Walking is one of the simplest yet most effective ways to maintain and improve your health. Whether you're looking to enhance longevity, lose weight, or simply stay active, understanding how many miles you should walk each day can help you reach your goals. Let’s break it down based on different outcomes, strategies for adding more steps into your routine, and tips for staying motivated.

Daily Miles to Walk for Various Results

Translating Steps to Miles

Before discussing goals, it helps to understand the conversion between steps and miles. On average, 2,000 steps equal about 1 mile. However, stride length varies by person, so this number is just an approximation. Fitness trackers like Fitbit, Apple Watch, or Garmin can help provide more accurate measurements tailored to your body.

1.5–5 Miles for Health and Longevity

A 2020 study published in JAMA looked at nearly 5,000 people and how daily steps and walking speed impacted death rates. The researchers found that walking at least 8,000 steps (about 4 miles) a day was linked to a lower chance of dying from any cause. They found that the speed of walking did not change this risk.

A 2022 study from the same publication found that walking up to 10,000 steps a day (which is about 5 miles) was linked to a lower chance of getting cancer and heart disease, as well as a reduced risk of dying from either of these conditions.

For many people, walking 3 to 5 miles a day (or 6,000 to 10,000 steps) is a good goal. It helps keep your heart healthy, lowers the chance of getting sick, and improves your mood and thinking skills.

If you don't want to count steps or miles, you can also use time to determine how much to walk.

The Department of Health and Human Services suggests that adults should aim for 150 minutes of moderate exercise each week. A brisk 30-minute walk, covering about 1.5 to 2 miles daily, can help meet that goal.

You can achieve your brisk walking time by doing at least 10 minutes of brisk walking at a time during the day, which covers about 1/2 mile.

2.5–5 Miles for Weight Loss

If you want to lose weight, you should probably walk more. A common guideline is that burning 3,500 calories helps you lose 1 pound of fat. Walking typically burns about 80 to 100 calories for every mile you walk, depending on your weight and speed.

Walking 2.5 to 5 miles each day (about 5,000 to 10,000 steps) and eating healthy can help you lose weight gradually.

A study found that people who walked at least 8,000 steps each day could lose and keep off 10% or more of their body weight over 18 months.

The study looked at how many steps people take when they walk briskly for at least 10 minutes at a time. They suggest aiming for 10,000 steps each day, with 3,500 of those steps coming from brisk walking for about 35 minutes total. This brisk walking would cover a distance of about 1.75 miles each day.

How to Get More Miles in Daily

Adding more miles doesn’t have to mean carving out an hour each day. Here are practical ways to incorporate more walking:

Walk on a treadmill

Using a treadmill lets you walk no matter the weather. You can also watch shows or read while using it.

Set up a deskmill/treadmill

A treadmill desk lets you work while walking at a slow speed. Walking just 1 mile per hour for a few hours each day can really boost the total distance you walk.

Join a challenge

Get friends, family, or coworkers to join you in a daily mile challenge. You can also find challenges in fitness apps.

Park farther away

Intentionally park your car farther from your destination. These small efforts add up and create opportunities for movement throughout the day.

Make it a date

Combine socializing and walking. Go for a walk with friends, family, or pets. It can be a casual stroll or an active power walk.

Walk as a means of transportation

If possible, replace short car trips with walking. Commuting on foot not only adds miles but also saves money and reduces carbon emissions.

Get off a stop early

If you use public transportation, try getting off one stop early and walking the rest of the way. It's an easy method to sneak in an extra half mile or more.

Even if you can't completely reach your goals, remember that making any progress is better than staying still. A strong study shows that walking four miles a day even just one or two days a week can lead to great health benefits.

Tracking Daily Steps and Mileage

Wearable devices can help you keep track of how many miles you walk each day. This includes watches, fitness bands, and pedometers you can clip onto your clothes. Most cell phones can also count your daily steps.

To monitor not just your distance, but also your heart rate during walking or workouts, consider pairing your device with a Coospo heart rate monitor. It’s a lightweight, reliable chest strap that connects to your fitness apps via Bluetooth or ANT+, helping you train smarter and track your activity more precisely.

Fitness apps can track your brisk walking to help you reach moderate-intensity goals, as well as your total daily steps and distance.

If you’re not wearing a device or carrying a phone, go to Google Maps or any online map. Type in your walking route to see how far you will go.

Treadmills usually show how far you've run during your workout. Outdoor and indoor tracks have set distances for each lap. Some parks and paths also have signs showing the distances.

Walking Challenges to Increase Results

Walk on an incline

Want more of a cardiovascular challenge? Walking on an incline (or adding an incline to your treadmill workout) or hiking up a hill increases the intensity of your walk.

Add bursts of speed walking or jogging

Intervals in which you walk as fast as you can or even jog for a minute or two at a time can increase the intensity of your walking workouts. Then, slow to your usual brisk walking pace.

Find a new location

Are you tired of seeing the same places? Try walking in a different neighborhood or park. Explore new cities by walking when you're on vacation.

Walk to the beat

Create a playlist of music that inspires you to keep up the pace and not stop until the songs are over.