When Lao-Tzu wrote in the the Tao Te Ching that "a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step," little did he know that it would lead to the world taking 10,000 paces a day ....
... well not directly of course. It was in fact via the 1964 Tokyo Olympics.
Walk almost any city centre street and you will run into someone who is anxiously looking at their wrist, to see if they are on target to reach the magic 10,000 steps.
However that 10,000 steps figure, is not actually some health giving moment, when your calorie intake is equalled by your calorie burn up .... your Yin equalling your Yang so to speak. No, in point of fact, that figure was simply dreamt up by a Japanese marketing company to sell a device which they started marketing to the health-conscious.
It was the first fitness wristwatch, or its proto brother, the pedometer, which they put out in the run-up to the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. Called the 'Manpo-Kei' (which in Japanese, "man" means 10,000, "po" means steps and "kei" means meter), which translates as 'a 10,000 steps meter'.
A certain Dr Hatano had been worried that the Japanese might become as fat as Americans and wanted to promote a slim and fit Japanese society ... so he calculated that if the Japanese increased their daily steps from 4,000 to around 10,000 per day, then they would burn off approximately 500 extra calories a day, and remain slim.
Dah Dah!! and thus a myth was born.
And myth is it is, because recent studies, such as one conducted by Sheffield Hallam University have found that 3 brisk 10 minute walks a day that got you panting and heart beating faster, actually does 30% more 'moderate to vigorous physical activity', than you taking 10,000 steps a day, even though you move for less time.
In point of fact, any exercise where you don't get out of breath and increase your heart rate, is not going to be as effective as that which does. So while walking 10,000 paces is better than doing nothing much at all, you gain far more by simply walking as fast as you can to the train station or shops etc, 3 times a day. By doing this, there's a considerable body of evidence to suggest that you can lower your risk of diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and even some cancers.
There's even an NHS App for it ...... isn't there always?
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| Chairman Mao's Long March Inspired By Lao-Tzu's Single Step ..... |
... well not directly of course. It was in fact via the 1964 Tokyo Olympics.
Walk almost any city centre street and you will run into someone who is anxiously looking at their wrist, to see if they are on target to reach the magic 10,000 steps.
However that 10,000 steps figure, is not actually some health giving moment, when your calorie intake is equalled by your calorie burn up .... your Yin equalling your Yang so to speak. No, in point of fact, that figure was simply dreamt up by a Japanese marketing company to sell a device which they started marketing to the health-conscious.
It was the first fitness wristwatch, or its proto brother, the pedometer, which they put out in the run-up to the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. Called the 'Manpo-Kei' (which in Japanese, "man" means 10,000, "po" means steps and "kei" means meter), which translates as 'a 10,000 steps meter'.
 |
| Manpo-Kei |
A certain Dr Hatano had been worried that the Japanese might become as fat as Americans and wanted to promote a slim and fit Japanese society ... so he calculated that if the Japanese increased their daily steps from 4,000 to around 10,000 per day, then they would burn off approximately 500 extra calories a day, and remain slim.
Dah Dah!! and thus a myth was born.
And myth is it is, because recent studies, such as one conducted by Sheffield Hallam University have found that 3 brisk 10 minute walks a day that got you panting and heart beating faster, actually does 30% more 'moderate to vigorous physical activity', than you taking 10,000 steps a day, even though you move for less time.
In point of fact, any exercise where you don't get out of breath and increase your heart rate, is not going to be as effective as that which does. So while walking 10,000 paces is better than doing nothing much at all, you gain far more by simply walking as fast as you can to the train station or shops etc, 3 times a day. By doing this, there's a considerable body of evidence to suggest that you can lower your risk of diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and even some cancers.
There's even an NHS App for it ...... isn't there always?
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