A man who walked an incredible 250,000 steps in a week was left stunned after realizing what it did to his body.
The average American walks between 3,000 to 4,000 steps per day, roughly 1.5 to 2 miles, according to the Mayo Clinic.
With this in mind, YouTuber Jack Massey Welsh took on a phenomenal task that few of us would be willing to take on, covering more than three times the recommended 10,000 steps per day with a goal of a quarter of a million in seven days.
The British man aimed to take 37,700 steps a day, stomping the equivalent of a half marathon with almost another four miles on top, to see if walking would make any real difference to his physique or his health.
Documenting his week-long gruelling journey, Jack staggered his walks to three times each day, which totalled around five hours of plodding time.
On his first 7.30am stroll, Jack optimistically said: “It’s just one step in front of the other, so walking is such an easy challenge because you kind of just automatically do it.”
However, the social media star soon changed his tune and admitted he ‘underestimated’ how taxing the challenge would be.
By day two, he remarked: “Putting one step in front of the other is no easy task at all. Literally every single step hurts and is a chore.”
Then came ankle swelling and a black toe while his body entered ‘survival mode’.
As part of his challenge, Jack stressed he was keen not to lose muscle, so ate his normal diet with a slight emphasis on more protein, as well as glucosamine supplements to ease joint pain, and took on some light weight training.
Interestingly, Jack actually weighed in heavier on some of the days with the scale only starting to go down on his penultimate day.
But by the end of the challenge, it was clear Jack had shredded the pounds and was even shocked by his own ‘before’ and ‘after’ pictures.
He said he didn’t ‘really expect’ to look as different as he did, commenting that he looked ‘narrower’ before revealing he lost 2lbs overall, almost 1cm on his arms, 3.5cm from his waist, half a centimetre from his calves and 2cm from his chest – though gained half a centimetre on his thighs.
Reflecting on the results, Jack said to his 4.6 million subscribers: “Well, do I recommend walking 250,000 steps in a week?
“Absolutely not. My joints just couldn’t keep up.”
And doctors tend to agree that such ‘extreme’ mileage for the average person isn’t good for us.
Doctor Deepali Misra-Sharp told The Mirror: “I would advise that the risks are likely to outweigh the potential benefits at such an extreme count unless someone has prepared for it, as you do for a marathon and done sensibly.”
Professor Lindsay Bottoms also said the challenge would be onerous for people who aren’t used to taking so many steps and warned it could cause ‘over-training symptoms’, as well as weaken the immune system, making us more vulnerable to colds and flu viruses.
However, the YouTuber did recommend 8,000 to 20,000 steps per day, while the professor advised increasing steps at a steady rate every week alongside muscle strengthening exercises.
Jack concluded: “It doesn’t actually take as long as you think it would take. And I really do feel that most people will feel better if they end up walking more.”
The US Department of Health and Human Services recommends people spend 150 minutes a week of exercise at a moderate to intense level, such as brisk walking.
