I Walked 20k Steps per Day for 6 Months — Here’s What Happened

A comprehensive overview of my journey, lessons learned, best practices, and if it was worth it

Photo by Uriel Mont on Pexels

It started with a challenge.

After years of walking 10k steps daily, I decided to double my normal step count for a month. That was last July — and boy was I shocked by the amount of time it took. I suddenly had a new part-time job: walking.

To reach my 20k step goal, I needed to walk for 3 to 4 hours every day.

Insane and unrealistic.

I have a job and a life, so of course my conclusion at that time was that it was impossible for a normal human to reach that step count regularly.

Step count in July 2023, when I did my more than 20k-step challenge. [Image by author]

But something happened after I finished that challenge.

I felt like something was missing when I returned to my 10k step goal. My body craved more movement, and my mind craved the challenge of figuring out how a mere mortal could accomplish a seemingly impossible feat: walking 20k steps while living life.