I tried an 8,000-step walking workout in my lunch break and it helped me feel more alert at work in the afternoon
Get your steps in without leaving the house
Finding the time to walk can be a challenge, even though I know taking more than 8,000 steps a day is associated with a longer, healthier lifespan. I have limited free time, I usually travel by bike rather than on foot, and I do most of my work from home.
My saving grace? Because I write about exercise, I’ve tested some of the most popular walking workouts on YouTube, so I often do one when I want to increase my step count.
This 8,000-step one below, created by YouTube fitness creator Eleni Fit, requires a reasonable time commitment—it lasts an hour—but if you can fit it into your day, I think it’s worth it. One of the biggest advantages is that you don’t have to rely on good weather to get moving. All you need is enough room to move safely.
Eleni Fit’s 8,000-step workout
My experience with this 8,000-step workout
Here’s what I discovered after trying it out.
I felt less stiff
I have a bad habit of slouching at my desk or sitting on one foot, and I’m not very good at taking regular movement breaks. By lunchtime, I often feel stiff and achy. One thing I loved about Eleni’s walking workout was how much it eased the stiffness in my joints and muscles.
You start with a quick three-minute warm-up before moving into the fast main workout. You perform each exercise for 60 seconds, while a preview in the top-left corner of the screen shows you which move is coming next.
Eleni keeps you moving throughout and incorporates plenty of arm movements, so it involves much more than simply marching on the spot. Some of the more complex combinations also challenge your balance and coordination, including marching while clapping under each raised leg and combining a side crunch and leg tap.
By the end, my hips, knees, ankles and shoulders all felt less stiff. It was such a relief I made a promise to myself to stop sitting on my feet and sabotaging my posture while working.
I was more alert
A choreographed walking workout combines physical activity with a mental challenge. The movement woke up my body, while learning and remembering the unfamiliar step patterns placed different challenges on my attention, memory and coordination than my usual deskbound work.
Together, this gave me a much-needed afternoon reset. I felt more alert for the rest of the day, didn’t need my usual 3pm double espresso and found it easier to return to my work without procrastinating as much as usual.
I was less stressed
I love how you can begin a workout feeling one way and finish feeling totally different. At the start, I’m often stressed, short on time, and not particularly motivated—especially when faced with a full hour of exercise.
But Eleni’s workout seemed to pass surprisingly quickly. Because the moves aren’t repeated, I was constantly concentrating on what came next and trying to master the choreography. That focus gave me a break from the worries that had been whirling around my head. By the end of the workout, I felt calmer and my mood had noticeably lifted.
