At the beginning of August, I decided to walk at least 10,000 steps every day for the entire month. I completed all 31 days and averaged 10,797 steps per day, covering just over 162 miles. By the end of the month, 10,000 steps felt like a normal part of my daily routine.

What stood out most was the time commitment. Walking 10,000 steps typically took me a little over an hour and a half each day. That might not sound like much, but consistently finding time for it was the difficult part. I usually split the walking into two parts, with about an hour in the morning and the remaining steps coming later in the day, often around the time I went to the gym. That made the goal much easier to manage than trying to complete all 10,000 steps at once.

Toward the end of August, I also started using some of those walks to study Korean. I began listening to lessons while walking Louie, which made the time pass more quickly and left me feeling like I had accomplished something beyond adding steps to a tracker. I enjoyed the routine enough that I plan to continue it.

Unsurprisingly, I did not notice any major transformation in my physique from walking 10,000 steps a day. I did, however, feel like I had more stamina and energy by the end of the month. My body also seemed to adapt to the added walking, and the daily step goal became considerably easier than it had felt when I first started.

For September, I plan to increase the target to 15,000 steps per day. Part of the appeal is simply being able to say that, at least once in my life, I maintained that level of activity for an entire month. At the same time, because building muscle is one of my main fitness goals, I am not convinced that continually adding more steps is the best use of my time compared with strength training. That is why I see 15,000 steps more as a one-month experiment than a new long-term baseline.

I also have more ambitious walking goals in mind. After previously completing a 50,000-step day, I would like to work toward 75,000 and ultimately 100,000 steps in a single day. I have also considered trying 20,000 steps per day for a month, although I am unsure when I will attempt it.

These higher step counts are more of a short-term challenge than a permanent routine for me. Longer term, I suspect I will settle back around 10,000 steps per day, especially as the weather gets colder in the Northeast and I spend more of my fitness time indoors on strength training, swimming, and rock climbing.