My tips for hitting your daily step goal

As you have probably figured out by now I am slightly obsessed with tracking my activity and my step count goal is one I look forward to smashing on a daily basis. To start with when I first got my first Fitbit I was really surprised at just how low my daily steps were. Going from 4000, which is the average for someone who works in a sedentary job, to 10,000 on a regular basis can seem hard but I’ve managed to do it. Here are my tips to getting your average daily step count up!

Try to nail and then surpass 250+ steps an hour. I really noticed a positive difference to my daily step count when Fitbit introduced this measure as one of their daily goals. You can choose to aim for up to 12 hours of getting 250+ steps per hour, so not wanting to sell myself short, I went for the whole 12 hours straight away. My biggest hack to achieve this is every hour when you notice a new hour has rolled around get up and get those 250 steps in. I used to wait until the end of the hour and then try and jam them in before the hour rolled over but by getting them in at the start of the hour anything else you do over and above that when you get up is a bonus and your daily amount starts to add up quickly.

Find any excuse to move. Quite often I will have just been upstairs and then find something that I meant to take up with me the last time I was up there. That’s no problem now because I will happily go up the stairs again to help edge my step goal up a bit. Having a small child I am pretty much always on the move and there’s always something that needs to be done or put away and because of that I find it way easier to meet my step goal on the weekends.

Make intentional activity or exercise a daily thing. Going for a walk for half an hour can easily add another 3000 steps to your daily count. I know on days that I run my step goal is going to be smashed and I don’t have to focus on it quite so much throughout the day. By making these things a habit and planning them into your day you’re going to reach your goal quicker and you will no doubt feel the positive effects of working regular exercise into your day.

If you have to just walk around in circles or back and forwards. I have a track that I will walk around my house if it’s raining outside and I really need to get my step count up. Some people might think it’s pointless to walk around inside but you know what, at least you’re doing it. Try not to restrict yourself because of the weather or other outside forces that are out of your control. It’s too easy to see obstacles and find excuses for not doing it then!

Drink heaps of water. When you start moving around more than usual you’re probably going to find yourself a little bit thirsty than normal anyway. If you drink more fluid you’re going to have to get up to go to the toilet more often and it’s more steps back and forward. If you’re really smashing this you can have to get up a few times a day to fill your water bottle as well!

Join a challenge with your friends. Fitbit have great challenges that you can invite your friends (who also have a Fitbit) to and compete against for a week, day or weekend. There is nothing more motivating than having that person who is so close to overtaking you in the challenge edge their steps up a bit to get you up and walking about for a bit. It’s really interesting to see how many steps your friends are doing on a regular basis and it lets you cheer each other’s achievements throughout the week. I know other apps and devices like My Fitness Pal and Apple Watch have features where you can compete against others so make the most of it and start one with your friends!

I recently hit 50 consecutive days of reaching my 10k a day step goal. I might be a sucker for punishment because now I am on a mission to turn those 50 days into a 100 day streak! Now that I know what I need to do each day it doesn’t worry me in the slightest and I’ve marked the date in my calendar so I will know when I’ve reached it. For now, I’ll keep on stepping on and smashing my activity goals!

Do you have a daily step count you try and reach? Have you had a great streak in hitting it like I have? Do you have any tips to help get your step goal up? Comment below and let me know I’d love to know how you do it!