Creating Steps June 12, 2018

One of the points that I find myself coming back to when I talk to people about my walking is the need to create steps. You might ask yourself: What does he mean by that? Allow me to elaborate.

I spend all my working hours on my feet. Whether I'm at the café or at the bar, I'm always moving back and forth taking care of customers, replenishing stock and undertaking other activities. The only time when I'm not on my feet is when I'm on a break or traveling to and from work. It's in the commute where I find the best opportunities to create steps. I'll give you the example of my commute to work this past Monday afternoon.

I caught my first bus to the area where I needed to catch my second bus. I can take two buses to take me to the commuter rail that I catch to go to work. During the midday hours, the train runs once an hour. I give myself enough time to get to the train station.

To be honest, I've walked from my home to the train. It's a decent four mile walk, but since I had to make lunch for myself and needed to run a few errands before work, that wasn't a viable option. But the first bus got me to the connection point for the second bus rather quickly. I actually had 40 minutes available to me in order to catch the train. Here is where the creating steps comes in.

The old me (pre February 2017) would have just waited for the next bus, taken it to the train station and plopped down and waited however long it took for the train to arrive. I refuse to waste time waiting for public transportation to arrive. 40 minutes was more than enough time to walk to the train station. So I did just that. I turned on the GPS to track my walk, put on my tunes and off I went.

As you can see from the picture to the right, it took me a little less than 36 minutes to walk a total of 1.8 miles. And that's factoring a pitstop for a cup of coffee for the train ride.

That's what I mean about creating steps. There's really no excuse not to be able to do so. You just have to make the time and give the effort. Trust me, I hear every excuse under the sun as to why people don't get enough steps.

I hear some of the following excuses regularly:

• I'm behind a desk all day
• I have to take the train/bus to work
• I can't wear sneakers to work
• I can't get up early
• I can't walk around late in my neighborhood

I'm sure there are a few more that don't come to mind at the moment. I'll give you the example of someone who works in an office and still finds a way to get their steps in.

I met Ryan in one of the walking challenge on the FitBit App. Ryan runs a successful business which requires him to be constantly on the phone with his clients when he's not traveling. Instead of plopping down behind his desk to use the phone, Ryan walks around WHILE on the phone, thereby creating steps. He's also very active working out while at home and even working out when he finds that he can't sleep. Shit, last week during a weekday walking challenge Ryan put up 170K steps in a five day period. And I've been in challenges against him where he's surpassed 200K steps. That's how you do it.

Instead of making excuses why you can't create steps, find the way to create the steps.

Here are some examples:

• Take the stairs instead of the escalator/elevator
• Get off a stop or two earlier on the train/bus and walk the difference
• Have a walking lunch
• Get up early and walk in the morning before work
• Walk right after work instead of going straight home

It comes down to dedicating the time to yourself in the same way you would dedicate the time to your job, a craft or a hobby. There are 24 hours in a day, I'm sure you can find some time in there to get some steps in.

Look at me, I work 50+ hours a week with an added 15-20 hours in weekly commuting. I make time for myself to improve. I've seen the alternative and lived it. I don't want to be there again.

Ok folks, that's all for now. Please let me know how your walking and fitness journey is going. Would love to hear about what works and what doesn't. We all can learn from each other.

Until Then, Keep Stepping
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