Wow, I finally did it after 4 years of trying. Longest attempt before this was about 60 days. It took many attempts. I've walked 10k steps every day for 365 days in a row. One day missed means the whole streak resets. I've gained so many benefits: improved sleep, improved mood, calves, 6-pack.

Why walk 10k steps? It's recommended. Why is it recommended? Well it's because 10K sounded good when they were marketing a pedometer made in Japan in the 60s. But it turns out it's the perfect amount of steps to walk. I started the challenge in June 2023.

Splits

Sometimes, I walk all 10k at once, and sometimes I like to do 3k in the morning and 7k in the evening. It takes around 1 hour and 30 minutes to walk 10k steps, so I need to plan each day accordingly. For me, that's about 700 calories burned.

Tracking

I got my first fitness tracker in 2018 and have been wearing one ever since. My Fitbit Charge 2 lasted from 2018 to 2023 then it broke. I then decided to get an Apple Watch to replace it. I used an app to transfer all my steps from Fitbit to Apple Health which worked quite smoothly.

• I track all my steps using a Fitbit & Apple Watch. (I also tried to do the daily move goals of 800 calories which I have a streak of 380 days.)
• Apple Watch doesn't give you streak info, so I used StepsApp for streak tracking.

Apple Watch has this feature called Move rings. I've closed all rings so far since I got it. It also has monthly challenges; some of them were quite brutal. They are like "walk 8.6km 14 times this month." Which means that's around 12k steps instead of 10k steps.

Benefits

I've walked after dinner which helps digestion. I've walked in the morning which helps you wake up.

It's also:

• Good for thinking through things
• Better sleep
• More energy throughout the day
• Lose fat. I've lost a lot of fat. It's my only form of cardio and I managed to get a 6 pack just from walking.
• I also started going to the gym 3x a week in September 2023.

Shoe Review

I've gone through a lot of shoes. I've walked in flat soles and running shoes. Flat soles are good for strengthening feet. Running shoes make it seem very effortless, but I think they run out of mileage very quickly.

• Vans Men's Atwood Trainers
• New Balance Men's 500v1 Core Trainers
• Under Armour Men's UA Surge 3 Running Shoes
• Nike Pegasus
• Nike Pegasus Goretex

Under Armour Men's UA Surge 3 Running Shoes are cheap running shoes and messed up my feet the most. I don't recommend them; they offer little support.

When it's raining my favorites are Nike Pegasus Goretex. (Shoutout to Ben from Acquired Podcast who recommended them in a podcast). They're really good at keeping your feet dry when it's raining.

I loved the New Balance shoes the most, but they got caught in a treadmill while I was running and they ripped. They have the perfect balance and have a wide toe box which is good.

Walk Review

Pain
The first 2 months or so were hard. My ankles started to hurt around day 300. It's okay now at day 320. It didn't take me out, just took time to get used to it. Sometimes you get sick. I've had 3 colds in this period. I still managed to walk. It actually helped ease symptoms. It's very easy now.

Near misses
I've almost missed my steps a couple of times. I had to run to get them before midnight.

Walking paths
I usually walk to a destination and back. I find it easier rather than doing laps as you may be tempted to go home. I found it easiest when I had a destination to go to e.g. post office, supermarket, etc. Whenever I needed to go somewhere I would just plan it as the walking route.

Treadmill
I've tried doing 5k steps on the treadmill which can be quite boring. I like the outdoors.

Update April 2025: I'm now on about day 650+. Let's see if I can do 1000 days.