Clever ways to get more steps in every day (even with a desk job!)
Doing more steps a day can make a big difference to your health. Here's how to get more in without even thinking about it
We're often told one of the best things we can do for our health is walk more. But with most of us short on time, that's not always possible, so it's useful to have a couple of step hacks in your back pocket.
Doing more steps every day doesn't have to mean taking hours to go on walks. It could mean adding more mindful exercise into your daily routine, like parking further away when you go to the gym or taking up a new activity, like gardening. You can also do 10,000 steps at home relatively easily by adjusting your habits.
From the activities, you can do (aside from walking) to increase your step count to simple daily lifestyle changes, we've got you covered. Health Editor and Fitness Instructor Grace Walsh also has tips on how to make your steps count - and tricks to boost your motivation.
Clever ways to easily increase your step count
Use a standing desk
Swap your regular desk for a standing desk and reap the benefits. Simply standing for more hours in the day means you'll naturally get more steps in as you shuffle your position, but you could always walk on the spot while doing your work to boost your count even higher.
If you do walk on the spot while working, put your fitness tracker on your ankle. Keeping your arms still (or typing) while your legs are moving means you might not see the steps you've earned on your watch.
Citysports Under Desk Treadmill: £129.99 at Amazon
If you have a standing desk, a walking pad is an easy way to increase your step count, especially if you have a lot of off-camera meetings. The Citysports under-desk treadmill offers a range of speeds (1km - 6km per hour) and has an LED display that tracks your workouts in real-time, offering time, speed, and distance stats.
Walk around while talking on the phone
Talking on the phone is the perfect opportunity to get more steps in. Not only is it time you'd otherwise be sat down but the person on the other end of the line can't see you're walking around, so you don't have the same awkwardness as a walking video call, for example.
If you're on the phone for 30 minutes, that could be an additional 3,000 steps or more on your fitness tracker at the end of the day.
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Always take the stairs
When you're at home, add a couple more steps in by walking up and down the stairs regularly.
Working in an office regularly? Avoid the lift and take the stairs when you can. If you work high up in the building and the prospective of walking up flights and flights of stairs doesn't appeal to you, then just walk down them. It's a lot less effort and you'll still find you're doing more steps than if you took the lift.
Park further away
When parking up, resist the urge to park as close to the supermarket, station, or gym entrance as possible. Instead, if it's safe to do so, park as far away as you can.
That'll give you the chance to get at least a couple of hundred more steps in every time you need to go to and from the car, adding up over one day without you even noticing it.
Take the long way back
Whether you're walking the dog, taking children to school, or walking back from work, going the long way home or adding a little more distance to your route is a simple way to notch up your step count before the end of the day.
You might even find something exciting on your walk, like a new coffee shop or green space you can enjoy.
Walk around while watching television
Watching television is a relaxing exercise, perfect for chilling out after a long day. However, it's also a great time to do a few more steps - especially if you don't mind walking on the spot or you have a walking pad.
If your favourite television show is 30 minutes long and you walk for that entire time, you could be doing 3,000 more steps per episode you watch.
Set reminders to move
Sometimes, doing not enough steps every day comes down to just forgetting. If you're busy with work, family, and other activities at home, it's very easy to find yourself sitting down for hours at a time.
Set yourself an alarm on your fitness tracker or phone to get moving at least every half an hour. It could be just walking across your workspace a couple of times or doing a few jumping jacks on the spot or longer periods of walking.
Do a HIIT workout
High-intensity interval training (HIIT) is another activity, like gardening and cycling, that you can do to increase your step count without walking. This exercise, which you can do at home or in the gym, uses small weights and your body weight to challenge your physical fitness in bursts of work, followed by small rests.
Add jumps, high knees, and lunges to make the biggest difference as these require more footwork than upper body exercises.
Get off the bus one stop early
Commuting to work on the bus? Get off one stop early to add a few more steps to your total. While it might only be 10 or 15 minutes out of your day, cutting your journey short on the bus (or train, if you like) means you could reap more than 1,000 extra steps.
You might just need to leave a little more time to stick to your morning schedule as normal.
Use an under-desk treadmill
The simplest way to do more steps at home is get a walking pad. These mechanical pads have a moving tread, much like a treadmill, but they don't move as quickly and tend not to have handles for support. Instead, they're made to sit under a standing desk or to be used in front of the television.
While you won't reap the same benefits as being outdoors for a walk, if you're strapped for time, it's a great way to reach your step goal.
Do gardening
Getting more steps in doesn't mean you have to keep going for walks every day. There are other activities where you naturally move more, even though you're doing something else - like gardening.
As you move around your garden or allotment, you're doing steps, so try to take the long way round if you can or multiple trips to gather tools.
Take a walking meeting
Spending time sitting down in meeting rooms on a video call with your camera off? Why not take the time to walk during your meeting? Plugged in with your headphones, you'll still be able to listen and respond. Only take your phone out to appear on video if it's safe to do so.
If you have a lot of meetings in person, why not suggest you take it outdoors to walk and talk (where possible)?
Make a walking challenge for yourself
You can probably guess that a little healthy competition (with yourself or others) helps boost motivation - but there's actually studies to prove it. Research from Rutgers University found that competition can improve attention in a "physical effort task", which includes walking.
So, grab some friends, download one of the best fitness apps to monitor your group progress, and see who does the most steps every week.
Always walk after meals
Walking after dinner could be the answer to better digestion - and more steps. After dinner, heading out for a walk helps to stimulate the stomach and intestines, aiding your food's path through the digestive system.
It can also help reduce bloating by moving excess gas through the digestive system more effectively.
Walk while waiting
When waiting for the train, bus, or even a flight at the airport, spend your downtime walking around rather than sitting down or standing in one spot. It's spare time anyway, so why not use it wisely?
You'd be surprised how many steps you can get in just walking around in time you'd otherwise scrolling on your phone or willing the bus to arrive early.
Go downstairs to use the loo
If you have multiple bathrooms in your home, go to the one further away to get more steps in when you're at home. It might not seem like a lot, but even just an additional 50 to 100 steps can make a difference to your total at the end of the day.
Bonus points if you have to go up the stairs - not only does this add extra steps but you're getting in some light strength training, putting your lower body under more pressure than you would walking on a flat surface.
Go to the gym
If you go to the gym, you can get steps in without stepping onto any cardio equipment. Simply walking to the gym, to public transport, or from your car into the building will add steps, as will walking around the gym floor to collect weights and swap machines.
Where possible, increase your steps by making your distances longer. Park further away from the gym entrance, take your weights one by one to a bench.
Snack on steps
Exercise snacking is the idea of little and often. By taking on small walking sessions a day, you'll see your step count go up without even thinking about it. For example, you could do 2,000 steps when you wake up in the morning - walking to the shop to get milk - and then 2,000 more at lunch on a walking pad, and 2,000 in the evening after your meal. Add another 4,000 just moving around during the day and you've hit 10,000 steps easily.
Avoid the lift
If you work in an office or live in an apartment building with a lift, avoid it the next time you need to move around the building. Taking the stairs could add a decent number of steps to your daily count - especially if you need to go up and down them more than once a day.
The best way to get more steps in without even trying is to add small exercise snacks to your day. These are short movement breaks that can refresh your mind and body, but don't take more than a couple of minutes maximum.
Take a break outside
The next time you need some time away from your desk or home, try taking a walk instead of getting in the car. A simple 15-minute walk could offer about 1500 steps, so if you take two of these per day, you'll be well on your way to an additional 3,000 steps without even trying.
Keep your pace higher than a casual stroll to see even more steps on your fitness tracker than you would otherwise.
Walk with friends
Getting your steps in with some social distraction is a sure fire way to do a few more. Taking a casual stroll with friends means you'll walk further than normal, distracted as you chat.
Try walking in some local green space to reap the benefits of the fresh air as well. Plus, if you go a little further from home, you'll notch up your pedometer's count even further.
Avoid sitting for long periods
If you work at a desk all day, it can be very tempting to stay sat watching television or scrolling on your phone in the evening. However, if you make a point of walking around during the day, using one of the best stretching apps to loosen up, or pop out to the shops to get some lunch, you'll be able to get more steps in.
That doesn't have to mean walking though - you could cycle to the shop, stretch out on a yoga mat, or do a quick session on the stationary bike. Provided you're wearing your fitness tracker on your ankle if you jump on the bike, you'll see your step count go up.
Walk on the spot during TV adverts
Television adverts are the perfect time to get more steps in. You won't miss any of the show you're watching while you stand in place and walk or do step ups.
A typical advert break can last between two to three minutes for an average of seven minutes per hour. That's the perfect exercise snack for an evening.
Do step ups
Take a stable chair or a bench at home and try some step-ups for an easy way to increase your step count. Make sure to place your full forward foot firmly on the surface and push up with this leg, rather than your back leg. Swap your leading leg over once you've done five minutes.
Avoid trying to do too many things to distract you while doing step-ups though. It might seem like a good idea to watch television or read a book to pass the time, but this is a recipe for a slip-up.
Join a fitness class
Signing up to an exercise class might seem daunting if you're new to it - but it's an excellent way to boost your cardiovascular fitness and muscular endurance, and get some steps in.
Opt for movement-heavy classes (like HIIT) rather than ones where you're static (such as yoga and Pilates) to make the most of it.
Dance
Try dancing to get your step count up! That could be with friends or by yourself at home. Turn on some music and get moving in a way that feels good for you.
You'll be surprised just how many steps you can rack up by having fun and moving your body in new ways. Add in some leaps, jumps, quick footwork, and if you were thinking of taking a dance class, try styles like hip-hop and salsa as these are more energetic than others.
Take the long way round the shops
The next time you're shopping in a large store, try taking the long way round through the aisles. Or, drop your basket somewhere out of the way and go back and forth to get your items, instead of collecting as you go.
It might take a lot more time than your regular shop, but your pedometer will thank you for it.
Organise your kitchen
Taking pots and pans to new storage spots, clearing out the fridge, climbing on top of and down chairs to get above the cupboards - clearing out the kitchen can have a double benefit. You'll be keeping your home tidy and revamping your cooking space while getting your steps in.
Along with more steps, you'll reap the benefits of some light strength training if you reorganise your tins or move some appliances.
Use a stationary bike
Getting your steps in at home doesn't mean you have to just keep walking on the spot. Jumping on a stationary bike will also work - just be sure to fasten your pedometer or Fitbit on your ankle, rather than your wrist, to reap the step count.
It's a great way to stay moving when the weather is unpleasant outside as well.
Do your food shopping in multiple trips
Doing your food shopping in multiple trips means you can carry your items on foot rather than having to take the car or public transport - and get more steps in.
If you normally do your food shopping online, you'll see the benefit even more by going old school and walking around the shops to find your favourite items.
Go to the launderette
If you have a launderette near your house, take a trip there the next time you have a big load of washing and drying to do. While it's a lot more effort than doing it at home, you'll find your step count shoots up with the additional time spent outside the house.
You'll also get all your washing done in one go so it's a win-win!
Host a games night
Dancing around doing charades, playing Twister, trips to and from the kitchen with drinks, and getting up to answer the door, hosting a games night with friends is an inventive way to get your steps in without having to leave the house.
You'll move more than you might think and get to spend time with friends and family at the same time.
Grace Walsh is woman&home's Health Channel Editor, working across the areas of fitness, nutrition, sleep, mental health, relationships, and sex. She is also a qualified fitness instructor. In 2025, she will be taking on her third marathon in Brighton, completing her first ultra marathon, and qualifying as a certified personal trainer and nutrition coach.
A digital journalist with over seven years experience as a writer and editor for UK publications, Grace has covered (almost) everything in the world of health and wellbeing with bylines in Cosmopolitan, Red, The i Paper, GoodtoKnow, and more.
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