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Walking is Fitness - How Many Minutes A Day Should You Walk For Exercise?

Thumbnail of the video “Walking is Fitness - How Many Minutes A Day Should You Walk For Exercise?”
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Author: Walking is Fitness
Categories: Health Fitness Psychology
Tags: health, fitness, psychology
Views: 2 · Last viewed: 2026-10-16 14:02 UTC

Short Summary

Main recommendation: Walk about 7,500 steps a day, which the video says is roughly 75 minutes of total walking, and for the average American adult (about 4,500 steps a day) that means adding about 30 extra minutes of walking daily. The speaker argues that the key challenge is not the number itself but building a walking habit you enjoy, since motivation based only on long-term health benefits (which he notes aren't guaranteed) is hard to sustain.

Key Points

  • The 2019 Journal of the American Medical Association research the speaker cites found that health benefits (lower risk of early death, heart attack, stroke, several cancers, type 2 diabetes, and dementia) continue to improve with more walking, with a plateau at about 7,500 steps for most outcomes.
  • For dementia risk specifically, the video says the benefit continues to drop up to about 10,000 steps.
  • Any amount of walking helps a previously sedentary person, and the benefit grows with more walking.
  • The 75-minute figure is the cumulative walking time across the whole day, not a single walk.
  • The 30 extra minutes can be split into one 30-minute walk, two 15-minute walks, or three 10-minute walks.
  • The speaker stresses that external health motivation is often not sustainable, so internal motivation (enjoying walking) is needed.

Details Worth Noting

  • Concrete instructions:
    • Track your steps from waking until bedtime with a step tracker; 7,500 steps is the target.
    • To estimate your pace without a speedometer, time yourself walking a pre-measured mile. About 20 minutes means roughly 3 miles per hour. Longer times mean your walks still count but take more minutes to reach the same step total.
    • Compare your typical daily step count to 7,500 and add the difference as extra walking (about 30 minutes if you average 4,500 steps).
    • Split the extra time into walks that fit your schedule: one 30-minute walk, two 15-minute walks, or three 10-minute walks.
    • Build a walking habit you enjoy rather than relying only on long-term health reasons; the speaker suggests finding internal motivation.
  • The speaker says he averaged about 19,000 steps a day since 2013, but stresses he is not a doctor or licensed trainer and nothing in the video is specific medical advice.
  • The average step count depends on age, daily activity, job, retirement lifestyle, and where you live.

Bottom Line

The 7,500-step target is the sweet spot for most health outcomes, but whether you reach it depends on building a walking habit you genuinely enjoy.