If you’re someone who makes sure to fit in a workout at some point during the day, you probably feel like you’ve done your due diligence. You showed up, you put in the hard work, and that’s something to be proud of, for sure! But while you totally deserve some cred for getting that sweat in, it doesn’t necessarily mean you’re cool to couch it for the rest of the day.
The “10,000 steps” conversation may have fizzled a few years back, but increasing daily step counts and other forms of non-workout movement are back in the chat. Now, it’s less about hitting a number and more about rethinking how you move throughout the day, according to Chris Ryan, C.S.C.S., founder of Chris Ryan Fitness.
Below, experts break down exactly why you need to get your steps in all throughout the day, and how to do it without feeling like you’ve added another task to your to-do list.
- ABOUT OUR EXPERTS: Chris Ryan, C.S.C.S., is a strength and conditioning coach and founder of Chris Ryan Fitness. Rachel Welch, R.Y.T., is a certified health coach, yoga instructor, and founder of the perinatal fitness method Revolution Motherhood.
Why Your Workout Alone Isn’t Enough
Scheduling in a structured workout is super-important, but it doesn’t mean you’re done and dusted with moving your body that day. “The rest of the day still matters enormously,” says Rachel Welch, R.Y.T., certified health coach, yoga instructor, and founder of the perinatal fitness method Revolution Motherhood. “Our bodies aren’t designed to be active for 45 minutes and then completely still for our other 15-plus waking hours.”
In fact, when most of your day is spent sitting, your body starts to shift into a lower-energy state. Researchers call the phenomenon “active couch potato syndrome,” which describes people who meet exercise guidelines but still experience the metabolic effects of being mostly sedentary. The rude awakening: That hour in the gym isn’t a “get out of jail free” card. After a workout, your body does stay elevated for a period of time—this is called EPOC (excess post-exercise oxygen consumption)— however, this effect is temporary.
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Case in point: One 2022 meta-analysis published in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise found that prolonged sitting led to reduced blood flow and vascular function in the lower body—and the longer people sat, the worse the impact.
What Happens When You Move More Throughout The Day
When you move consistently (even in small bursts), you essentially keep your metabolic engine running, according to Welch. “Every time you stand up, walk to a meeting, or take the stairs, your muscles are contracting, your circulation is improving, and your body is burning fuel in small but meaningful bursts,” she explains.
These other daily movements, that happen in between formal workouts, are referred to as NEAT (non-exercise activity thermogenesis). Everything from walking to grab coffee, to taking the stairs, to pacing during a phone call falls into this bucket—and can quietly account for a meaningful portion of your daily energy expenditure, explains Welch.
Yep, these often-overlooked movements matter more than people realize. Research shows that breaking up stretches of sitting can support better blood sugar control, improve insulin sensitivity, increase your overall daily energy burn, and improve mobility.
Sure, your workouts are supportive here, too. “When you consistently activate and build muscle through purposeful workouts, you raise your resting metabolic rate,” Welch explains. “This means your body burns more calories during those everyday movements like walking, climbing stairs, or chasing your kids around the park.”
Ultimately, don’t treat your workouts as the finish line. Instead, consider them an important accessory to the wide variety of small but meaningful movements that should be happening all day long.
Do You Actually Need 10,000 Steps, Though?
Though taking 10,000 steps a day has been heralded as a must-do for overall health and well-being, it’s not a necessity. Interestingly, the 10,000-step goal didn’t actually come from science. Instead, it originated in 1965, when a Japanese company released a pedometer called the Manpo-kei (which literally translates to “10,000 steps meter”) ahead of the Tokyo Olympics.
Of course, since then, research has shown that increasing your daily movement does support better health outcomes. You just don’t need to stress about hitting 10,000 steps.
“The more important takeaway is that more movement is better than less, and the stronger and more conditioned your body is from intentional training, the more effortlessly those daily steps and activities feel,” says Welch.
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In fact, research suggests that meaningful health improvements begin around 4,000 steps a day, with even greater gains kicking in around 7,000 to 8,000, after which the returns start to diminish for most people.
For many, 10,000 steps is simply a helpful benchmark—it gets you out of a sedentary range and into a more active one. “Going from 3,000 to 6,000 steps can be a huge win, and from there you can build,” says Ryan. “I usually frame it as progress over perfection rather than chasing a specific number.”
How To Get More Steps In—Without Trying To “Do More”
The mindset that “getting more steps in” means adding another “to-do” to your already full plate is where most people get it wrong, according to Ryan. Instead, he suggests using the time you already have—just differently. Here’s what that can actually look like in real life:
1. Stack movement onto what you’re already doing
This is where most of your extra steps will come from, and it’s often the easiest shift to make. ”Think of all the moments in your day that are already spoken for: phone calls, meetings, listening to podcasts, even scrolling,” says Ryan. “These are all opportunities to move without adding anything new.”
He recommends taking calls while walking, pacing during meetings when you don’t need to be on camera, or using your post-lunch break as an opportunity to move. Even listening to a podcast or an audiobook can double as a walk instead of downtime on the couch. Over time, these small swaps can easily add up to 20 to 30 minutes of extra movement per day, without requiring you to carve out additional time out of your schedule.
2. Add short movement breaks throughout your day
You don’t need a full workout to reset your body. In fact, research shows that even small bursts of movement can make a difference. One study by Columbia University found that just five minutes of walking every half hour during periods of prolonged sitting can help improve circulation, reduce stiffness, and bring your energy back up.
“These micro breaks compound quickly,” says Ryan. “They can dramatically change how you feel by the end of the day.” If anything, think of them less as exercise and more as a reset button.
In real life, that might look like setting a loose timer to get up once every hour and taking a quick lap—whether that’s walking to refill your water, heading to the bathroom on another floor, or just looping your office or living room before sitting back down. Don’t overthink it; just break up long stretches of sitting in a way that feels easy and repeatable.
3. Go for a walk after meals
This is one of the simplest, most effective habits you can build—and one that’s strongly supported by research. A short, even five-minute walk after eating helps your body use glucose more efficiently, which can lead to more stable energy levels and less of that mid-afternoon crash, explains Mansour. “It also breaks up what would otherwise be another long stretch of sitting, which experts say matters more than most people realize,” she adds.
4. Change your environment to make movement the default
To feel less tempted to plop yourself down for long periods, Ryan suggests setting things up so that moving is the easier choice. “Park a little farther away, take the stairs without thinking twice, or keep things you need just out of reach so you have to get up,” he says. “At home, even something as simple as leaving your water in another room can prompt more steps.” These small environmental tweaks remove the need for motivation because they turn movement into an automatic behavior, he adds.
5. Make walks social
When you make movement something you actually look forward to, it feels more like a break or a reset instead of a task, according to Welch. When you’re meeting a friend for coffee, suggest grabbing it to-go and taking a walk. “Swapping seated social time for walking conversations is one of the most painless ways to increase steps because the time and social connection are already built in—you’re just changing the backdrop,” she says. “Many people find they actually have better, more open conversations while walking side by side than sitting across from each other.”
The Bottom Line
Your workout absolutely matters, but it’s not the whole story. How much you move throughout the rest of your day plays just as big a role in how your body functions and feels over time.
The goal shouldn’t be to overhaul your entire routine or chase a perfect step count; instead, strive to move a little more, a little more often, and let those small moments add up.