10,000 steps a day – it’s a great challenge and will make a huge difference to your health and fitness. But how long does it take to walk 10000 steps?
The time it takes to walk 10K steps depends on your walking pace. Most people can walk 1000 steps in 10 minutes or less. It’s a faster pace than you’d walk to the local grocery store – this is moderate-intensity exercise where you’re walking at a brisk pace.
The average person takes between 70 to 80 minutes to walk 10,000 daily steps at a brisk pace of 7-8 mins/1000 steps.
For a slower pace allow 90 to 100 minutes or 9-10 mins/1000 steps.
But if you want to know your pace per mile and how far is 10000 steps, we need to look at step lengths and convert steps to miles.
How Many Miles Is 10,000 Steps?
For the average person, 10,000 steps is approximately 4.5 to 5 miles. That’s 7.2 to 8.0 kilometers.
It all depends on whether you have a short stride or a long stride. The longer your step length – the greater the distance you’ll cover per step.
You can measure this over a set distance just by walking along and counting your steps. Try walking at different paces and you should find that your step count goes down when you start walking faster.
Step Length
Your step or stride length is typically affected by your height, gender, speed, and fitness:
- Height – if you’re taller you’ll probably have a longer stride length.
- Gender – your sex will make a difference. Men and women have different biomechanics and this affects your gait. Men tend to take longer strides.
- Speed – when you walk faster your stride length is longer.
- Fitness – being fitter will affect your walking gait.
You can get a reasonable estimate of how far you walk in 10000 steps using these tables:
Number Of Miles In 10,000 Steps For A Woman Based On Height And Speed
| Height | Slow Walk 3.0 mph | Brisk Walk 3.5 mph | Fast Walk 4.0 mph |
| 5 foot | 4.21 | 4.59 | 4.87 |
| 5 ft 1 inch | 4.24 | 4.62 | 4.90 |
| 5 feet 2 inches | 4.27 | 4.65 | 4.94 |
| 5 feet 3 inches | 4.29 | 4.68 | 4.97 |
| 5 feet 4 inches | 4.32 | 4.71 | 5.01 |
| 5 feet 5 inches | 4.35 | 4.74 | 5.04 |
| 5 feet 6 inches | 4.37 | 4.77 | 5.08 |
| 5 feet 7 inches | 4.40 | 4.80 | 5.11 |
| 5 feet 8 inches | 4.43 | 4.84 | 5.15 |
| 5 feet 9 inches | 4.46 | 4.87 | 5.19 |
| 5 feet 10 inches | 4.48 | 4.90 | 5.23 |
| 5 feet 11 inches | 4.51 | 4.94 | 5.27 |
| 6 foot | 4.54 | 4.99 | 5.31 |
Number Of Miles In 10,000 Steps For A Man Based On Height And Speed
| Height | Slow Walk 3.0 mph | Brisk Walk 3.5 mph | Fast Walk 4.0 mph |
| 5 feet 4 inches | 4.38 | 4.78 | 5.09 |
| 5 feet 5 inches | 4.41 | 4.81 | 5.13 |
| 5 feet 6 inches | 4.44 | 4.85 | 5.16 |
| 5 feet 7 inches | 4.47 | 4.88 | 5.20 |
| 5 feet 8 inches | 4.49 | 4.91 | 5.24 |
| 5 feet 9 inches | 4.52 | 4.95 | 5.28 |
| 5 feet 10 inches | 4.55 | 4.98 | 5.32 |
| 5 feet 11 inches | 4.58 | 5.02 | 5.36 |
| 6 foot | 4.61 | 5.05 | 5.40 |
| 6 foot 1 inch | 4.64 | 5.09 | 5.44 |
| 6 foot 2 inches | 4.67 | 5.13 | 5.48 |
| 6 foot 3 inches | 4.70 | 5.16 | 5.53 |
| 6 foot 4 inches | 4.73 | 5.20 | 5.57 |
10000 Steps How Long Does It Take?
If you can cover 10,000 steps in about an hour, you’re walking fast – at a speed walking pace.
An hour and a half is more typical for someone who’s just started a walking routine and is trying to get fit.
If you’re completely out of shape, or carrying a lot of excess weight, allow up to 2 hours a day to exercise when you first start your 10,000 steps a day challenge.
Try to walk at a brisk walking pace. This should be a sustainable pace where your heart rate is elevated but you’re not out of breath. You can still walk and talk but you’ll be making an effort to maintain your pace.
You Don’t Need To Walk 10,000 Steps In One Go
Based on this data for American adults, the average person walks about 5000 steps per day. So if you’re aiming for 10,000 steps a day, you may find you’re only adding an extra 5000 steps.
Before starting the 10,000 steps a day challenge, wear a fitness device such as an activity tracker for a few days to get an idea of your base step count. Your fitness tracker will tell you how many steps you typically take during your day-to-day activities.
Brisk walking for an hour a day may be enough to hit your 10,000-step target. You’ll also hit the recommended guidelines for moderate-intensity activity of brisk walking for at least 30 minutes, 5 days a week.
Walking 10,000 Steps Charts
The following charts provide times for different paces. The first chart assumes a walking distance of 4.5 miles, and the second chart assumes a distance covered of 5 miles.
Time To Walk 10,000 Steps Based On A Distance Walked Of 4.5 Miles
| Pace (miles per hour) | Time To Walk 10,000 Steps (hours: minutes) |
| 2.0 | 2:15 |
| 2.5 | 1:48 |
| 3.0 | 1:30 |
| 3.5 | 1:17 |
| 4.0 | 1:08 |
| 4.5 | 1:00 |
Time To Walk 10,000 Steps Based On A Distance Walked Of 5.0 Miles
| Pace (miles per hour) | Time To Walk 10,000 Steps (hours: minutes) |
| 2.0 | 2:30 |
| 2.5 | 2:00 |
| 3.0 | 1:40 |
| 3.5 | 1:26 |
| 4.0 | 1:15 |
| 4.5 | 1:07 |
How To Get To 10,000 Steps
The 10,000 steps a day challenge shows you how to get started walking 10,000 steps a day.
Before you start a new exercise program it’s best to get a check-up from a health professional. It’s strongly advised if you’re overweight, have any existing health issues, or haven’t exercised in a long time.
Here are a few tips to get more steps in a day:
- Take your dog for a walk – when you walk more your dog will get fitter!
- Add a few more steps by taking the stairs rather than the elevator.
- Park your car further away from the entrance of stores or your workplace.
- Take a short walk during your lunch break and make it part of your daily routine.
- Join a walking group or get an exercise buddy to join you on daily walks.
When you start the step challenge, you’ll find so many opportunities to walk more. Get creative – from walk parties to walking in place at a standing desk, there are lots of ways to get more steps!
How Many Calories Does 10,000 Steps Burn?
Calories burned walking per step depends on your body weight, pace, fitness level, gender, and step length but you can get a good estimate based on your weight and height.
A typical person weighing 150 to 200 lb takes 2000 to 2500 steps per mile and burns 400 to 500 calories per 10000 steps.
Find out more with this steps to calories converter.
Health Benefits Of Walking
The moderate exercise of walking can make a big difference to your health and fitness. Expect to lose weight, have more energy, and protect yourself against the health risks of cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, and Type 2 diabetes when you start to walk more.
These are just some of the benefits to your overall health:
Improved fitness level
If you’ve never felt fit it’s hard to explain just how great it feels. Imagine being able to walk up a steep hill without stopping for a rest.
Or just feeling good about your body and full of energy. But be warned: once you know how good being fit feels, there’s no going back!
Losing weight
Weight loss is an important benefit of exercising more. People get fat because of what they eat but it’s much easier to lose weight if you combine eating a better diet with exercise.
If you just cut calories, you’re going to lose muscle mass – and that will just make keeping the weight off even harder. Find out what to eat after walking to lose weight…
Better mental health
Walking helps with the stress of day-to-day life and may help with more serious mental health issues.
Certainly being in the fresh air for an hour or more every day can help you sleep better and wake up feeling more refreshed.
You may also find that walking helps to clear your head and make it easier to concentrate. Being in nature can be a good way of focusing on positive thoughts.
Here are a few more health benefits of walking an hour a day.
Thoughts From Love Life Be Fit
An active lifestyle is a great way to improve your health and fitness. Increasing your daily step count can be just as effective as a workout in the gym.
Once you’ve mastered the step challenge you can continue to improve your cardiovascular fitness by increasing intensity – try interval walks, walk-up inclines, or these walking workouts. More intensive exercises can give you the same fitness boost but take less time out of your day.
Some people start running as the next step or even aim to walk 20000 steps a day!
Getting fit is a journey. Aim for small improvements and gradually increase your step count. 10,000 steps a day isn’t essential, just make sure you’re at least walking 2 miles a day. But don’t forget – the biggest challenge is getting started! Follow our walking program for beginners…