With the arrival of the Fitbit, jawbone, vivofit, polar loop and iPhone 6, it has become increasingly popular to track ones steps throughout the day as a means of monitoring health and fitness habits. While reaching a target number of steps per day is a motivating and interactive goal, it is important to know the difference between incidental and structured exercise, and the added benefits of the latter.
Incidental vs Structured Steps
Incidental activity refers to most of the moving around you do on a daily basis.
– Walking to/from work
– Taking the stairs rather than an escalator or elevator
– Moving around the office instead of emailing or calling colleagues
– Parking further away from shops when shopping
Incidental activity is a great way to boost your base physical activity levels and reach those step goals, however in order to generate additional health benefits, it is important to get at least one bout of structured exercise into your day.
Structured activity refers to exercise, or steps in this case, completed in the following way:
– for at least 20min at a time (30-60min is ideal)
– at a moderate intensity – walk with some purpose
Benefits of Structured Exercise
– Improved cardiovascular health
– Greater fat loss benefit
– Increased aerobic capacity
– Increased exercise tolerance
– Stress reduction
– Improved mood and motivation
For additional and longer lasting benefits, incorporate some intervals of higher intensity exercise such as:
– Incorporating hills
– Use trees, lightposts, or driveways as markers to plot out bursts of faster walking
– Add a weighted backpack
