Step tracker on the last page! @oliviamancuso__ This walking challenge is meant to be fun and accessible for everyone. Whether you walk outside, on a treadmill, or around a building, you can get in 10,000 steps a day in countless ways! Let's crunch some numbers: The average person can walk 10k steps in about 1 hour and 40 minutes. ± about 10 minutes, depending on your stride. This is at a pace of about 3 miles per hour. The faster you walk, the quicker you get your steps in! Another way to look at it: The average person walks 2,000 steps in a mile, which takes 15-20 minutes, depending on your stride. Now that seems pretty manageable! Dog walks Treadmill/walking pad Lunch break walk Pacing while on the phone Parking far from store entrance Divvy up the walks: Stairs instead of elevator After-dinner walk (great for digestion) Get off bus stop early Drink more water (more bathroom trips) 5-min quick walks every two hours Women: PLEASE be especially careful when walking outside and always be aware of your surroundings. Only put one headphone in, and keep your head up and alert! Engage your core. This doesn’t mean sucking in. To engage your core, imagine you’re bracing yourself for a sucker punch right to the stomach. Take a deep breath and tighten your abdominal muscles. You should be able to continue to breathe while you do this. If on a treadmill, walk on an incline. There are no hard or fast rules of what incline to use. The 12-3-30 method is great, but if you can’t do a 12 incline without holding on to the handlebars the whole time, start at a lower incline. Do what you can, improve as you go. If you go the incline route, ensure you are positioning your body slightly forward. You don’t want to arch your back like a scorpion, but you also don’t want to be hunched over. Engage your core, and make sure your head and shoulders don’t fall behind your feet. Practice your posture! If walking on a flat surface, keep your head up (avoid looking down at your phone - text neck is no joke), and roll your shoulders down and back. Try to keep your shoulders loose and relaxed, not tensed up toward your ears or slouched forward. No-weight arm exercises. Throw in some no-weight arm exercises! To make these effective, squeeze your muscles just like you’d squeeze your core. There are no rules for how often or how many sets you should do on your walk. Check out my TikTok page to see some of my favorite no- weight arm exercises! Tracking your steps: If you have an iPhone, the “Health” app will tell you how many steps you’ve taken. There are countless free step counter apps on your phone as well. However – if you put your phone on the treadmill to watch a show, it will not count your steps. You can guestimate based on the figures I’ve listed at the top of this document, or you can buy a simple step counter to put in your pocket and keep it there all day! I use the pedometer linked in my storefront because it’s cheap and no-frills. What to listen to: I only consume positive messages while on walks because the mind-body connection is such an important component of reaching health goals. That means no news, true crime, or any type of content that will stress you out. Choose a podcast or audiobook that teaches you something, uplifts you, or makes you laugh. The same rule applies if you’re watching something on the treadmill (my treadmill show of choice is Drag Race). Aire Ancient Bath. This playlist will make you feel like you're in a movie. Jazz Fruits. This playlist is perfect for exploring and walking around quaint little cities and towns. Arc 2022. This is for my techno heads! (You’re my people.) 90’s dance hits. The most nostalgic club throwbacks. 2000’s hip-hop throwbacks for all my fellow millennial hot girls. Here are some Spotify playlists for your walks. All of these have different vibes: Minimum 5k steps a day - ~Two 20- min walks Minimum 7k steps a day - Park far from store entrances! Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Day 4 Day 5 Day 6 Day 7 Day 8 Day 9 Day 10 Day 11 Day 12 Day 13 Day 14 Day 15 Day 16 Day 17 Day 18 Day 19 Day 20 Day 21 Day 22 Day 23 Day 24 Day 25 Day 26 Day 27 Day 28 Day 29 Day 30 Minimum 10k steps a day - Take the stairs! Minimum 10k steps a day - Do an extra lap with your pup Minimum 10k steps a day - Try for more if you can! Minimum 10k steps a day - You did it! Take photos on Day 1, 10, 15, 30 and see how much better you look and feel!! If you're comfortable, share your photos in a TikTok or Reel and tag me in it - @oliviamancuso__ This guide is completely free with no strings attached. If you'd like to support my work (I run my own business full-time), you can send a donation of $1-5 to my Venmo or Paypal so I can keep creating free content for you all. :)