100,000 Steps. Yeah Right!

Alright, a lot of people in the Fitbit community debate over those people who post some massive number of steps on Fitbit. “How do they do it?” I cannot answer that question, but we can take a deep dive in to the question of “Is it even possible?”, and the way that we’ll do that is using some math and assumptions. It won’t be perfect, but it will put the feat in to a very realistic perspective and then you can make your own judgment.

Let’s start with the basis for our assumptions. We will use my Marathon on November 27th of 2016 to create a baseline. Here are the stats for it:

26.2 Miles

37,729 Steps

3 hours 48 minutes 30 seconds

Baseline Data

That is not a blazing fast speed, but its better then the average bear. If we assume you sleep six hours, and then the other 18 were spent running at this pace, you would get approximately 171,000 steps and 118 miles for the day. Trust me, not many people walking this earth could do this. I am sure that there are some elite ultramarathon runners who could do this, but not your average person.

Let’s look at 100,000 steps in a day. Using the baseline numbers, this is much more attainable. If you 5,556 steps per hour for 18 hours, you would achieve 100,000 steps and about 69 miles in a day. In my opinion, crazy people like my self could hit this number if we went out and tried or ran a 100 mile race.

Finally, let’s look at averaging 100,000 steps per day for a week, and let’s make some more assumptions around a normal life. Here are my assumptions: six hours of sleep, eight hours of work, and one hour for a round trip commute. That leaves a normal human being with nine hours in a day to achieve 100,000 steps. However, let’s assume they are pretty active at work and knock out 15,000 steps. That leaves us with 85,000 per day during the week. That person would need to average 9,445 steps per hour for the nine hours. That’s running a 10k or 6.2 miles every hour for the nine hours to average 100,000 steps per day. The weekend is a little easier because there is no work. Now we have 18 hours again and get back to a much more reasonable 5,556 steps per hour. Regardless, to hit a 700,000 step week you need to average 69 miles per day.

My opinions on all of this; when you see someone post a 100,000 step day, it is very possible that they achieved it. There are many ultramarathon runners out there who do this kind of stuff as a hobby. It is possible. Very tough… but possible. When you see someone averaging 100,000 steps per day; no way. Like I said, that is 69 miles per day! Those guys who run across the entire country do not average that, so no way is “Bill in Accounting” popping that kind of number day in and day out. Even 50,000 steps per day is extremely unlikely. That would be 35 miles a day, every day. With work, sleep, commute, shower, some kind of life, etc. This would put you in to an elite athlete category.

There it is. The math doesn’t lie. You will have to draw your own conclusions. But let me leave you with this. Do you really care? I don’t know other people’s stories or motivations, but I wear my Fitbit to help me stay in shape and improve my running. The only numbers that really matter to me are my own. When I pop a 50,000 step day, that’s awesome! If I run faster and set a new personal best for a half marathon, that’s great! If I get off my ass on a rest day to just hit my goal of 11,623 steps (don’t ask), all the better, I’m staying fit. Like I tell my fellow runners, “When you cheat the Fitbit, you cheat yourself.” Stay focused on you and your goals and things will turn out pretty good!

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Questions, comments, feedback? Please leave them in the comments box and we can have a discussion!

18 Replies to “100,000 Steps. Yeah Right!”

  1. I am going to try for 100K tomorrow and have been puzzling this over myself. When I run for 1 hour at 7:45 pace, I can get about 10,000 step/hour, but there is no way to keep that pace 10 hours.

    I am experimenting with a fast walk that gets me about 1800 steps per mile at about 4.4mph. This puts me in the 12.5 hour range if I can keep it up, but I am looking at 55 miles.

    Going to Monterey, California to attempt to walk the Monterey Peninsula Recreational Trail

    1. Nathanael, I believe that 100,000 steps is very possible for a day, but it will be a long day. It’s when people start to put up these numbers where they average 60,000 or 70,000 steps a day, every day; this really discourages normal people because they know it’s fake. I want to make sure that we help everyday people realize what is possible and help them get healthy and that they just blow off these fake numbers having seen the math and the amount of effort it really takes. Good luck tomorrow and let me know how it goes! Also, please subscribe to the blog! We love input and discussions!

      1. I average forty thousand a day. I have been getting fifty and sixty thousand a lot lately. I got a hundred thousand yesterday. I tend to walk a little faster than average. I can knock of forty thousand steps in 5 hours on a treadmill at 4 mph.

        1. BettaPonic, thanks for the feedback. 5 hours non-stop on a treadmill to get 40,000 steps! That is a lot of time, so to get 100k would take 12.5 hours non-stop. This kind of proves my point. PEACE! Joe the Runner

    2. I completed it today and realized something a few hours Into it. Speed doesn’t change your step frequency, they are smaller steps and you conserve energy. That was key for me but I constantly had to.remind myself to slow down, it’s not a race. Took me 17 hours and 7 minutes. You can do it

      1. Yan, congratulations! Now go put your feet up and get something to eat! Joe

  2. I will post my results on Fitbit Hiking Community. That’s where I found this link.

  3. Yeah, I’ve noticed the ‘step inflation’ types too. My all-time high was just over 60k in one day and that was walking/running all over the old and new Vegas strips from 4:30 am to 11 pm and it totally pooped me out. 100k in one day? Just barely possible, I think. 100k day after day? No way, Jose.

    1. I know this to be a fact Top Hat Banjo. Even 40k plus average would be extremely difficult for a person who sleeps and has a job. There is simply not enough time every day in a normal person’s life to do it. I know some ultra runners and some trainers who have the lifestyle and time to support it, but they are far and few between. Regardless, I want people to focus on improving themselves and achieving their goals, not reaching for things that will get them hurt or frustrated. When fitness is fun, it’s sustainable! PEACE Joe the Runner

  4. Hey… I am “Wes from Accounting”. Most of the time, I sit on my butt all day pushing a computer mouse around. I am in average shape, I suppose, but a carrying some extra weight and not a runner. About a year ago, I did come calculations and decided I would try to hit the 100,000 steps in a single 24-hour day. Believe it or not, I managed it on Saturday, Sept. 30th!! I did it at an easy walk pace, so less steps per hour, but shorter stride length and shorter overall distance required (finished in about 16.5 hours and covered about 75 km along the way). You can read the full gory details on my blog about it at http://www.westonraske.blogspot.com

    And I started at midnight, just to make sure I didn’t run out of time 🙂

    1. Wes… from accounting, that’s awesome! Congratulations on your feat. So what is your thoughts on people who claim to average 100,000 steps per day? I’ll check out your blog as well! PEACE Joe the Runner

      1. Didn’t see your question until now. Averaging 100,000 steps a day over any period longer than a handful of days simply isn’t humanly possible, in my opinion. No way.

  5. I have to agree theres no way anyone is averaging 100k a week even 50k ( which maybe for a week ok every weeek no way) It annoys me too.

    1. HATEFITBITLIARS, normally I wouldn’t approve a comment like this, BUT, it is about the content offered. So, here is my rational thoughts on this. Fitbit is just a tool. Many people who post these types of numbers are getting their “steps” from riding bikes or horses, etc. I’ve seen and heard it all. At the end of the day, I look at Fitbit as a way for me to improve me, so when I see someone bragging about crushing the week with 500k “steps”, I just want people to know what that really consisted of so that they do not set unreasonable expectations for themselves or worse, try and hit these levels of activities and get hurt. I run and train for ULTRA Marathons and I do not hit 200,000 steps on most weeks. So, I understand your frustration, but let it go and go do your thing. Peace. Joe

  6. Your assumptions on steps per hour are correct in your case. However it is possible to average 8-9k steps per hour jogging at 3mph on the treadmill. Even then 11-12 hours a day to get 100k. I’ve been in groups where they average 150k per day..day in day out week in week out I don’t buy it !!

    1. Steve, I understand your point, everyone has a different size stride. Regardless, I think you and I reached the same conclusion. I just finished a 40 mile race a week ago and in took me 8 and a half hours. I finished the day with 71k steps… People averaging 100k or 150k? Nah. Riding a bike or spinning… Peace. Joe the Runner

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