How much miles should i walk a day

We all walk each day for god knows how many miles without ever making a deliberate effort. Whether you are at home, office, on road or shopping mall you just have to walk; on most places you simply go. You have to walk a few blocks more in case you use public transportation.

But we do not care much about passive walking; we all have goals in form of weight loss or a healthy lifestyle.

So sometimes it become necessary to walk actively and count for how many miles we walk for the day. After all passive walks don’t count much in respect to our dedicated walking efforts.

A person needs to walk 12,000 steps or about six miles per day to maintain a healthy lifestyle. While the average human capacity is 18 miles; an average person walks for just 0.8 mile per day. That doesn’t means you should start walking for 18 miles; but rather should at-least four or five.

Now since an average person accounts for about 1 mile of passive walking each day; he or she only required to archive that other 5 miles for that day to stay fit and healthy.

You can hit on public transport and bring that down; Then at last will pull up some active walk in evening.

Whatever tricks you use; but still you have to finish those 10,000 steps for the 5 miles. And believe me its not that easy specially if you are a beginner and don’t walk much recently.

So How Far Can A Beginner Survive Without Setbacks?

Anyone who had ever walked for long knows what happens next when your body is not prepared for it. Blisters, cramps and fatigue are common when you try to exceeds your limits.

Even if you are a healthy person you can go as far as 9 mile in one go; but not more without starting to face these common troubles.

So if you are an average person within his or her 30’s and medically fit; he or she can go as long as 6 miles without any setbacks. But if you are old, have issues with leg or simply not in a habit of walking; you can hardly carry on for a mile or two in your first two to three weeks.

Don’t worry and feel overwhelmed by these numbers! You can always build your mileage; as your progress in your habit of pro-active walking. There is a snowball effect in action once you start to walk.

Each next day you will be willing to go farther and with less difficulties or pain. Variety is the key for the success, so create a routine that allows both flexibility and scope for growth reaching to the limits.

Do not get yourself involved in deadlock with set number of miles or steps; as you will soon hit the plateau and stop growing thereafter.

How Many Miles Should I walk For The Weight Loss?

The crux of any weight loss program is to burn more calorie than you take. Be it in form of dieting, workouts, running or using simpler way like pro-active walking.

An average person consume up to 3000 calories each day world wide. In developed countries like America it is even higher as much as 4000 calories per day.

Now since for each 2000 steps you walk there is only 450 to 600 calories you burn; depending upon climate and slope of the ground. You may burn up to 600 calories uphill but that came with its own challenges.

So to burn more than you get you need to burn as much as 3500 to 4000 calories per day just by walking.

Mathematically this accounts for about 14,000 steps or 7 miles each day provided you make zero changes to your life style or eating habits. That’s a lot, even when you include all that passive walking you do. Believe me it just seems too much and can be achieved easily. You cannot achieve that in one day; but surely within weeks of continues effort.

So the right way forward is to first make changes to your lifestyle; limiting the calories you take.

Just by switching from 3500 to 2000 calories per day you save 6000 extra steps. So now you only need to made just 4 miles for the day; a fairly achievable target for most of us.

Is Walking 3 Miles A day Enough?

It is similar to those questions where we ask whether a one time meal enough to survive? Yes, you can survive with just one meal for the day; similarly waking 3 miles a day is enough to maintain your health.

You won’t loose any weight or increase fitness; but on the same time maintain what you already have.

While 3 miles a day isn’t much when you have fitness goals in mind; its certainly a great start to begin with. It will be start for a continuous process to change your lifestyle and become a fitter self.

As long as you succeed to do 1% better than yesterday; its is good to have 3 miles for the day to begin with. Remember Variety is key to fast results when it came to many aspects of our life including fitness.

So do not just restrict yourself with waking and start experimenting with cross-training, Zumba or outdoor sport. Walking is a smart way to go especially when your body is not yet prepared for high intensity exercises.

But remember there is a popular saying ” No pain no gain”; similarly the more pain the more you gain.

So if, even 3 miles seems to you intimidating start by adding waking to your daily routine. You do not need to do it actively but rather just use stairs some times; use your legs some time rather than using your car.

How Can You Add More Miles To Your Daily Routine?

On some days its easy but on other its not and need a little motivation or push to do. If you are planning for pretty solid results there need to be some binding force in form of self motivation or external source of inspiration. Even something that is popularly associated with company and workout can do wonders.

So once you are determined and have really set your goals; here are the few thing that you can include in your walking routine to bring wonders. These all 4 steps are simple and yet bring a positive change.

• Find Company: Waking alone sometimes is really daunting task specially when you don’t even have those smart watch to really count your steps in real time. Joining someone else or your pet while walk can be a great social activity; that you will enjoy and helps you walk longer. I personally like to walk with a friend or family member; but you can definitely do more with your dog.
• Go in person: We like to send email or just whats-app someone to communicate something or forward documents. That might save your time but also restricts you from walking. In old times people used to hire runners for such job in office or just go in person. So rather than sending an email reach out to your colleague in person. That alone adds to a minimum 0f 100 to 600 steps.
• Use comfortable sneakers: Using a comfortable pairs of sneakers helps prevent blisters. When you are not habitual to long distance walk do not trust anything less than best. Always use one of the finest walking shoes like this ( For Women ) and This ( For Men ) on amazon for extra comfort and support on the ground.
• Use Technology: If you feel your daily walk starts to get boring an dull with each passing day; its time to bring in some electronic gadgets to help you there. Plug in music so that you not just enjoy your walk but also get motivated to walk for longer. Similarly using smart watch synced with your iPhone or Samsung’s Note; will help keep count of your progress.

Some Final Thoughts

An average person should walk at least 4 miles a day just to maintain his or her fitness level. To improve stamina, endurance and fitness he or she should must walk for 6 miles in a day.

That all accounts for both active and passive walk we all do within a day. Since an average person pasively walks for 1 mile in a day; one needs to just fill the other 3 to 5 miles walking actively.

Your body is made for walking so there is little within yourself except will to put effort to stop you from being fit.

Unless you don’t want very quick results, walking is the best form of exercise you could ever have. Its aerobic, social, fun experience, good for posture and helps balance stress hormones.

General Disclaimer:This article is for general information only and does not intended to replace an informed medical opinion. You should not use this information to diagnose or treat a health problem. Always consult your doctor before changing your diet, sleep habits, dietary supplements, or a new exercise routine.

How many miles should walk a day for weight loss?

Is walking a total of 3 miles a day good?

Is walking 3 miles a day enough to lose weight?

Is 5 miles a lot to walk in a day?