I have an activity monitor that I wear every day.  I enjoy seeing how many steps I rack up on days I run or workout and am often surprised at how many steps I hit if I don’t actually work out.  Most days, without doing anything extra than my normal workout, I hit 15,000 to 17,000 steps. Often times I’m close to 20,000 steps. I’m not bragging, that’s just what my numbers are.

I know that people are excited about how many steps they hit and on many activity monitors (such as the Garmin Vivofit that I have) shows  those steps translated into miles.  And you can also see how many calories you have burned.

But all of this tracking leads us to a little problem.  Many people are mistaking these normal activity steps or miles as exercise.  Sure, walking up the stairs instead of taking the elevator is good.  Parking at the far lot when you drive to work or taking an evening stroll with your family after dinner is fantastic.  Please know that I’m not discounting how important it is to increase our movement.  Listen, our bodies are designed to move and the reality is that the majority of us are a sedentary society.

But, I hope you understand the importance of cardiovascular activity (to improve heart and lung function and burn calories, etc.) and strength training (to improve muscular endurance, bone density and to fire up your body’s metabolism, etc.).   Both components are important to create a strong and healthy body.

Feel free to count your steps and track your miles.  But make those steps and miles count.  (See how I did that there?)

Now go run!

Keli 🙂