Member Stories

My Walking is a Mix of Urban and Parkland

“I'm very glad to have found this site as I've come back to using 10,000 Steps after letting it slide 4 years ago when Winter had me beat. Now I'm back and determined not to let it happen again after stocking up with clothes for the coldest Winter and biggest downpours. My motivation is to shed the 38 pounds I've gained and return to a healthy BMI. I've been keeping to the steps for seven weeks now but only found this site a day ago. So far my 'personal best' is 23,000 steps in a single day. My average steps comes to around 14,000. ”

Walking Again

“I am so glad that I found the 10,000 Steps website. I started using it late last year. I was in a head on auto accident last November. I was able to get back into walking towards 10,000 steps in August 2013. I have a pedometer that I have been using it. It has motivated me to walk knowing that it is there. I also know that I log into this site each day and I do not want to let myself down. I am in North Carolina in the USA. There are no websites in the USA like this one. This keeps me motivated to stay in shape. I am trying to help others by showing them your website. I am very thankful that this site exists. Chuck Pridgen, Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina, USA”

My New Rule

“After a long break from the 10,000 Steps program I've restarted and once again find it incredibly motivating. Last time I lost my momentum due to serious illness and never quite got the motivation back. After just 30 days I can already feel the benefits in my body and my mind, and I have so far achieved 10,000 steps or more every single day. It is as though I can't let myself down by doing less! I am sadly very overweight and very unfit but I figure if I just keep putting one foot in front of the other it will continue to change. I've lost 3 kg and find myself wanting to eat healthier food. I also have a new rule - if I stand up, I have to walk at least 200 extra steps, so every cup of coffee or snack, or even a visit to the bathroom comes with exercise.”

Website Motivation

“I am 56 years old and wanted to become more active but my knees hurt when I run and lifting weights. I tried riding a bike but couldn't really get into it. Hopefully walking and attempting to reach my 10,000 steps daily goal will help me. Looking forward to this site as a means of motivation. I live in the United States in Northern Ky near Cincinnati, Ohio. Doug”

Happy, Active and Healthy

“This is certainly a motivating site! I am a new member and have just completed my 1st challenge. It is my birthday today and when my husband asked me what I wanted to do I, of course, said 'go for a long walk' and what a beautiful day for walking here in sunny England. I have always loved walking but the weight has been gradually piling on. I work in a primary school and find walking a great way to wind down after a busy day. Walking just makes me feel happy, active and healthy, what else could you want from an exercise program.”

Nightly Walks on Work Days

“ The desire to have a more balanced fitness routine returned and I started to record my steps again. I find that with regular exercise I am healthier, happier and sleep better. Each work day I try to vary the length of my nightly walk, so I can achieve at least 10,000 steps. On weekends (and if any other opportunity arises) I try to squeeze in an early morning 1 to 2 hour cycle ride to help with the average. I have found in the past that it was difficult to reach 10,000 steps, each and every day, so I focus on reaching 70,000 steps per week. For extra motivation (and because I like stats) I maintain my own spreadsheet and graphs. These include (and supplement) the stats available on this wonderful website.”

My Morning Routine

“I am a 75 year old and used to be a jogging junkie, 8k every morning, 10k once a week, believed I would be jogging for the rest of my life  but finally age effects caught up and I was plagued with pulled tendons and muscles which would sideline me for sometimes 6 to 8 weeks waiting for it to repair, then the slow process of returning to the track was causing me considerable stress and depression, weight gain etc and knew I had to give up jogging as it was now doing more harm than good! I wasn't into walking and don't like push bikes, consider them dangerous on the road especially at the speed they need to be ridden to get any sort of return. I met a guy who was on this 10,000 Steps program and went walking with him for a week, now have a different view, I use the program to record my steps and time each morning. I start at 5am with a stretching routine, then some floor exercises and a short program of medium weights. I have an 8.6k course through pleasant parkland which includes 4 hills. I wear two 2.5kg strap weights on my wrists (gives a bit more arm and shoulder workout and also aids thrust to the stride) the whole program takes close to 2 hours. The motivation is to reduce the amount of steps and improve the time over the same course, this makes me focus on extending my stride & pace coming down from 12,200 on my initial walk, to now averaging 10,600 over the same distance (I will improve on that). Huge improvement in attitude, feeling as good as I was and no torn muscles, body feels good, flat belly, blood pressure 108/74, resting heart rate 55, not on any medication, weight is close to where I want it to be, am only half way through the second month of this activity (and loving it) and am convinced I can keep this up for a lot more years. I now feel a kinship to all I see out there walking. Maybe power walking has not got the aerobic value of jogging but it is just the shot for us old buggers, highly recommended. It may not make us live any longer but sure as heck it will improve the quality of the time we have left, as it is so important to be fit and able live an active, enjoyable life style in the retirement years, considering we work hard all our life to get here! George Forward”

Physical and Mental Fitness

“Keeping physically fit ensures I stay mentally healthy and can keep up with the wonderful, whimsical, and wild ways of my two little boys.”

Keep a Healthy Lifestyle

“A few years ago I had to have 4 by-passes done after suffering a heart attack. At 32 years of age at the time I was really shocked  that I let myself get to this point and was so out of shape. I've walked just about 5 days every week since. Walk and find just a little time to do so. You'll find out that it gives you a lot more time rather than take it from you. ”

Challenging Yourself

“I have always walked a fair amount. However, once you put a pedometer on it changes everything, I am really getting to see how far I have walked or not. Also by logging your steps everyday, you can challenge yourself to just do a few more steps than yesterday.”

Walking at Work

“I was working away from my usual office a few weeks ago and noticed a colleague doing a lot of walking around the complex and doing it quickly. She told me about this website, showed me her pedometer and her steps graph. She was taking part in a challenge aiming for 28,000 steps the coming weekend. I felt ashamed that I had been spending entire days at my computer at work, not going out at lunch times and parking my car practically outside my office door. Fast forward to today, I don't go anywhere without my pedometer on, walk around the block from my office instead of morning and afternoon breaks, park my car a distance from my office each day and start the morning with a 2,300 step walk, which I repeat at lunchtime. My mindset has really changed and I now think of things in terms of "How many steps can I do if ...!" I'm really enjoying becoming more active, I feel better, sleep well and have also given up coffee for green tea!”

Walking is My Time

“I just brought my pedometer today and I love it! I have 4 young children, walking is a timeout and enjoyment for me, I got my pedometer today put it on this afternoon and went for a long walk it's not reading at 7,686 so I'm happy with that. I'm hoping to meet the 10,000 challenge tomorrow if I get a chance to take a walk! ”

Focusing on the Feeling

“ I've just found this site, and I am excited to start bright and early tomorrow morning. I have my pedometer ready and waiting. I have a daunting amount of weight to lose, but trying to focus more on making myself feel better and be more active and ultimately happy. I am hoping weight loss will come with that.  I start my 10,000 Steps journey tomorrow morning.”

Cherishing Mobility

“I have been a member of 10,000 Steps since 2008, on and off. In 2010 I snapped my right Achilles twice in the same year and then had to start a rehab program to learn to walk again. At 103.5kg I thought I have got to do something about this, so made a New Years resolution at the beginning of this year. I am now 96.3kg and walked my first millionth step day before yesterday. Its true what they say, "you don't know what you've got till its gone". I lost my mobility for a year and now that I have it back I cherish it each and every day.”

Walking Outside

“I joined this program in 2012 and enjoy it. It encouraged me to start walking again around the beach and parks, enjoy fresh air instead of going gym after 1 year. I got my confidence back and I start dancing too. Thanks to every one there who prepared this program. Homira”

Walking for Rehabilitation

“I joined in 2012 even as I had an knee operation, this has been good for me as I challenge myself every day to do more steps. The program is great for rehabilitation. ”

Motivation to get Walking!

“I have just heard about this and joined tonight! I can't wait to start. I will have to count my steps the old fashioned way tomorrow, but will be heading off to get my 10,000 steps pedometer on Monday. This is just the motivation I need to get walking! ”

One Day at a Time

“I so glad I stumbled on this site. There is nothing more motivating than being cheered on by people with similar goals. I have done every fad diet possible. I figured I have to find a way to lose weight in a healthy way. I was 103kg when I started and 99kg now. I intend to take it one day at a time.”

Doing 10,000 Steps for Diabetes

“I started a 10,000 Steps Challenge in 2010 as a way to keep me inspired and motivated to keep moving, lose weight and better manage my diabetes. In February 2011 I had to go for surgery to remove a tumour from the middle of my brain. It did slow me down a bit but I have continued to use 10,000 steps to keep me motivated to keep walking. I cannot recommend it enough!”

Getting Back to Being Healthy

“I'm Chris from Cairns in Australia. I've just retired from the Police Force where I was a Sergeant for 29 years. Prior to that I was an infantry soldier. Now however I am so overweight I can hardly walk anywhere so I have decided to use the pedometer and the 10,000 Steps program to start me on my way back to health again. I have two beautiful grandchildren and a beautiful wife. I owe it to them to be around for at least another 30 odd years. Looking forward to my walk already.”

Wrong Turns Mean More Steps

“I went walking yesterday with 2 friends. We had a planned walk in Dalby Forrest North Yorkshire England, but somehow managed to take two wrong turns, despite having a map. Never mind I ended doing more walking than intended and ended up with more than 26,000 steps on the pedometer by the end of the day. No after effects today, just feel fine having achieved a great step count. Just goes to show what you can do when you have to. Good luck to everyone out there, and always try to do a little bit more.”

The Perfect Walking Buddy

“My name is Em and I live in Broome, Australia. I am 24 and I study full time at uni, doing a very challenging and time-intensive degree. Slowly the weight has crept on and the exercise has decreased. I figure now is the time to do something about it and I just went and bought my first pedometer! Having some numbers is a great motivator! I am also thinking about getting a dog - the perfect walking buddy! I wore the pedometer for the first time today and managed over 13,000 steps.”

I Like the Idea of Using a Pedometer

“I'm new to 10,000 steps and I accidentally came across it today when I was trying to find out how many steps I should be doing a day. I like the idea of using a pedometer because it motivates me to walk as much as I can. I've just started wearing it today and so far I've done 5,000 steps. I'm thinking I will go for a walk after dinner to try and get as close to 10,000 as possible.”

Pedometers are Motivating

“I am new to this but glad to have the pedometer to actually see how many steps you actually take in a day. Quite a motivator!”

Now I MOVE!

“G'day mate all the way from Australia! I have just joined this week and am finding this site very motivating. It is great having somewhere to record all the effort put into each day to get the stepping done. I am going to be 50 next year and have decided to start looking after my health with the lifestyle choices I make. I hate exercise and have found that the pedometer is a great way to give me a kick in the butt when I have not moved much in my day. Now I MOVE! I work at retail standing for long hours in one spot. I have found with my pedometer that I walk around the perimeter of the shop when ever I can and soon clock up the steps by doing this. My work mates think I am crazy! But I feel so much better. I have even stopped having a sore back because I am not standing for too long at any one time. Libby”