All the benefits you get from walking, ranked by step count

Step aside, outdated exercise goals.

For years, 10,000 steps has been promoted by fitness trackers, health apps and medical professionals as the gold standard for daily physical activity.

But if that so-called magic number feels more intimidating than inspiring, rest assured: It’s a product of marketing , not science, and there are key benefits you get from a lot of lower step counts, too.

The 10,000-step rule isn’t as golden as it seems. Evgeniya Primavera – stock.adobe.com

The lofty target’s origins can be traced to a 1960s advertising campaign for a Japanese pedometer called the manpo-kei, which translates to “10,000 steps meter.”

Chosen for its simplicity and memorability, the number was meant to encourage people to increase their daily activity levels. While walking more is li