Fitness experts have debunked the ‘10,000 steps a day myth’ by suggesting that 10 minutes of strength training is the best way to lose fat.
Andrea Marcellus, 51, of Los Angeles, is a health coach who specializes in “fitness for busy people.” She has over 100,000 followers on her TikTok where she shares weight loss tips.
recently videoshe claimed that it would be better to do 10 minutes of resistance work [walking] 10,000 steps in 10 hours.
“Are you stressed about hitting 10,000 steps every day?” she asked, insisting it wasn’t a fitness goal to worry about hitting.
“Here’s the story about 10,000 steps. It’s not a good use of your time and it’s completely hoaxed.”
Marcellus explained how the concept originated in Japan in 1965. At that time, a company called Yamasa released a pedometer called “Mampoki”. It means “10,000 steps”.
This arbitrary number is by no means based on science, but today’s fitness trackers are set at a default goal of 10,000 steps, or about 5 miles, even though that number may be overkill. Masu.
Harvard Medical School found that on average: Taking 4,400 steps per day is enough to significantly reduce a woman’s risk of death compared to walking only 2,700 steps each day.
“It takes a long time to reach 10,000 steps,” explained Marcellus. “Ten minutes of strength training, plus standing more throughout the day, is much more effective than just him walking 10,000 steps.
“To lose weight, especially belly fat that plagues people, you need to build lean muscle tissue,” she continued.
“Even just 10 minutes of strength training or strength training a day will have a bigger impact on your overall health and fat loss than just walking alone.”
Marcellus clarified that people should walk as much as possible, but that it shouldn’t be the main focus when it comes to fitness.
“In my world, I talk to my clients about revitalizing their lives. It’s just a general standing position, just trying to stand up more. Standing desks can save your life.” she said.
“Yes, I want you to walk around, but don’t confuse that with exercise that really works for people trying to lose fat.
“The bottom line is, walk as much as you can, stand as much as possible, and make sure you do 20 minutes and 10 minutes of exercise during the day.” [training] Kind of,” she concluded.
Marcellus’ video has been viewed over 85,000 times and resonated with commenters struggling to hit 10,000 steps a day.
“I love this. 10,000 steps is too long for most people, myself included.” wrote one person.
“This seems a lot more manageable than 99% of the advice we have on this app,” someone else added.
Another shared, “I love being freed from the 10,000-step obsession, but it didn’t do much for me anyway.”