50,000 Steps - Your aspirational goal

50,000 steps. That is how many I recommend you should be doing every day. Don't be shocked or walk away before you listen to why. 

A few decades ago, a Japanese scientist came up with the number 10,000. Since then, this number has come to be the aspirational goal for most of us. Aspirations, as we know, are goals we desire, not achieve. 

So why 50,000?

First, it is my attempt to throw a random number out, just like the Japanese scientist did. If we are to pick an aspirational number, we might as well pick a higher one. 

The reason is simple. Human beings are meant to move. Inaki de la Parra is a Mexican who trains people to run and cycle. He shared his walking statistics, where he did on average 25,000 steps every day in the past seven. 

Now you can easily argue that he is an athlete and that this is his job. Human beings love these sorts of arguments. One where I can justify why I could or should not try to do these things.

But the truth is that he is not walking so much because he is an athlete. You and I are walking too little because of the lifestyle we have built for ourselves.

Human beings are meant to move. 

Sure, studies have shown that even thirty minutes of exercise three to four times a week make a significant difference to health. 

But walking, especially slow, unhurried movements, do not make things worse; they make things better. 

Unlike, say, strength training, where, beyond a point, you may end up injuring yourself or damaging your heart, walking only does good for you. 

So even at the cost of repitition, move. A lot. Throughout the day. As much as you can. Remove false barriers set by people trying to sell you something. 

The more you move, the healthier you will get. 

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