Are you also one of those who interrupt the many stays at home with walks due to the corona restrictions? This idea also came to a self-proclaimed «simple man» (Youtube name: «Simple Man») in the USA. He set himself the goal of walking around 100 miles within a week, which corresponds to around 160 kilometers. The long walks caused quite a bit in his body. Find out what exactly – and what a sports doctor says about this walking challenge.
Steven, Simple Man’s real first name, has entertained his now 69,200 YouTube subscribers with other self-experiments. Most recently, he had set himself the task of eating twelve eggs a day – which he said had fewer health-promoting effects on his cholesterol levels, for example. In comparison, his walking challenge was a resounding success. According to Steven, he invested four hours a day to cover 23 kilometers each time. On day six, this made itself felt for the first time with severe signs of exhaustion, as he reports on YouTube. What gave him new motivation, however, was that his calf muscles became noticeably more defined. But not only that!
Euphoric from runner’s high
In the end, Steven managed about 176 kilometers, which is about 15 kilometers more than he had actually planned for his week-long walking challenge. And every unit is said to have done him a lot of good mentally. The YouTuber reports feelings of euphoria that are said to have overtaken him – comparable to the so-called «runner’s high» (German: «runner’s high»), which runners often report.
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What 31,000 steps a day did
After seven days, Simple Man claims to have weighed around two kilograms less than before. His body fat percentage has reduced by 0.9 percent, and he also reports a slightly improved blood pressure of 117 to 82 (previously: 122 to 88).
Particularly interesting: His height is said to have changed every day as a result of the 31,000 steps he took. After completing the walking challenge, he was one centimeter taller. Simple Man provides the explanation right away: He believes that the increased walking has strengthened his spine, which means that he stands taller and taller. But Steven also admits that he hadn’t measured himself for a long time before that.
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What does the sports doctor say about this walking challenge?
FITBOOK has Dr. Paul Schmidt-Hellinger, sports physician at the Charité in Berlin and marathon runner, was asked how he assessed the whole thing. «The results are not at all surprising in terms of weight loss and blood pressure change,» he concludes. Schmidt-Hellinger also points out that in this case it is not known at what level of fitness the man was and how many steps he had taken on the previous day. «You also don’t know how long he had this level and what previous experience he brought with him.»
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Accordingly, Schmidt-Hellinger would not unreservedly recommend anyone to try it out. Anyone who is not used to walking such distances risks injuries such as tendinitis or even fatigue fractures.
Basically, Dr. Paul Schmidt-Hellinger is critical of such challenges: Such «short-term interventions» would of course have an effect, but the question is how long this will last. «Ultimately, it turns out that such eruptive changes in activity – i.e. doing a lot for a week – do not necessarily lead to long-term changes.» may tend to think he can eat anything now and drive his car anywhere for the rest of the year,” warns Schmidt-Hellinger.
The recommendation of the sports doctor: Gradually increase the number of steps over the long term. “10,000 would certainly be a good goal. This can be achieved, for example, by getting off the bus or train one station earlier and walking the rest of the way, or by parking the car a little further away so that you have to walk a little longer.”