11 Simple Ways to Get Your Steps in at Home

Whether you’re working from home, taking care of kids, or simply looking for new ways to stay fit, there are plenty of easy and fun ways to get your steps from the comfort of your home. Getting in your daily steps in doesn’t have to be a struggle. Learn how to maintain an active lifestyle with these simple tips.

The Benefits of Consistent Movement

The Department of Health and Human Services recommends individuals exercise, with moderate to high intensity, at least 150-300 minutes (2.5 to 5 hours) per week to get the following benefits:

No, the 10,000 step number was created by marketers.

You can get benefits from any increase in movement. This is good news, as sometimes the 10,000 steps can seem so daunting that you may not even try.

Harvard researchers found that for older women, taking 4,400 steps a day was associated with a 41% lower risk of dying during the study period compared to women who took 2,500 steps a day.

Interestingly, the mortality benefits seem to plateau around 7,500 steps. However, that doesn’t mean there aren’t other benefits from walking more and increasing our activity levels!

At the end of the day, what’s important is to try to reduce the amount of time you spend sitting and increase the time moving. After all, any physical activity is better than none!

Seven Ideas for Inside Activities:

1. Stair walking

If you have any set of stairs around your house, you can run or walk up and down for a certain amount of time or repetitions.

Another option is to stair-step on a sturdy bench or step stool in a right foot up, left foot up, right foot down, left foot down motion.

2. Walking in place

This is an excellent option if you live in a small space or above other people. Grab a set of weights and do quick bicep curls while you walk in place.

3. Kangaroo jumps

This move is great for getting your heart rate up.

Stand up straight with your arms bent at the elbow at a 90-degree angle. Jump up with both feet at the same time while bending your knees. Try to get your knees up to your hands. Repeat.

4. Jumping jacks

Stand with both feet together and hands down at your side. Jump both feet out to a wide stance while bringing your hands above your head. Jump your feet back together back to the starting position.

5. Making extra trips to your house

As much as we love to be efficient, try taking additional trips while unloading groceries or carrying laundry up the stairs. After all, extra trips mean more steps.  

6. Power cleaning

If you are going to clean, you might as well get your heart rate up!

Practice speed vacuuming, scrubbing, and cleaning. You’ll get a workout in, plus your house will look great!

7. Dance party

Pause what you are doing and crank up the music. Take a five or ten-minute dance break to get your heart pumping.

Four Ways to Move Outdoors:

1. Walk around the neighborhood

If you live in a safe area, head out your door and take a quick walk around your neighborhood.

2. Find a great hike

Hiking is a perfect mix of cardiovascular exercise and stress relief. When you can get away and enjoy nature, it can reduce your stress levels and help you cope with everything that is going on.

3. Park further away

By adding a few minutes to the beginning and end of an errand, you can add quite a few steps, and these steps add up for your health.

4. Geocache, Pokémon Go, scavenger hunt:

From apps like Pokemon Go, to traditional scavenger hunts, real-world treasure hunting games are a fun way to be outside and get moving!

Set Realistic Goals to Avoid Getting Discouraged

When you set a goal that is too high, you may get discouraged and lose motivation to try.

But the fact is, any increase in movement is beneficial.

If you’re going from 1,000 steps to 2,000 steps, that is an improvement, and your body will thank you. Try not to let the 10,000 number discourage you.

Many tend to do better by starting with a smaller goal, hitting that goal, and then increasing it over time as they build confidence.

Also, keep in mind that there will be times when you may need to adjust your goal to make it more realistic for any new or temporary change in your life.

And making it more realistic, it’ll give you more motivation to achieve the goal rather than feeling discouraged and forgetting about it altogether.

The Bottom Line

There are many ways to boost our activity throughout the day without needing to go to the gym.

Whether it’s throwing a dance party in your living room or cleaning the house, look for non-traditional ways to add a little more movement to your day.

And don’t forget to track your activity in your Lose-It app! You can record everything from hiking to dancing to house cleaning.