I walked 20,000 steps a day for 30 days - it worked!
Summary
TLDRIn this episode of 'Science of Self-Care,' Robin shares her transformative experience of walking 20,000 steps daily for 30 days. She discusses the significant improvements in sleep quality, posture, and emotional well-being. Robin also addresses the common concern of time investment, suggesting strategies like combining walking with other activities. She offers tips to enhance the walking experience, such as walking with palms forward and using ankle weights. The video encourages viewers to embrace walking as a keystone habit that can lead to broader life improvements.
Takeaways
- 🚶♂️ The speaker shares their personal experience of walking 20,000 steps daily for 30 days and the transformative effects it had on their physical and mental health.
- 🌟 The concept of 'standardizing before optimizing' a new habit, as discussed in 'Atomic Habits', is emphasized as a key strategy for incorporating walking into one's routine.
- 💤 Walking 20,000 steps daily has significantly improved the speaker's sleep quality, highlighting the connection between physical activity and restful sleep.
- 🧍♀️ Improved posture and reduced back problems were noted benefits of the walking regimen, suggesting that regular walking can correct body alignment issues.
- 🏃♀️ The speaker experienced a leaner and more toned physique from the increased walking, indicating that walking can contribute to fat loss and muscle gain.
- 🌈 Emotional stability and resilience were enhanced through daily walking, which the speaker attributes to the release of endogenous drugs during physical activity.
- ⏱️ Time commitment is identified as a common concern regarding walking, but the speaker suggests combining walking with other activities to maximize efficiency.
- 📚 The speaker recommends using tools like Lumen to track metabolic states and other biohacking tools to enhance the walking experience and deepen the understanding of one's body.
- 📈 Walking is positioned as a keystone habit that can lead to improvements in other areas of life, such as personal organization and financial management.
- 🎯 The speaker encourages viewers to set walking goals without tying self-worth to them, advocating for a balanced approach to goal setting and self-improvement.
Q & A
What is the main focus of Robin's video?
-The main focus of Robin's video is to share her experience of walking 20,000 steps a day for the past 30 days and how it has been transformative for her both mentally and physically.
What is the concept of 'standardizing before optimizing' that Robin mentions?
-The concept of 'standardizing before optimizing' refers to making a new habit a consistent part of one's routine before fine-tuning or perfecting it. In the context of walking, it means establishing the habit of walking daily before increasing the step count or making other adjustments.
How has walking 20,000 steps daily impacted Robin's sleep quality?
-Walking 20,000 steps daily has significantly improved Robin's sleep quality, allowing her to fall into a deep slumber more easily due to the physical exertion.
What physical changes has Robin noticed in her posture from walking?
-Robin has noticed improvements in her posture, feeling that her shoulders are more open, and she stands taller, which she attributes to the daily walking routine.
How has walking impacted Robin's emotional stability?
-Walking has greatly improved Robin's emotional stability and resilience, making her feel more positive, balanced, and connected to a deep sense of happiness.
What is the main objection Robin hears about walking, and how does she address it?
-The main objection Robin hears about walking is the time it takes. She addresses it by suggesting combining walking with other activities, like reading or working, and by reminding viewers that they have more time in a day than they might realize.
What tip does Robin give for improving posture while walking?
-Robin suggests walking with palms forward to improve posture, as it forces the chest to open up and can lead to better body alignment and confidence.
How does Robin incorporate walking into her work routine?
-Robin has created a makeshift walking treadmill desk, which allows her to walk during her working hours, combining exercise with productivity.
What is the significance of the book 'Atomic Habits' in Robin's video?
-The book 'Atomic Habits' is significant because it introduces the concept of 'standardizing before optimizing', which Robin applies to her walking routine and recommends for forming new habits.
What is the 'Umpire' mindset that Robin discusses in relation to goal setting?
-The 'Umpire' mindset refers to being objective and non-emotional about the outcomes of one's goals, focusing on observation and curiosity to understand and improve, rather than being overly attached to the results.
Outlines
🚶♂️ The Transformative Power of Walking 20,000 Steps
In the first paragraph, Robin introduces the topic of the video, which is the transformative effects of walking 20,000 steps daily for 30 days. Robin shares a childhood memory of an always-walking man and draws a parallel to their own recent walking routine. The video aims to discuss the physical and mental changes Robin experienced, the challenges faced, and tips for maximizing the benefits of walking. Robin emphasizes the concept of standardizing a new habit before optimizing it, as discussed in James Clear's 'Atomic Habits,' and encourages viewers to start with small, manageable steps before increasing their walking routine.
🌙 Improved Sleep and Posture: Benefits of Walking
The second paragraph delves into the benefits Robin has noticed from their walking routine. These include better sleep quality, improved posture, and a leaner, toned body. Robin also shares their personal journey of walking and how it has become a form of mental health and meditation, leading to emotional stability and resilience. The paragraph highlights the positive impact of physical activity on releasing endogenous drugs that contribute to feelings of happiness and well-being. Robin also discusses a hypothesis from a psychiatrist about how the repetitive motion of walking might aid in emotional processing, similar to EMDR therapy.
⏱ Overcoming Time Constraints with Walking
In the third paragraph, Robin addresses the common concern about the time commitment required for walking 20,000 steps daily. To overcome this, Robin suggests combining walking with other activities, such as reading or working. The paragraph also challenges the perception that there isn't enough time in the day for such an activity by calculating the available hours after work and sleep. Robin encourages viewers to reconsider how they spend their time, suggesting that reducing time spent on social media or other less active pursuits can free up time for walking. The paragraph also touches on the idea of walking at a slower pace for a more relaxing experience and the potential for walking to promote fat burning in the body.
🛠️ Tips and Tools for Enhancing Your Walking Routine
The fourth paragraph offers practical tips to enhance the walking experience and make the most of the time spent walking. Robin suggests walking with palms forward to improve posture, using ankle and wrist weights for added resistance, and incorporating brisk walking or interval training for higher intensity. The paragraph also discusses the benefits of walking for reducing cortisol levels and the use of biohacking tools like Lumen to measure carbohydrate and fat burning. Robin emphasizes that tracking tools can help individuals better understand their bodies and build intuition around their physical responses to exercise. The paragraph concludes with a recommendation to read 'The Slight Edge' for inspiration on forming healthy habits and the importance of taking the first step towards a healthier lifestyle.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Self-care
💡Walking
💡Habit Formation
💡Sleep Quality
💡Posture
💡Mental Health
💡Physical Activity
💡Time Management
💡Body Language
💡Biohacking
💡Goal Setting
Highlights
The speaker recalls a man from their childhood who was always walking around town, which inspired their own walking journey.
The speaker shares their experience of walking 20,000 steps a day for 30 days and its transformative effects.
Walking 15,000 steps a day was already transformative, but adding 5,000 steps brought additional benefits.
The concept of standardizing a new habit before optimizing it is introduced, based on James Clear's 'Atomic Habits'.
The benefits of walking include improved sleep quality due to increased physical activity.
Better posture and alignment are noticed as a result of daily walking.
The speaker experienced a leaner and toned body, possibly due to increased walking and protein intake.
Emotional stability and resilience are significantly improved through daily walking.
Walking is compared to a form of mental health and meditation, contributing to a deep sense of happiness.
The idea that physical activity releases endogenous drugs that improve mood is discussed.
The speaker shares a hypothesis that walking's repetitive motion might aid in emotional processing, similar to EMDR therapy.
The main drawback of walking, the time commitment, is acknowledged, with suggestions to combine walking with other activities.
The speaker emphasizes that walking can be done at a low intensity to promote fat burning and a 'Walker's high'.
Tips for walking with better posture, such as walking with palms forward, are shared.
Adding ankle and wrist weights to walking for additional resistance training is suggested.
The benefits of brisk walking for heart rate elevation and stress reduction are discussed.
Tracking tools like Lumen are recommended for a deeper understanding of one's body and metabolic state during walking.
The video concludes with encouragement to embrace walking as a keystone habit that can lead to broader life improvements.
Transcripts
I remember when I was little there was
this man that would walk all around my
town speed walking at every hour of the
day I would go to school and see him and
then I would come back from school and
he would still be walking around the
streets and I thought why is this man
walking where is he walking to and how
does he have so much time to walk and
ladies and gentlemen this past month I
became that man although I'm not nearly
as muscular as he was I feel like I've
unlocked his Secrets the reasons why he
was always walking and that is what
we're going to be talking about today
hey guys it's Robin and welcome to the
science of self-care on this channel we
talk about all things science Healthcare
and wellness and today I want to share
my experience of walking 20 000 steps
for the past 30 days it has been far
more transformative than I thought it
would be I know that sounds funny but I
have been walking 15 000 steps a day
since covid that was already
transformative and I didn't think that
walking an extra 5 000 steps a day would
make that much of a difference but it
honestly has both mentally and
physically so today I want to talk about
what I've noticed during this experience
I also want to share one of the major
cons to walking every day and how I try
to overcome it and then I'll share a
bunch of tips and tricks that I've
learned to help you get the most out of
your walking so if you are someone who
is hoping to increase your daily step
count even just a little bit then this
is definitely the video for you let's
get started
so I just wanted to remind you of a
concept that James Clear talks a lot
about in atomic habits and is the
concept of standardizing before you
optimize a new habit what this
essentially means is if you have a new
goal or a new daily habit you want to
set first make it standard in your
routine make sure you're doing it every
single day before you actually optimize
that habit and tweak it and refine it to
the perfect version of that habit and
when it comes to walking that just means
showing up and stepping outside and not
being too concerned about how many steps
a day you're getting and once you are
used to taking a daily walk and you have
standardized that habit you can start to
optimize it by increasing your step
count start to track your steps in more
detail perhaps get an Apple Watch but it
all starts with planting the seed of
that habit in your everyday or weekly
routine so that it has space to grow so
I just want to remind you if something
seems very unmanageable standardize it
in a little baby step before you
ultimately optimize it and grow it to
its fullest beautiful version of that
habit and if you haven't read Atomic
habits I know I've mentioned it so many
times but I would highly recommend
reading it so I first want to share a
few of the benefits I've noticed from
walking 20 000 steps each day firstly I
have been sleeping so beautifully by the
end of the day after walking 20 000
steps which can range anywhere from 8 to
10 miles depending on how larger steps
are after walking that much every day
your body feels like it's done something
and you feel so ready to lay down and
quickly fall into a deep Slumber so I
think that's something we can Overlook
if we are not moving enough it can
really impact our sleep which then makes
it even harder to move the next day so
it's just something to consider I have
really noticed great improvements in My
Sleep Quality since starting to walk
even more the second thing that I've
noticed is my posture has gotten even
better I feel like my shoulders are more
open and I just stand taller in my body
body because I am walking so much in a
day and in a moment I will share you
some of my favorite ways to amplify the
posture effects of your walks but even
if you're not thinking about it too
consciously our bodies fall into
alignment I remember I went to this back
specialist several years ago because I
was actually having a lot of back
problems my back was a bit crooked and
she gave me a bunch of exercises that
actually just helped loosen up my hips
and loosen up different areas of my body
a lot of times we're not as asymmetrical
as we think it's just that our posture
and kind of daily habits have tweaked Us
in different ways that keep our body
stuck in an asymmetrical way and so if
we can kind of undo that through
movement it's really helpful I've also
noticed that my body is a little bit
more lean and toned I think I've lost a
few pounds of fat but I feel like I've
also gained muscle during this past
month I was also really focused on
increasing my protein intake I'll try
and see if I can get some before and
afters but I don't want to focus too
much on my physique because I think if
you are solely motivated by physical
improvements that's usually not going to
result in the most resilient lifelong
habits whereas the next benefit I want
to talk about really has helped me feel
so connected to walking in a way that I
know I will always walk for the rest of
my life for at least as long as I'm able
to and blessed with beautiful legs that
allow me to walk so the next benefit I'm
referring to is my emotional stability
and resilience I've really noticed that
by spending so much time now every
single day walking my emotions have been
amazing I'm genuinely so positive I feel
so balanced I just feel like I'm in
touch with a true deep happy version of
myself and if I think back to myself as
a kid I was always a kid who loved
running outside moving around moving my
body is how I feel happiest so walking
has really become a form of Mental
Health and a form of meditation for me I
am just less happy when I don't do it
and so that's the reason every single
day I continue to walk because I notice
huge improvements in the way that I feel
and this is actually true for many types
of physical activity I remember reading
the book The Joy of movement I also
highly recommend reading this book but
she talks about how exercise releases so
many endogenous drugs in our body our
muscles are releasing all of these
chemical compounds that make us feel so
good and if we really think of physical
movement as a way to feel amazing versus
a punishment or a way to lose a bunch of
weight we create an entirely different
relationship with physical activity it
becomes less about hitting a certain
number on the scale and more about just
being our best selves feeling so good
and enjoying every single day I've had
such a happy month and I really think a
lot of it had to do with so much walking
I was also talking to a psychiatrist who
practices EMDR which is like light and
sound therapy for trauma and she was
talking about how signaling light and
sound to different sides of the body
which correlates to different sides of
the brain helps kind of unlock emotions
and I was telling her that walking had
such a profoundly positive effect on my
mental health and she kind of
hypothesized that maybe it was something
similar about this left and right back
and forth movement that's kind of
repetitive that helps you process things
and I definitely feel like I can process
things better while I'm walking I've
never done EMDR so I cannot really
compare it but it is an interesting
hypothesis as to why walking might be so
beneficial for our mental health now let
me get to the number one con and the
number one objection that I hear from
everyone is time walking takes a lot of
time and walking 20 000 steps takes
several hours of my everyday from most
people that sounds absolutely absurd to
devote that much of your day to moving
one of my best tips is to combine
walking with other things you have to do
in your day so for me I like to read
every day so I combine walking with
reading through audible I also like to
walk and work and I have created this
kind of makeshift walking treadmill desk
so I have been taking my meetings and
doing my work on this treadmill which
allows me to walk during my working
hours but moreover I think most of us
underestimate how much time we actually
have in a day if you think about it we
have 24 hours in a day and eight of
those let's say we're sleeping say you
work a nine to five job and are sitting
at your desk eight hours throw those
eight hours out as well and then we
still have eight hours in our day which
is more than twice as much time you
would need to walk 20 000 steps I think
I really underestimated how much I was
just sitting around scrolling on social
media and so for the past month I have
spent very little time scrolling I did
watch two movies but during those movies
I actually walked and that's another
thing if you just want to watch a
leisurely show or something why not do
it while walking walking can be very
relaxing and it doesn't always need to
be a high intensity walk you can put a
treadmill super low and calm and you can
be walking while watching a movie and
after a few minutes you probably won't
even realize you're walking you'll get
so in the flow of it and this reminds me
of another thing because it's low
intensity it really promotes beta
oxidation or fat burning in our bodies
so our bodies are able to burn both fat
and carbs while we're walking and after
a while of walking there's a certain
feeling this metabolic State I can't
really describe but it just feels so
smooth it feels so good it's kind of
like a runner is high but a Walker's
high and you hit this point where you
feel like you can walk forever so if
you're watching a movie while walking
you'll likely hit that point during that
period And I always feel like I can just
walk forever but as you can tell I'm
just someone who really enjoys moving my
body but again that's such an identity
thing you know even if you don't
identify as someone who enjoys moving
their body you can start identifying
that way today and make it true for
yourself and then the rest of your life
will kind of align to fit that new
Narrative of who you are now I want to
share a few tips to help you get the
most out of your walking the first one I
actually learned from a fellow YouTuber
Rachel she makes really great videos
also on self-care longevity taking care
of your skin in one of her videos on
walking talked about walking with your
palms forward to improve your posture
and I have been consciously doing this
now for the past month I have to say
this is such a game changer for me by
turning our Palm outward we kind of
force our chest to open up and this has
been so good I feel like I walk around
with so much more confidence now just in
my body language and I know this sounds
so crazy but I don't even care what I
look like because the results speak for
themselves I love it so much so that's
something I would definitely try walking
with your palms forward another thing
I've been doing is carrying around
little ankle and wrist weights of one
pound these are buildable you can put
multiple on your arm you can put them on
your legs but this is a way to give a
little bit more strength and resistance
training while walking so I'll put these
weights around my wrists and then do
kind of pumping motions to just get
those High rep toning exercises in while
I'm walking I feel like this is such a
Suburban mom move but I'm fully
embracing my Suburban mom era another
thing to get the most out of your
walking is to walk briskly if you really
want to turn it into a higher intensity
Zone 2 workout you can try things like
12 3 30 where you walk at a 12 percent
incline at a speed of 3 miles per hour
for 30 minutes and this is like an
upward hike on a treadmill even walking
briskly around your neighborhood just
getting a little bit of your heart rate
up can help you get the most out of your
time that you do spend walking if you
don't really feel like walking briskly
just take a walk around the block in a
very relaxed and leisurely Manner and
that is still so freaking good for you
as I've talked about many times on this
channel the VO2 max of walking is
usually around 40 percent obviously it
will depend on how quickly you're
walking but this is the ideal level to
actually reduce our cortisol and many
exercises like high intensity interval
training actually increase our cortisol
walking is a type of physical activity
that reduces our stress hormone cortisol
which is probably another reason I feel
so good when I do it a lot and my last
tip and tool for the true biohacking
nerds out there is to track your body
tools like Lumen which actually measure
whether you're burning carbs or fat lot
and can tell you the exact percentage of
each are really cool because they help
you understand your body even more
intimately you know a lot of people like
to use activity trackers and Apple watch
whoop whatever your wearable of choice
is it's so cool to see how your
Biometrics change as you increase your
daily step count and it can be very
motivating to see some of those numbers
change like perhaps your resting heart
rate go down after you've been walking
more I think I used to fear that
self-monitoring tools would actually
disconnect me from my own body but in
recent years I've actually used them to
deepen my own connection to and
intuition around my body and this is
because self-monitoring tools can give
us direct feedback about what is going
on in our body and how I've always
conceptualized intuition intuition is
really just our subconscious noticing
patterns and if we can give our
conscious mind and thus also our
subconscious mind and immediate feedback
after doing different activities and we
can say okay this is what the numbers
say this is how I feel this is what I've
done it actually allows us to recognize
patterns even more quickly because we
get direct feedback with actual numbers
that help us assign meaning to our
subjective experience I used to have a
lot of theories about what it felt like
to burn fat versus what it felt like to
burn carbs now I have a tool Lumen that
tells me if I'm burning fat or carbs and
by using Lumen regularly I've actually
been able to build my own intuition of
what these things feel like because I
have that immediate feedback I just
wanted to emphasize that tracking tools
can actually bring us closer to our
bodies they don't have to disconnect us
from our bodies and our own intuition
about our bodies I want to make it very
clear that this video isn't me telling
you you have to walk 20 000 steps but I
would love if this video inspired you to
consider walking more in your life
wherever you are if you're currently
walking 3 000 steps a day it doesn't
matter I think most of us can carve out
20 more minutes in a day to go for that
nice walk around the block or to invite
a friend along for a walk or to listen
to an audiobook on a treadmill and if
you're looking for a little extra
inspiration to make those healthy
choices every day I would highly
recommend reading the book The Slight
Edge it's on Audible so if you want to
read it while walking that is a great
choice but essentially what this book
talks about is how our little daily
habits compound into big life changes
and the habits that are really easy to
do or not to do are actually what build
up into something big it's a little bit
less practical than Atomic habits but
more inspiring personally for me so if
you are wanting to walk more but not
really feeling the inspiration and not
knowing where to start I would recommend
downloading this book on Audible and
going out for a walk while reading it by
the end of the book you will feel
inspired to walk a little bit extra
every day I can pretty much guarantee it
I would love to know if you have any
walking tips what is your current
walking routine like do you have any
goals for the future share with us down
below I love creating a community of
health-minded people here in the
comments and it really is so nice to
know you're not alone on this health
journey I want to emphasize that this
journey isn't just about walking it's
also about embracing small changes and
improvements to our daily routine so
whether you're starting with an extra
walk or adopting another positive habit
remember that the path to transformation
begins with a first step I know that is
so cliche but it is really really true
and that is why walking has become such
a keystone habit for me because by
taking those literal first steps and
increasing my daily step count I have
learned that I can take those first
steps in other areas of my life and my
finances in my personal organization
I've been trying to take those same baby
steps to improve sometimes people can
get really weird about out tracking
things like steps and I want to say one
thing there is a difference between
having a daily goal that you are
disciplined about reaching and having a
goal that you tie your self-worth to and
become emotional if you do not meet it
how I've been trying to think about my
goals recently is that I am an Umpire to
my goals this is a concept I have
borrowed from the book the inner game of
tennis an empire in tennis just calls
the shots they are not emotional if
player a gets the points or if player b
gets the points they are just calling
the shots and a lot of times in our
lives we are either player a or player B
and as player a will get really really
happy if we do something right and we
get a point but we'll also get really
really sad if we lose a point and player
b gets a point and so rather than being
on this emotional roller coaster of
highs and lows I have been trying to be
an Empire so even with when things go
really really well I don't get too
emotional about it I just observe it and
say wow that's interesting that went
well and then have curiosity to
understand why things played out that
way that may seem a little bit negative
to not fully embrace the positive
emotions that come with the wins in life
but it honestly makes it so much easier
to weather the losses in life if you are
not emotional about the outcome so don't
get too down on yourself if you're not
able to get your step goals but just
continue to notice your outcomes and be
curious as to how you can improve your
outcomes okay it's really hot and I have
been sitting here for far too long it's
time for me to go outside and go for a
beautiful walk I hope you'll join me
appreciate you guys very much and I look
forward to seeing you next time
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