Not hitting your step goal? Pick up the pace

If you’re watching your daily step count , you may be overlooking another important part of the equation: your pace.

Taking fewer steps at a faster pace may be associated with a similar reduction in the risk of early death as getting in more steps at a slower pace, according to a study published Tuesday in the British Journal of Sports Medicine .

The often-cited goal of 10,000 steps a day didn’t come from a specific scientific finding, said study coauthor Emmanuel Stamatakis, professor of physical activity, lifestyle and population health at Monash University in Melbourne. Rather, the target dates back to a 1960s Japanese pedometer campaign , he noted.

For some people, 10,000 steps can seem daunting and dissuade them from trying to start exercising.

To “a 65-year-old managing a knee, a carer with fragmented time, or a shift worker, that number can feel less like a goal and more like a reason to give up,” Stamatakis said in an email.

“Someone walking 4,000 steps a day who walks them with more purpose is doing something worthwhile, and someone who cannot walk quickly can still gain a great deal by accumulating more steps at a slower pace.”

To explore how the number of steps and the pace of those steps might work together, researchers analyzed movement data from more than 100,000 middle-aged adults in the UK Biobank, a longitudinal study that included participants from England, Scotland and Wales. Participants wore an activity tracker for seven consecutive days between 2013 and 2015, allowing researchers to measure both their daily step counts and pace.

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The authors of the new study found that both walking more and walking faster were associated with a lower risk of death — suggesting that the benefits of walking may be less about hitting one magic number and more about finding a combination of steps and pace that works for you.

For the new study, scientists grouped daily step counts into four categories: fewer than 5,000 steps, 5,000 to 7,500 steps, 7,500 to 10,000 steps, and more than 10,000 steps. The team also calculated each participant’s “peak-30 cadence,” or their fastest sustained stepping rate during their most active 30 minutes of the day.

The study authors followed participants for about eight years, tracking deaths from any cause and from cardiovascular disease.

One of the clearest differences emerged among people taking fewer than 5,000 steps a day. Those who reached a peak cadence of at least 80 steps per minute had a substantially lower risk of death — comparable to that of people taking 5,000 to 7,500 steps a day at a lower cadence of about 60 steps per minute.

Still, the lowest risk of early death was associated with taking 7,500 to 10,000 steps a day, regardless of walking pace. But among people taking fewer than 7,500 steps a day, maintaining a brisker pace for at least 30 minutes a day was associated with a progressively lower risk of death from any cause. In other words, for sedentary adults, walking at a brisk pace for 30 minutes a day may be the sweet spot to lowering risk of early death, according to the study.

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Your daily walk matters in more ways than you think

“There is no single pace that suits everyone, because intensity is always relative to a person’s fitness, age, height and body weight, and a speed that feels very comfortable to a fit walker in their forties may be maximal intensity for a deconditioned 70-year-old,” Stamatakis said. As the research suggests, “there is more than one way to lower your risk, and the target should fit the lifestyle you actually have,” he added.

For those looking to figure out what pace works best for them, Stamatakis said paying attention to how your body feels can be more useful than chasing a specific number. At a brisk pace, your breathing should become noticeably heavier and you should feel warmer, but you should still be able to speak in short sentences.

For those who prefer a numerical guide, counting your steps for 15 seconds and multiplying by four can give you an estimate of your cadence, he added. About 100 steps per minute is commonly used as a rough benchmark for moderate-intensity walking in the average adult, although that number may be too high or too low depending on the individual.

“If time is the constraint, picking up the pace is the more time-efficient of the two levers, and that is probably the most useful practical finding in the paper,” Stamatakis said. “I would not force the choice, though. The two routes are largely interchangeable, and the right one is whichever you will still be doing in a year. If you have a bad knee, poor balance, or a fear of falling, being told to walk faster is unhelpful, and adding steps at a comfortable pace is the sensible alternative.”

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Alleviate the ache and strengthen your knees with the reverse lunge

He added that the most important factor is consistency, and “what counts is what you do on most days over months and years, not a motivated fortnight in January.” Anyone with cardiovascular risk factors or years of inactivity should build up their pace gradually, and check with their doctor first before increasing intensity, he noted.

Because the study was observational, the research cannot say concretely whether walking faster actually lowered people’s risk of death or whether people who were already healthier and fitter were simply more likely to walk faster, noted Daniel Lieberman, the Edwin M Lerner II Professor of Biological Sciences at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He was not involved with the new study.

“That said, the paper’s results make sense because exercise dose is really a combination of three factors: magnitude, intensity, and frequency. All three matter. It’s good to get in plenty of steps, but walking briskly is probably also helpful. And of course it’s good to do this regularly,” Lieberman said in an email.

For people who want to add more brisk walking to their routine, Lieberman recommended starting gradually rather than trying to make a dramatic change overnight. Finding ways to make activity enjoyable can also help people stick with it, he said, whether that means walking with a friend, taking the stairs or even just parking farther from a destination.

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The most comfortable walking shoes, according to podiatrists and shoe experts (Courtesy CNN Underscored)

Phil Chilibeck, professor at the University of Saskatchewan’s College of Kinesiology in Saskatoon, also recommended gradually increasing the amount of time spent walking at a faster pace.

Pressed for time? “You can increase your walking pace for a shorter walking distance and get the same benefits as walking a long distance at a slower pace,” said Chilibeck, who was not involved in the study.

He suggested adding one to three additional minutes of brisk walking each day, adjusting that progression based on how difficult it feels. If you become very short of breath, slow down the progression; if your breathing remains relatively comfortable, you can increase the amount more quickly, he said via email.

“I think for most readers the message remains the same as it has been for a long time: any physical activity is better than none!” Lieberman said. “And it’s good to mix it up: a little vigorous activity is beneficial!”

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如果你在关注每天的步数，你可能会忽略等式中另一个重要的部分：你的步速。

根据周二发表在《英国运动医学杂志》上的一项研究，以较快的速度少走几步，可能与以较慢的速度多走几步一样，都能降低过早死亡的风险。

该研究的合著者、墨尔本莫纳什大学体育活动、生活方式和人口健康教授伊曼纽尔·斯塔马塔基斯表示，人们常说的每天走一万步的目标并非源于具体的科学发现。他指出，这个目标实际上可以追溯到上世纪60年代日本的一项计步器推广活动。

对某些人来说，10000步似乎令人生畏，并会让他们打消开始锻炼的念头。

斯塔马塔基斯在一封电子邮件中说：“对于一位65岁、膝盖有伤的老人、一位时间零散的护理人员或一位轮班工作者来说，这个数字与其说是一个目标，不如说是一个放弃的理由。”

“每天走 4000 步的人，如果走得更有目的性，就是在做一件有意义的事情；即使走得慢，只要步数多，也能获得很大的益处。”

为了探究步数和步速如何相互影响，研究人员分析了英国生物银行（UK Biobank）中超过10万名中年人的运动数据。英国生物银行是一项纵向研究，参与者来自英格兰、苏格兰和威尔士。在2013年至2015年期间，参与者连续7天佩戴活动追踪器，研究人员得以测量他们每日的步数和步速。

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这项新研究的作者发现，步行量增加和步行速度加快都与死亡风险降低有关——这表明，步行的好处可能不在于达到某个神奇的数字，而在于找到适合自己的步数和速度组合。

在这项新研究中，科学家们将每日步数分为四类：少于5000步、5000至7500步、7500至10000步以及超过10000步。研究团队还计算了每位参与者的“峰值30分钟步频”，即他们在一天中最活跃的30分钟内持续的最快步频。

研究作者对参与者进行了大约八年的随访，追踪了各种原因导致的死亡和心血管疾病导致的死亡。

在每天步行少于 5000 步的人群中，差异最为明显。那些步频达到每分钟至少 80 步的人，死亡风险显著降低——与那些每天步行 5000 至 7500 步，但步频较低（约每分钟 60 步）的人的死亡风险相当。

尽管如此，无论步行速度如何，每天步行7500至10000步与过早死亡风险最低相关。但对于每天步行少于7500步的人群，每天保持至少30分钟的快步走与全因死亡风险逐渐降低相关。换句话说，根据这项研究，对于久坐不动的成年人来说，每天快步走30分钟可能是降低过早死亡风险的最佳方式。

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你每天的散步对很多方面都至关重要，远超你的想象。

“没有一种速度适合所有人，因为强度始终与个人的体能、年龄、身高和体重相关。对于一位四十多岁、身体健康的步行者来说感觉非常舒适的速度，对于一位体能下降的七十岁老人来说，可能就是最大强度了。”斯塔马塔基斯说道。正如研究表明的那样，“降低风险的方法不止一种，目标应该符合你实际的生活方式。”他补充道。

对于那些想要找到最适合自己的跑步速度的人来说，斯塔马塔基斯表示，关注身体的感受比追求特定的数字更有帮助。快跑时，你的呼吸会明显加快，身体也会感觉更热，但你仍然能够说简短的句子。

他补充说，如果更喜欢用数字来衡量，可以数15秒内的步数，然后乘以4，就能估算出自己的步频。通常，每分钟100步左右被用作成年人中等强度步行的粗略基准，但这个数字可能因人而异，过高或过低。

“如果时间有限，加快步伐比加快步伐更省时，这或许是本文中最实用的发现，”斯塔马塔基斯说。“但我不会强迫你做出选择。这两种方法在很大程度上可以互换，正确的方法就是你一年后仍然会选择的方法。如果你膝盖不好、平衡感差或害怕摔倒，被告知要走得更快并不会有帮助，以舒适的速度增加步数才是明智的选择。”

拍摄计划 2/ImaZinS RF/Getty Images

反向弓步可以缓解膝盖疼痛并增强膝盖力量。

他补充说，最重要的因素是坚持，“真正重要的是你日复一日、年复一年坚持锻炼的程度，而不是一月份那两周的刻苦训练。” 他指出，任何有心血管风险因素或多年缺乏运动的人都应该循序渐进地增加运动强度，并在增加运动量之前先咨询医生。

哈佛大学生物科学系埃德温·M·勒纳二世讲席教授丹尼尔·利伯曼指出，由于这项研究属于观察性研究，因此无法确切说明步行速度加快是否真的降低了人们的死亡风险，还是仅仅因为身体更健康、体能更好，所以步行速度才更快。利伯曼教授并未参与这项新研究。

“也就是说，这篇论文的研究结果合情合理，因为运动量实际上是三个因素的综合体现：运动量、运动强度和运动频率。这三者都很重要。多走几步固然好，但快走可能也有帮助。当然，规律地进行运动也很重要，”利伯曼在一封电子邮件中写道。

利伯曼建议，想要在日常生活中增加快走的人应该循序渐进，而不是试图一夜之间做出巨大改变。他还说，找到让运动变得有趣的方法也有助于人们坚持下去，比如和朋友一起走、走楼梯，甚至只是把车停得离目的地远一点。

艾伦·麦克阿尔平/CNN Underscored

根据足科医生和鞋类专家的说法，最舒适的步行鞋是以下这些（图片由 CNN Underscored 提供）。

萨斯喀彻温大学运动机能学院教授菲尔·奇利贝克也建议逐渐增加以更快速度行走的时间。

时间紧迫？“你可以加快步行速度，缩短步行距离，就能获得与慢速步行长距离相同的益处，”奇利贝克说道，他并未参与这项研究。

他建议每天增加一到三分钟的快走，并根据自身感受调整强度。他通过电子邮件表示，如果感到呼吸急促，就应该放慢速度；如果呼吸仍然比较顺畅，就可以更快地增加运动量。

“我认为对大多数读者来说，这个信息和以往一样：任何体育活动都比不活动好！”利伯曼说。“而且最好是变换运动方式：适度的剧烈运动是有益的！”

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