Builds more strength and can do weighted squats which is what I do.

Hope this helps in your quest! 🙏c

squats to replace steps+7Doing 10 squats every 45–60 minutes can effectively replace 10,000 daily steps by providing similar metabolic and cardiovascular benefits through short, high-intensity bursts. This approach, sometimes called "snack exercise," builds strength in quads, glutes, and hamstrings, burns fat, and breaks up sedentary time, making it a time-efficient alternative to walking. Kettlebell Kings +3How to Replace Steps with Squats

• Frequency: Perform 10-15 bodyweight squats every 45 to 60 minutes throughout the day.
• Form: Stand with feet shoulder-width apart, keep your chest up, and sit back into your heels, aiming for thighs parallel to the floor.
• Variations for Progression:
  • Beginner: Chair squats (sitting down and standing up).
  • Intermediate: Air squats, Goblet squats (holding a weight).
  • Advanced: Jump squats for explosive power. Kettlebell Kings +5

Benefits Over Walking

• Muscle Building: Unlike walking, squats provide resistance training that builds muscle mass in the lower body.
• Metabolic Boost: Rapidly increases heart rate and improves circulation, providing a higher intensity cardiovascular workout in less time.
• Convenience: Can be done anywhere without special gear. Kettlebell Kings +4

Note: For the best results, a combination of both cardiovascular steps and resistance-based squats is recommended for overall fitness.

Agreed, eld!

But moving-walking gets you fresh air and scenery and terrain.

Walking in place, or moving-walking…..good either way.

Happy walking!

Trail, I do 20 squats daily. i think they are the most important as they help in daily life.

squatting at the supermarket to get to that lowest shelf or easily getting up off a chair ir sofa.

I like incorporating exercise while doing other things. At night when i put my prescription eye drops in and have to wait with my eyes closed for a minute, i do my 20 squats!

Roxsolid, yes I agree!

Well, you squatters, I admire your pluck! There is no way I could squat, even to save my life. I simply topple over. But I did not know about the benefit of walking in place. I am more inclined to do it like roxsolid, moving walking. The scenery and fresh air distract me from the chore of walking which I know is essential to good health but still struggle with.

Murray, do you try for the 10,000 each day?

eld, my goal is about 5,000 a day. I read/heard somewhere that that is good enough if done every day. Of course I do walk more because I don't always have my phone on me. I heard in my WW meeting today, someone saying about climbing stairs - even just in your own home - was better cardio than walking. I am going to try to incorporate that in my daily attempt.

Murray, I am lacking in cardio. I do walking, weights and stretching but I can't seem to get in the cardio.

While 10000 steps is a simple, handy idea I don't find it very useful. It doesn't differentiate steps by quality, only by quantity. Doing steps on the spot or slowly is nothing like as effective as doing them briskly, on stairs, up a hill, carrying a load or even running. I live up a steep hill in a hilly town. I have five flights of stairs in my house and walk everywhere. But I very seldom reach 10000 steps, even on days when I do an hour's run. So all that goal does is make me feel inadequate.

Floral, I find that however I get them in, when I do it, it makes a difference with my weight maintenance.

It really is whatever works for you.

I usually always get to 10,000 steps, and my watch records flights too, and I'm up and down my steep staircases 9 or 10 times a day. I hike my three miles briskly usualy doing 18-minute miles, sometimes even 17. But on the AT, I'm usually closer to a 20-minute mile as there is climbing involved.

But I'm bad at squats. I need to get moving on that.

Impressive, Lily!

I am a very dedicated walker and 90% is done outdoors. There are several gradual hills on my usual route with one steep hill of about 200 yards. I strive for at least 10,000 steps/day, and today so far I have 10,240 steps.

Here’s my record for the past 12 months. You can see my daily average dropped to just below 10,000 steps in January, but all other months averaged above 10,000 steps/day.

Littlebug, nice!

It's fun to have a daily goal that you do just for yourself.

I am impressed. I find 10000 steps hard to achieve regularly despite being very active and not driving a car. But it doesn't really bother me as I do plenty of other exercise apart from walking: weights, circuits, yoga, aerobics and running. I don't find that walking, or indeed any exercise, affects my weight.

The idea of 10,000 steps was a marketing campaign for a pedometer in Japan 60 years ago.....Some say they chose 10,000 because the Japanese character sort of looks like a person walking.

There's no study or information that indicates 10,000 steps is a magical number of achievement - in fact, one study said the benefit of decreasing mortality risk levels off at about 7,500 steps. Of course, pushing away someone's time of death is only one of the benefits, and others may have different relationships to the number of steps (statistically speaking).

I know 10,000 steps is not a magical number, but my OCD is so bad that if I'm at 9742 like I am now, I'll walk in steps inside till it hits 10,000.

At today's Weight Watchers meeting we talked about the importance of choosing an activity that you actually enjoy so that you will keep doing it. Everything they tell us for the most part is common sense but hearing how others work through their problems or come up with good ideas is very helpful to me. It's also a great social outlet as many of these people have been friends for over 5 years. My little core group is close and we celebrate each other's birthdays and have lunch or dinner together periodically. It's nice.

Lily, I do that too.

Murray, I miss WW. The pandemic was the end of my studio. Others were not same.

Meeting were a great to stay focused and I learned a lot from the other members.

C, what a coincidence! In my weight training group, we are doing a squat series this period with goblet squats, jump squats, and then regular kettlebell squats. Our routine changes up every 4-6 weeks to keep things fresh but we always have some sort of squat work. it is one of the primary exercises that helped me recover more quickly with my femur fracture.

I’ll just add don’t forget the ’hinge’ when doing squats. It is a part of the form that really helps protect your back and knees and keeps you in good alignment for any type workout really.

murraysmom: "There is no way I could squat, even to save my life. I simply topple over"

Can you use a chair with arms? Just sit down and stand up a few times. It's using the same muscles.

I stand on the flat side of a Bosu ball , hold a 20# weighted ball and do 50 squats.

I started this months ago with a 10# ball and 75 squats ( it was on my 75th birthday thus those numbers 12/06/50) , then a 15# and 50 squats. Now I do 20# ball and 35 squats.

It is a steady pace and so amazing for glutes and legs and balance.

The first few times back in December I wobbled a bit but then , by the way I stand in front of a mirrored wall at the Y, I just widened my stance a bit and it was magical.

I have definitely noticed the strength increase everywhere. I hold the ball out in front of me , elbows slightly bent.

It is a total body workout. I do wall sits also with a ball. I started them when @OutsidePlaying mentioned them. I started with 10# and now use 15#. I swivel left/ right and raise and lower it in an X shape. I raise my heels while doing the wall sit . The goal is to hold til you get ” sewing machine legs” from the tension.

Planks are a standard and I rotate from left side to right side and straight arm to elbows.

I love body weight exercises lol. After 43 yrs of heavy weightlifting at gyms it has been fun to explore something new. c

I try to walk $15,000 to 17,000 steps per day during the week, and make it most of the time. Too busy on the weekends.

Annie, my only chairs with arms are rocking chairs. I guess I could try that. My dining room chairs (only 4) don't have arms.

Having this little dog does get me jumping up and sitting down frequently to tend to her wants. :)

@murraysmom Zone 6a OH, don’t try to use a rocking chair…too unstable. If you happen to have a couple of broomsticks, or even a couple of canes, use those. Sit more forward on the chair, feet approx shouder width apart and firmly planted on the floor. Now engage your core as much as possible, elbows at your side and arms straight in front of you as you are holding your onto poles or canes and then stand up. If the chair seems too low at first to stand then touch down and go back up with difficulty, get something firm and put it on the chair seat. You do not have to completely sit down with each repeat. Just touch your bum to the seat or whatever you put there for more height (pillow, thick book, etc), and then bring yourself back to full height. Do as many as you can.

Here are some pointers I grabbed off the internet that maybe walk you thru this better.

• Start Simple: Begin with bodyweight-only sit-to-stands
• Avoid Excessive Bending: Do not bend forward at the waist (flexion) while squatting, as this can put unnecessary stress on the spine.
• Core and Back: Engage the core by tightening abdominals to protect the spine. Keep the chest up, shoulders back, and maintain a neutral, straight back throughout the movement.
• The Movement: Initiate the descent by pushing hips back, as if sitting in an invisible chair, rather than bending the knees first. This is what initiates ’the hinge’ and is important. You do not want to simply bend over as that rounds the back. You can practice this hinge without doing an actual exercise and get familiar with it. Remember, hips move first to hinge, and stay upright.
• Knee Alignment: Ensure knees track in line with the toes and do not cave inward. The weight should be distributed over the midfoot and heels.
• Depth: Lower your hips until your thighs are at least parallel to the floor if you can.
• Head Position: Look straight ahead to keep the neck neutral.

Thanks for this, Outside, I do have a pair of walking sticks. Would that work? I will make a copy of this and see what I can do. Thanks again for the help.

Yes! your walking sticks should work just fine.

Good luck to you. I hope you’ll keep us posted of your progress. I’ll bet you will be springing up unaided before you know it!

I walk my dog twice a day. Have no idea how many steps that is. I live near a smallish gym for weight lifting-squats a must.

Every morning, I wake up and squat down to kiss my dog on the head who is lying on the floor. I feel good that I can still do that easily and hope for many more years to keep doing that!

Ollie, a trainer once said to concentrate on exercises that can help in daily life. The stairmaster can help climb steps in the real world.

Squatting to kiss your dog, priceless.

Awe, thanks eld!