Usky goes to Usk - again

I cycled out to Usk again this morning, although on a slightly different route to my previous Usk jaunts. An excellent ride as it turned out with a couple of interesting hills and some stunning scenery.

Usky's route to Usk and back (marked in red)

This 33 mile ride climbs 813 feet onto the Shirenewton Ridge, that's 795 feet above sea level), before descending to the Usk Valley for the trip back towards Newport. A thoroughly enjoyable ride that burns a little over 2000 calories, which is two thirds of my 'standard' daily target. :)

Meet Usky's new friend

I spotted this guy while out cycling this morning, took a shine to him and stopped to pass the time of day... then I thought you might like to meet him too. Let me introduce you to The Celtic Warrior

The Celtic Warrior

Pretty impressive isn't he? Carved from a single hunk of tree by a local artist - you can view him at the end of Isca Road, Caerleon.

Facial Close-up

 Seeing this guy today reminded me of an old friend I haven't spoken to in ages... her name is Rosemary and she's an artist and sculptor who I know would appreciate this piece of work.

In other news I got my India Badge recently for having walked 1997 miles in my attempt to get fit!

India Badge - 1997 miles walked

1600 miles = Great Barrier Reef

Since I started wearing my free Fitbit Flex fitness band back in July last year it seems I've clocked up something over 1600 miles just walking... that's the same as walking the Great Barrier Reef from end to end apparently, not that you can actually do that of course... wouldn't mind swimming along some of it though.

Anyway to commemorate my 1600 miles Fitbit have awarded me this badge:

Great Barrier Reef badge

Am I supposed to be the fish d'you think?

10,000 steps a day; is that really enough?

Experts say that while 10,000 steps a day is a good number to reach, but any amount of activity beyond what you're currently doing will likely benefit your health.

Walking is something most of us can do and if, like many others, you find yourself with a sedentary lifestyle I urge you get out there and give it a go... you don't need any special equipment and it's free exercise.

Walking for Health

The origins of the 10,000-steps recommendation aren't exactly scientific. Pedometers sold in Japan in the 1960s were marketed under the name "manpo-kei," which translates to "10,000 steps meter." I'd guess that's where the magical 10,000 steps a day comes from.

For some reason best known to themselves many people seem to think walking 10,000 steps a day means they are actively fit, maintaining a health body and probably losing weight. WRONG!

Don't be fooled. The 10,000 step figure isn't the be all and end all of everyday fitness, especially if those 10,000 steps you walk are strolled at a snail's pace back and forth in your office or around a shopping mall. No, to gain any kind of real health benefit you need to walk at a reasonably constant pace of around 4 miles per hour (approximately 6.5 kph). A mile every 15 minutes isn't that quick really if you're sound of limb.

I average around 15,000 steps a day on a day when I don't walk for exercise (average burn around 3000 kilo-calories). Those 15,000 steps might be good for me, but they don't do much for weight loss. The days when I walk for exercise (a couple of days a week) I average around 25,000 steps Average burn around 4200 kilo-calories). That extra thousand or so kilo-calories is where the weight loss comes from.

The days when I don't walk for exercise I go for a bike ride (anything between 8 and 25 miles depending on my route) and burn extra calories that way.
Usually when I walk for exercise I try to maintain a 4 mph speed over a distance of 5 or 6 miles. When I cycle my aim is maintaining an average speed of 13 mph, which doesn't sound as though I'm working very hard. It's easy on flat roads, but not so easy when you're negotiating the hills and valleys Wales is famous for hence the difference between the distances in my routes. And bear in mind I've only recently started cycling again after a break of more than a decade so am still 'building up' my cardiovascular side and I'm battling with arthritic knees to boot.

So anyway to answer my original question, is 10,000 steps a day really enough? No in my opinion 10,000 steps a day isn't enough to maintain a healthy body and lose weight unless you actively partake in some other form of exercise. It may be a great starting point to getting back into exercise, but if you want to gain fitness and lose weight as I do you will need to do more.

My stats so far today

Steps: 16,205

Distance: 7.17 miles

Calories Burned: 2214

Cycling: 1 hr 21 min

Distance: 14.4 Miles

Calories burned: 2200

Total Active Minutes: 220

Total Calories out: 4414

Total Calories in: 738