Less Steps, More Hang Time

By: Michael Beiter

In 2023, the goal of 10 k steps drops to 7.5 after a massive study published in the spring of 2022 found no additional benefits from the extra 2,500 steps. If you didn't know, 10,000 steps have been a daily movement suggestion for a long time, but the number has no background in evidence; it was a number that sounded good on a campaign to sell shoes by a Japanese manufacturer in the 80s.

The study set out to answer how many steps we need to improve health, and they found a positive effect of up to 7500 steps daily that flattened out and only increased further once the walker reached 17,500 steps daily.

Time is an important variable to consider here. Walking 10,000 steps usually takes 2.5 hours or so. By dropping the number 2500 steps, exercisers essentially get back twenty-five minutes.

Rather than let that time get eaten up by distraction or something else, we are claiming at least seven minutes of it and asking people to start hanging from a bar for seven minutes daily. The purpose is to offset the hunched forward position we are in most of the day and decompress the spine. Hanging is also great for your shoulders and grip strength.

You don't need as many steps as we thought, and you should consider spending more time hanging from a bar.