Skip to main content

The Great STEPS Jamboree

 

Amongst the top TP talks doing the rounds of corporate alleys, along with the transfer/promotion rumors very prominently appears the STEPS discussion {imagine the rage if something appears along with corporate gossip!}. Almost everyone has a wrist tracker that’s quickly flashed to show their average steps counts. The race to 10k steps a day to be healthy…

First things first – this isn’t a post against those chasing STEPS and really showing remarkable discipline at it. More power to you! You are miles ahead of people with very less mobility & I am sure this is going to have a positive impact over your overall fitness and health…


My provocation is walking steps with a work con-call in progress, mind working rapidly on numbers is an Exercise or Exertion?

 

Are the 5000 steps taken during a morning 3-4K run/walk equal to the 5000 steps taking during coffee breaks?

Are the 5000 steps taken while wearing a proper running shoe equal to the 5000 steps taken in your formal leather shoes??

 

Exercises manifests into positive physical and mental health, Exertion contributes negatively to both the agendas..

Steps taken during a morning run or gym work is Exercise and those taken during a stressful work day to just satiate a Fitbit target or some company dashboard is Exertion.




So the question to be answered is if you have aced the 10K steps goal – out of that how many came from exercise and how many from exertion?

 

Oh wait! there’s a third type as well – Tomfoolery ones… When you realize you are 1k steps short at 11:45 and start to walk rapidly with arms swinging wildly around the drawing room much to the amusement of your spouse, kids and dog!


 So to reach your 10K target – maximize the Exercise contribution and don’t bank too much on those added during a state of Exertion and Tomfoolery :)

 

All Steps Aren’t Equal.. 

Some are better “steps” towards fitness

Popular posts from this blog

Message in the Drop Bag at an Ultra Run

In work.. In personal life... In Ultra Running... All that matters is "Don't Fu***** Give up!"....... MESSAGE IN THE DROP BAG AT AN AID STATION OF A PUNISHING ULTRA In Oct’18, I finished Malnad Ultra in almost 14 hrs 30 mins. One of the toughest Ultra run in India, I finished 80 Kms over a super tough terrain of hills and trails…. An ultra-so tough that the DNF rates are at a staggering high of ~50%.... In such events, runners are allowed to submit drop bags, which are then made available by the organizers at pre-informed stations during the event {at 50kms & 67kms in case of Malnad Ultra}. Malnad Ultra was an event with sectional cut-offs, that is a runner to be considered as a finisher needs to reach 50km checkpoint & 80km finish mark in pre announced timing. As the DNF rate of   Malnad Ultra stood at a considerably high number, hence one can make out the tough challenge that the sectional cut-offs gave to runners… Well this post is a

The More I Read, The More I Realize How Unread I am..

9 Authors – 11 Books – 12 world’s best sportsperson & 11 key takeaways parallel to our work... My 2022 in books was focused on biographies… & many of them were Sports Bios. While reading them and recently while going through my notes I realized the clear parallels we can pick up from them in our work streams. I have not mentioned what work episodes/learnings they evoked for me; because every one will relate to a different incident, a different manager or colleague when reading about what these ultra-endurance athletes felt about in their own lives. Why is this post here? Needless to mention most of the athletes I read about our Elite UltraRunners :)

The 3-Legged Stool Concept for a Healthy Life

The 3-Legged Stool Concept for a Healthy Life My approach on balancing the life with Running.. The 3 legs of a stool approach… How the stress of Professional & Personal Life, gets balanced out by bringing the third healthy & something-only-for-me angle… Also my long held belief that it need not be just running or a physically draining sport to keep the stool balanced – but can also be an activity like singing, dancing or guitar… I am absolutely against the views that forces people to go on diets or stay away from the food they love – as it’s not sustainable over a long period of time…. An apple a day keeps the Doctor away – A Samosa-Pav sometimes also helps keep your happiness at peak :) ** Addressing an audience from Nivea India at Mumbai on the occasion of Health Day