Step length calculation. How many steps do you need to walk per day to lose weight?

A step is the distance from the point where one foot touches the surface to the point where the other foot touches the surface. During a normal gait, the values ​​of the right step and left will be the same.

Average stride length

The average step length for a man is 79 cm, for a woman - 66 cm. These values ​​are often used in pedometer devices and programs.
The average step of a person 175 cm tall: 73 cm (for men).
Step width of a person 170 cm tall: 71 cm (for men).
Step of a person 165 cm tall: 68 cm (for women).

What determines the length (distance) of a step?

The length of the step depends on the height of the person. But a relationship with age was also found: step length and running speed decreased by 20% at the age of 59 years compared to 20 years.

Why calculate your stride length?

How to check your stride length

You can walk a known distance, for example 100 meters, and count the number of steps in it. Or find out this distance by measuring your route on the map. Divide 100 meters by the number of steps to get your step length.

Another way is to walk on wet soil, then measure the distance between the prints.

How many steps per day

Experts are confident that you should walk 10,000 steps a day, although many people do not exceed 6,500. Using the calculator, you will find out exactly how much distance you need to walk per day. For a man 175 cm tall, 10,000 steps will be 7.2 km. For a woman 165 cm tall, 10,000 steps is a distance of 6.8 km.

An online calculator for those who strictly monitor their physical activity and use a pedometer while walking or jogging. To find out how far you have walked or run, calculate your stride length by entering your gender and height into the table. The calculator will immediately display data on the number of steps per 1 kilometer of distance.

People walk just like that medicinal purposes, buy pedometers and measure the distances traveled. When you say “I’ll go for a walk” and go for a walk, you can’t even imagine what benefits you bring to your body.

Walking is believed to promote weight loss. Indeed, by walking to the bus stop twice a day, you burn more than 1000 kilocalories in a week. But that’s not the point!

During walking, muscle loading and contraction occur, and when proper walking- not only legs, but also arms, shoulder girdle, abdominals and hip area. This load is much more correct and safer in terms of injuries and other negative phenomena than, for example, a complex gymnastic exercises, jogging and all kinds of alternative physical exercise. What do we end up with?

Circulating blood from heated muscles spreads throughout the body. Fresh air, entering the lungs, supplements big picture increased oxygen supply to every cell of your body. All organs begin to work in enhanced mode, but without overstrain. Metabolism accelerates, which means burning fat deposits and rejuvenating the body. In addition, the general inertial shock of the body leads to unloading gastrointestinal tract right up to the rectum - and this is an incentive to get rid of toxins and gentle digestion of food. The same thing happens with the liver and gallbladder- spasms stop, the discharge of bile does not stagnate, but proceeds at an accelerated pace. Genitourinary system, feeling the impact of blood flow and spontaneous massage during movement, gets rid of adhesions and functions in the desired mode.

But that's not all! Remember your bones cartilage tissue, joints, tendons. Not only over the years do they begin to cause concern, but even among young people intervertebral hernia and all kinds of joint injuries became common. The joints are inactive, and over the years their work becomes worse and worse. With good rhythmic walking, we give them a free, but very effective massage - and get rid of their problems. Moreover, the hands of an incompetent massage therapist can cause you a lot of harm, but walking never does!

It should also be taken into account that when walking at an average pace (from 3 to 5 km/hour) there is no load on the heart muscle and there is no risk of myocardial infarction, as happens when jogging. And hypertensive patients feel better after a calm walk, blood pressure starts to decline.

And finally, the last, if not the most significant benefit. Walking heals all types nervous disorders, including early stages schizophrenia! Centers for the treatment of neuroses and psychiatric clinics must have a walking area or alleys. In our stressful age, we all suffer from nervous overstrain, neuroses, neuralgia. It turns out that you don’t need to take antidepressants and sedatives, use pain-relieving ointments to treat peripheral nerve endings - just take a walk.

Step by step, day by day, we get rid of everything unnecessary and negative in our body - and in our soul. What could be simpler!


Step length- Why do we need to know this value? or running, we need to dose the load on the body, for this we need to know the distance traveled and the speed of movement. There are many devices for determining the distance traveled: pedometers, activity monitors, but for some devices to work, you need to specify average length step. So in any case you will have to determine this value.

The step length of people is not the same and ranges from 0.4 to 1 m. Typically, the step length of a person of average height is 0.7-0.8 m.

How to measure your stride length?

1. The length of your step can be determined relatively accurately using the formula for the dependence of step length on height:

DS=(P/4)+0.37

DS - length of one step in meters

P is a person’s height in meters.

For example, if a person is 1.75 m tall, his step length is L = (1.75/4) + 0.37 = 0.8 m.

2. For each person, the usual step length for his walking has a more or less constant value.

To determine the step length, you can measure a distance of 10 - 20 meters. and go through it with the usual average speed. After this, dividing this distance in centimeters (1000 or 2000) by the number of steps taken, we will find the average length of our step.

For example: 1000cm/12 steps = 83cm.

How to determine walking speed and distance traveled?

Knowing the length of your step, as well as the number of steps taken per minute, you can determine walking speed using the table below.
For example, if a person walks 120 steps in 1 minute and his step length is 82 cm, then from the table we determine the walking speed is 5.9 km/h.

Determination of walking speed depending on the number of steps and their length
Step length, cm Number of steps per minute and speed, km/h
50 55 60 65 70 75 80 85 90 95 100 105 110 115 120 125 130
42 1,3 1,4 1,5 1,6 1,8 1,9 2 2,1 2,3 2,4 2,5 2,6 2,8 2,9 3 3,1 3,3
46 1,4 1,5 1,6 1,8 1,9 2 2,2 2,3 2,5 2,6 2,8 2,9 3 3,2 3,3 3,4 3,6
50 1,5 1,6 1,8 1,9 2,1 2,2 2,4 2,5 2,7 2,8 3 3,1 3,3 3,4 3,6 3,7 3,9
54 1,6 1,8 1,9 2,1 2,3 2,4 2,6 2,8 2,9 3,1 3,2 3,4 3,6 3,7 3,9 4 4,2
58 1,7 1,9 2,1 2,3 2,4 2,6 2,8 3 3,1 3,3 3,4 3,6 3,8 4 4,2 4,3 4,5
62 1,9 2 2,2 2,4 2,6 2,8 3 3,2 3,3 3,5 3,7 3,9 4,1 4,3 4,4 4,5 4,8
66 2 2,2 2,4 2,6 2,8 3 3,2 3,4 3,6 3,8 4 4,2 4,4 4,6 4,8 4,9 5,1
70 2,1 2,3 2,5 2,7 2,9 3,1 3,4 3,6 3,8 4 4,2 4,4 4,6 4,8 5 5,2 5,5
74 2,2 2,4 2,7 2,9 3,1 3,3 3,6 3,8 4 4,2 4,4 4,7 4,9 5,1 5,3 5,6 5,8
78 2,3 2,6 2,8 3 3,3 3,5 3,7 4 4,2 4,4 4,7 4,9 5,1 5,4 5,6 5,8 6,1
82 2,5 2,7 3 3,2 3,4 3,7 3,9 4,2 4,4 4,7 4,9 5,2 5,4 5,7 5,9 6,1 6,4
86 2,6 2,8 3,1 3,4 3,6 3,9 4,1 4,4 4,7 4,9 5,2 5,4 5,7 5,9 6,2 6,4 6,7
90 2,7 3 3,2 3,5 3,8 4 4,3 4,6 4,9 5,1 5,4 5,7 5,9 6,2 6,5 6,7 7

When you know your walking speed and time, it is not difficult to calculate the distance by multiplying the speed by the time. Also distance traveled can be calculated using the average step length. Multiplying this figure by the number of steps taken per minute and the time taken to complete the entire distance.
For example, a person spends 90 minutes walking, with a step length of 0.82 m. In 1 minute he takes 120 steps, based on these values ​​we find the distance traveled:

S = 0.82m x120steps x 90min=8856m (~8.8 km)

Using the data we collect, you can: control the load on the body, selecting a particular pace (speed) of walking that matches your level of health. Correctly plan training routes and calculate time more accurately.

To improve your health, you need to practice walking regularly, gradually increasing the load, which should be adequate to the person’s health.

Literature used: Yushkevich T.P. "Health running"

Walking is the most useful look a sport that we all play every day. Even if the work does not involve physical labor, you still have to walk. Nutritionists and fitness trainers unanimously claim that simple walking helps to get in shape and significantly lose weight, especially if you adhere to proper nutrition. In addition, regular walking helps strengthen the heart muscle and blood vessels, improves lung function and trains endurance.

No time for the gym - we walk to work

It is not at all necessary to have special electronic devices, which will count the distance traveled. It is enough to know how many steps there are in 1 kilometer to understand how much time you need to spend walking. Without expecting it, we spend a lot of calories on this simple process. And the more you move, the more you spend. In addition, we must not forget that this promotes the active breakdown of fats. Therefore, knowing how many steps are in 1 kilometer, you can build an individual system for losing weight and healing your body. This is a very good incentive to start walking home after work. And in a month you can lose several kilograms completely unnoticed.

Walking can be different too

Length of steps different people will be different. This depends primarily on the person’s height. The higher it is, the longer the step, and therefore the faster it will cover a certain distance. However, there is more to it than that. The size of the foot, as well as the shoes a person wears, also matters. For example, if you are walking in sports sneakers, then your stride length can be maximum, and even without speeding up, you will cover the distance a little faster. But a girl wearing high-heeled shoes will have a much shorter step length, and this in no way depends on the person’s height. When calculating how many steps are in 1 kilometer, we must not forget about such nuances.

Not so simple arithmetic

As you can see, simply taking the final number will not work, and therefore you will have to make some calculations. True, you can use an approximate formula, which states that there are 1000 steps in 1 km. However, it is not at all accurate. It is taken as a basis that one step is about a meter, that is, in 1000 steps you will walk about 1 km. But the only option to obtain reliable data is to turn on any navigator and walk one kilometer, counting your steps.

Here are some approximate calculations by which you can find out how many steps there are in 1 km. For example, let's take a person who is 175 cm tall. He will need to take 1377 steps to cover the required distance.

We increase the load

If you want to take up walking in order to lose weight, then you definitely need to maintain a calorie deficit. In this case, you should know that just walking through the park, you will spend much less than if you are in a hurry. An athlete who uses a sports step will also work much more efficiently, with greater impact. When walking fast, the costs increase by about three times, which can be used for good. Walking up stairs, over rough terrain and uphill significantly increases calorie consumption. There's a slight catch here, though. Speaking about how many steps there are in 1 km, it should be noted that when going uphill, the step length decreases, which means that the initial calculations will no longer be correct. However, the effectiveness of such activities increases, and quality is much more important than quantity.

Alternative to fitness training

To have an excellent figure and excellent health, it is not at all necessary to attend any section. To do this, you don’t even need to know how many steps there are in 1 kilometer when walking. It is enough to simply refuse to travel to the store, to visit or to work using public or personal transport. Instead, walk everywhere. Of course, it will be necessary to reconsider the expenditure of personal time. However, a cheerful state and a toned figure will be an excellent reward for you. If you walk for 2 hours every day, and this is often your way to work and back, then in just a week you will burn more than 200 g subcutaneous fat. If you do not indulge in fatty and sweet foods, and also do not overeat, then these reserves will not be renewed. Consequently, within a few months the result will be clearly visible on your silhouette.

How much should you walk a day?

We have already said: to be healthy, you must play sports. And the simplest and most accessible form of it is walking. We tried to calculate how many steps there are in 1 kilometer (as you know, there are 1000 meters, and there should be approximately the same number of steps). However, the question immediately arises about how many kilometers you need to walk a day in order not to have health problems. The 10,000 steps rule is quite popular. This norm came to us from Japanese everyday life. However, questions arise again. And if a person ate a hamburger or ice cream, should this norm be increased? Or can I leave it the same?

In fact, this figure came to us from ancient times, when the Japanese moved much more on foot, and their diet was much healthier. Therefore, this was only a guideline for healthy image life. Today, doctors are faced with the fact that for many people walking even 2000 steps a day becomes problematic. It is for these people that the desire to cover a little over eight kilometers every day is most significant. The bar should be raised gradually so that there is no temptation to quit this venture.

Sports and healthy eating

There is one more point why doctors do not recommend unprepared people walk just that much. Because a person can get into the habit of walking 4 km in the morning and evening, but completely neglect his diet. Taking 10,000 steps every day is great for your health, but if you eat it with a hamburger and a cola, you'll still gain weight.

Changing steps to running

If you want to make your workout more intense, then start running. In this case respiratory system trains and hardens, there is a powerful flow of oxygen to all organs and tissues. Thanks to this, the body heals. Some beginning runners are interested in how many steps there are in 1 kilometer when running. To find the average solution, one step in this case is equal to 1.5 meters. It turns out that a kilometer will be completed in approximately 666 running steps.

It should be noted that once physical activity increases, then calorie consumption will increase accordingly. When walking slowly, a person spends 3.2 kcal, then 4.5 kcal, for each kilogram of his weight. And if you start running, your consumption increases to 10 kcal.

Instead of a conclusion

All of the above methods can give a very significant error, so you can only approximately calculate how many steps there are in 1 km when running. And if you want to have accurate data, experts recommend using fitness bracelets. It is worn on the hand and shows how many kilometers a person has walked. Of course, there are many applications for your phone. They are free, but most of them work with large errors. So, the app can record a car trip as walking, but other times it won’t respond to your walking at all. Therefore, if you are going to use devices, it is better to choose professional devices.

No matter how many gadgets, exercise machines and types of workouts people come up with, regular walking is still one of the best ways to lose weight.

If you decide to lose weight by walking, the first thing you need to do is go out and buy a pedometer. You can now find very inexpensive pedometer models that can help you calculate how many kilometers you walk a day and how much you need to walk to lose weight.To find out how many miles you need to walk to lose weight, first find out how much you already walk every day. This will let you know how much you need to increase the time/distance you walk each day to finally see a difference on the scale.For example, using a pedometer you found out that you walk 8,000 steps a day without gaining weight. Finding out how many steps/kilometers you need to add to lose weight is a matter of simple mathematics, calculated according to the number of calories you need to burn.

How many kilometers should you walk a day to lose weight?

The average human step length is approximately 0.7-0.8 meters. Taking into account this length, there are approximately 1250 steps in a kilometer.

For walking 1 kilometer, a person burns approximately 60-70 calories. If a person walks 3 km more per day (4 km in total), then 240 calories are burned.

Walking 5 km a day will burn approximately 300 calories. 300 calories per day - 2100 calories burned per week (if you walk daily).

After a month, you will have burned approximately 9,000 calories, which equates to losing 1 kg of weight. In a year, you will lose 14 kg from walking.

Adding another 4 km to your daily walk (for example, 1 km) is quite easy. Take the stairs instead of the elevator, walk while talking on the phone, if you drive a car, park further away from work, if public transport- try to walk part of the way to and from work, etc. To walk 5 km at a time will only take 45-60 minutes - this is very little!

Now let's calculate how many steps to walk a day to lose weight

There are 1250 steps in 1 km. To lose 1 kg per month, you need to walk 5 km = 6250 steps daily. This is without reducing the number of calories per day.

If you cut your calorie intake by 250 per day, you will have a daily deficit of 550 calories, which will allow you to lose 1 kg per week.

Very important!

If you decide to lose weight by walking, be sure to include strength training 3-4 times a week. Women who are losing weight often think that strength training with dumbbells/barbells/kettlebells will make them muscular like men, or that they need to wait until they lose weight and then start toning their muscles.

None of this is true. Firstly, women do not sufficient quantity"male" hormones to gain more muscle mass, and, secondly, strength training is simply necessary for losing weight - it speeds up metabolism, enhances fat burning, all exercises can be modified to suit your physical level.

And don't forget to cool down and stretch after walking.

Conclusion: Walking is a great way to get fit and lose weight. Combining walking with strength training and proper nutrition gives incredible result- you will burn calories even while resting!

Why do you need to walk 10,000 steps a day and how to do it?

Can you lose weight and maintain a healthy weight by walking 10,000 steps a day? Yes!

Regular walking provides both weight loss, fitness and health benefits. And this applies to both beginners and advanced workout enthusiasts.

When you increase your number of steps per day (like the program above), you become more active throughout the day, outside of individual, specialized workouts. And if you're just getting started with fitness, walking is ideal for increasing your fitness level for more challenging workouts. And even if you've been exercising for several years, it may not be enough to counteract the negative health effects of sedentary image life.

All in all, Walking more isn't just good for your waistline, it's also good for your health.

Health benefits:


In addition to this, walking has no side effects , as opposed to running. Running puts the strongest and not very useful load on the joints, frequent injuries It's a harsh reality for runners. Walking is the most natural set of movements for a person, and for beginners it is the safest.

Even if you exercise for an hour a day, but spend the rest of the time sitting (due to the specifics of your work, for example), you will not be able to reduce the risk of disease with these workouts. That's when walking helps - you move more often throughout the day.

Have you already heard about the treasured 10,000 steps per day- This recommendation is given by many. This is, of course, a good goal, but not the most best way start walking with this number of steps.

Based on latest research an adult walks on average 5,900 steps per day. And if you don’t take the average, then the majority go much less. That's why you can't immediately switch from 2000-5000 steps to 10,000. A sudden increase in load will not bring great benefit, rather harm. It's better to start adding 500 steps a day, gradually increasing the number of times a week. And so on until you start walking 10,000.

We offer two more ways:

By time: 15 minutes of brisk walking - approximately 1.5 km (these numbers may vary as people's stride lengths vary).

Step by step: 10,000 steps are approximately equal to 8 km, so count 2,000 steps as 1.5 km.

Well, don't forget that there is pedometers.

It turns out that 1.5 km is 15 minutes, and 8 km is 1 hour 20 minutes.

Thus, You will walk 10,000 steps in about 1 hour 20 minutes at a brisk pace.. Accordingly, the slower you walk, the more time you will need.

More about pedometers

Very important note: pedometers and other fitness devices are not always accurate. In particular, they only count steps forward. One study actually found that about 30% of steps taken by pedometers are not counted! This is a very big difference. For example, if you take steps back, left and right, walk in place - all this will not count.

Is walking alone enough?

A reasonable question arises: “Is 10,000 steps all a person needs? If walking is enough, then other training is not needed?” The answer depends on your level of preparation. If you have not been involved in fitness before, you can start by increasing your steps - this will make it easier for you to start exercising regularly.

But as soon as your body gets used to the stress, it will rise to new level, you should start incorporating other types of training into your regimen: strength training (to combat loss muscle mass which starts at age 30), stretching (to increase range of motion and reduce the risk of injury), and other forms of cardio (interval training, which helps produce anti-aging growth hormone). Combination of walking with other activities physical activity will help you stay in in the best possible shape both externally and internally.

Walking program for weight loss and health for 4 weeks

So, we now know that walking really does help you lose weight (as long as you also do some strength training and stretching). Did you know that lack of movement creates serious risk development of cardiovascular diseases (British Journal sports medicine). So how can you start walking for weight loss and health? Is there any plan? Yes, fitness expert Chris Powell created a 4-week walking program for weight loss and health.

In just a month, you can get in shape, and by continuing to walk, you will significantly reduce the health risks associated with a sedentary lifestyle.

4 week walking program

Week 1

Day 1: use a pedometer to calculate how many steps you take that day (in ordinary life, without special additional walking). This is your base number of steps. Write it down wherever it is convenient for you: in your smartphone, tablet, notepad.

Day 2: Increasing steps! Add another 500 steps to your base number. Maintain the new number of steps until the next "Increase steps!"

Day 3: While walking, give yourself visual distance markers - a tree, a store, a post office, etc. - and keep it in sight until you reach this marker. This tactic will make the walk seem shorter than it actually is.

Day 4: While walking, think about what motivates you to do fitness - health, family, upcoming vacation at sea. At home, make pictures with your motivation and attach them to the refrigerator or mirror - so that you have inspiration 24 hours a day.

Day 5: Strong core muscles prevent back pain that can sneak up on you while you walk. Add 5 minutes of corset muscle exercises to your daily walking immediately after your walk.

Day 6: Powerfully, energetically walk through the mall ( shopping center), then treat yourself to some new walking shoes.

Day 7: Add more steps to the base number 1000 steps .

Day 8: Increase your walking pace while listening to upbeat, up-tempo music (your steps should be in rhythm with the songs). This will make the workout easier.

Day 9: Get into the habit of placing your walking shoes by the breather door at the end of each day. you'll have fewer excuses and won't have to look for sneakers before walking.

Day 10: Increasing steps! Add 1500 steps to the base number. Stick to this number of steps until next marker"Increasing steps!"

Day 11: Keep walking interesting by downloading a new playlist of music you haven't heard before.

Day 12: Introduce intervals - this will enhance the effect of walking for weight loss and help burn more calories. walk 1 minute at a very fast pace (you should be breathing heavily, but not out of breath), then 2 minutes at a light pace. Repeat 4 times.

Day 13: When you need a boost of inspiration, walk in circles around your room or office. Experts believe that walking helps in developing creative ideas.

Day 14: Take a walk after dinner and share your walk on social media. People who communicate their goals have a greater chance of losing weight.

Day 15: Add 2000 steps to the base number. Now you walk 1.5 km more than when you first started.

Day 16: In the middle of your walk, take a short break by stretching calf muscles: one leg is slightly bent, the other is straightened forward, pull the toe towards you, you can even try to reach the toe with your hand and increase the stretch. Repeat with the other leg. Hold the stretch for 30 seconds on each side.

Day 17: Add some more walking while talking on the phone.

Day 18: Don't let bad weather derail your progress - change your shoes if it's icy outside, walk in the shade if it's hot, with an umbrella and rubber boots when it's raining.

Day 19: Add another set of intervals to your walk. This time lower easy time walk 2 times. Very fast step - 1 minute, easy step - 1 minute. Repeat for 15 minutes or more (if you can).

Day 20: Add 2500 steps to the base number.

Day 21: Walking in place also counts!

Day 22: Ask a friend to accompany you on your walk. Just choose friends who are cheerful and active. Together, you will achieve much more with a positive attitude.

Day 23: Listen to an audiobook while walking - it will help you work not only your muscles, but also your head, and the time will fly by.

Day 24: Add 3500 steps to the base number.

Day 25: Take the stairs instead of the elevator. Taking 2 extra minutes of stairs a day (about 3 floors) can burn enough calories to keep you from gaining weight.

Day 26: Follow the 1.5 km rule - if you need to get somewhere less than 1.5 km away, walk briskly instead of taking a car or public transport.

Day 27: Add 4000 steps to the base number. You are now walking 3 km more than you started!

Day 28: Try running 3 km instead of walking - regular jogging. If you walk at an average pace, it will take about an hour.published

If you have any questions about this topic, ask them to the experts and readers of our project