with what you can achieve

If the thought of 10,000 steps a day while WFH seems unachievable, start small. Set a goal to reach 4,000 steps indoors for a couple of weeks and then increase it to 6,000 then once you’ve nailed those goals, you can work your way up to 10,000.

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