You Already Walk 10,000 Steps A Day, Now What?!
Updated: Jul. 16, 2019
Congratulations! You’re walking 10,000 steps a day. What do you do now? A celebrity trainer has some next-level goals for you.
Life after you meet your goal walking 10,000 steps a day
It seems like every wearable is telling us to walk more to stay healthy. And we are. But what happens after 10,000 steps? What should you do next? We chatted with Harley Pasternak, a celebrity trainer and Fitbit spokesperson, recently in Montauk, NY, at the launch of the Fitbit Iconic smart watch, about the next state of your goal setting.
“When you get leaner in life, you get stronger in the gym,” says Pasternak, who has worked with Rihanna, Lady Gaga and other A-listers. So, the goals he created aren’t workout-based. “All these goals are specific to life. We spend so much time thinking about our workout, what to wear to our workout, what music to listen to during our workout. But a workout is really two per cent of our life. But the other 98 per cent of our life is where you can really make a difference.” So here are your next set of goals.
Can you commit to a three-month workout program, like this woman did?
Walk more
Your new goal: Every week, add on 20 steps to your daily goal.
You probably guessed his next bit of advice would be after 10,000 steps becomes achievable for you. He says to add 20 steps a day, every week, and don’t stop. “10,000 steps is actually a minimum, says Pasternak. “My clients are doing between 12,000 and 13,000 steps a day. There is a difference between surviving and thriving. You should be over 12,000 steps a day.”
This program helps you lose weight without having to go to a gym.
Go to sleep earlier
Your new goal: Every month, go to bed two minutes earlier at night.
Now, Pasternak doesn’t want to hear you whining about this. So he’s made it seem very achievable. “Go to bed two minutes earlier every night, every month,” he says. “Then by the end of the year, you are going to bed about a half hour earlier.” Ideally, he’d like you to go to bed a half hour earlier, but it is fine to build up to it. “I do it this way so no one will argue with me. If I say, ‘I want you to go to bed a half hour earlier every day,’ they’re going to say, ‘I can’t do that.’”
Ever wake up in the middle of the night and not get back to sleep? Here is why that happens.
Eat more veggies
Your new goal: Eat one more veggie at every meal.
There is an endless list of reasons as to why we should be eating more vegetables: Nutritious, helps keep weight in check, boosts the immune system, lowers risk for disease, is good for your skin and so on and so on. So Pasternak says: “Eat one more vegetable a day than you normally do. It’s simple. One more pepper. One more celery. One more cucumber. One more zucchini.” The reason? “We don’t eat enough vegetables,” he says. “Especially in Canada. Our vegetable seasons are so short. But you don’t have to eat it in its natural state. I always like to blend it and make it a soup or a gazpacho.”
We wanted to eat this gazpacho every day after trying it – so freaking good!
Unplug from your phone
Your new goal: Give yourself three hours free from technology a week – all at once.
This is a time for you to do you. You already surpass 10,000 steps a day, and you deserve some me time. Pasternak says: “Take one day a week and unplug from technology for at least three hours. Maybe it’s a Sunday. Maybe it’s a Saturday. […] While one hour a day of unplugging is fine, but we should take one day a week and make it a little bit more special and make it a restive day. Do whatever you want, as long as it’s not technology.”
Read one woman’s journal about what it is like to do a digital detox.
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