In a world where most people sit down to work, travel and relax, daily step goals can be a simple and effective way to increase your activity levels. But you might not reap all the rewards of walking 10,000 steps a day if you don’t consider another key factor: cadence AKA how many steps you take per minute.
If you want to enjoy maximum benefits, walking at a pace of 100-plus steps per minute and maintaining a higher daily step count is the way to go, according to walking expert Dr Elroy Aguiar. His team’s research, which was published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, found this particular cadence was a good indicator of “moderate-intensity” exercise.
This is key as “all of the research in this area suggests that most of the benefits [from walking] accumulate at a moderate or higher intensity,” Dr Aguiar explains.