The 3 Million Steps Challenge

Philip Pape 0:01

Think your daily movement doesn't matter much for fat loss . Recent research shows that simply hitting 8,000 steps a day dramatically reduces mortality risk and boosts your metabolism . Today , we're using the engineering principle of compound effects to reveal why 3 million steps this year 2025 , could transform your physique and health , and how small increases in daily movement create exponential results over time . Welcome to Wits and Weights , the podcast that blends evidence and engineering to help you build smart , efficient systems to achieve your dream physique . I'm your host , philip Pape , and today we're exploring how one engineering concept , the compound effect , reveals why taking just a few more steps each day this year could be the missing piece in your lifting and nutrition strategy . Now you're already putting in the work at the gym , I hope lifting weights , tracking your protein , focusing on progressive overload . If you're not doing those things , I would set those foundations up before you try to ramp up your steps . But if you're not paying attention to your daily movement , you're missing a crucial catalyst for better recovery , nutrient partitioning and your overall results . Recent research in the Lancet Public Health tells us that mortality risk decreases significantly as steps increase , especially up to about 8,000 to 10,000 steps per day . But most lifters fail to hit these targets because they're trying to change too much too fast , they're not consistent , they're missing the power of compound effects entirely . Today we're gonna break this down into three parts First , how the compound effect in engineering systems explains why small movement creates exponential results . Second , the science behind why our target of 3 million steps lands perfectly in that research-backed sweet spot and can amplify your training results . And finally , the exact system you'll use to build up to this goal this year , based on your current starting point . Before we dive in , if you're ready to join others who are taking up this challenge for themselves this 3 million steps in 2025 , and you want some accountability , some support , a place to share and track your results , join our free Wits and Weights Facebook group . You can search Wits and Weights on Facebook or just Facebook . Facebook or click the link in the show notes and you will there find a community of like-minded people who are just sharing their progress . They're posting every day , they're supporting each other and you can look up the hashtag 3millionsteps2025 to specifically follow along in this challenge . Again , join our Facebook group , click the link in the show notes or search for it on Facebook .

Philip Pape 2:49

Now let's start by understanding the compound effect from an engineering perspective . We like to do that on these Wednesday episodes . In engineering systems we see this principle everywhere , from thermal systems , where tiny improvements in insulation can lead to big savings in energy , to electronic amplifiers , where a small signal gets stronger through a feedback loop , and chemical reactions , where catalysts compound the rate of change . The key here ? You don't have to understand these systems , but it's the principle behind them . They don't just add up changes linearly , they multiply them over time through positive feedback loops . James Clear captured this perfectly in Atomic Habits when he talked about how a 1% daily improvement compounds to a 37x improvement over a year . So it is an incredibly important principle that can definitely work with your body , because things in the fitness realm work the same way .

Philip Pape 3:49

Every additional step that you take creates a cascade of positive feedback loops . Notice I'm not just talking about adding steps and that's the end of the story . Listen to this chain of events . First , when you move more , yes , you are increasing your what we call NEAT , your non-exercise activity thermogenesis . Higher NEAT then boosts your daily calorie burn . That higher calorie burn , or higher energy expenditure , improves a lot of things , such as your insulin sensitivity and , of course , the amount of food you can eat and the amount of fat loss you can achieve . Enhanced metabolism also makes future movement easier . You are now a healthier person . You have better cardiovascular health , better blood sugar control , on and on . And then all of this improved fitness leads to potentially more spontaneous activity that you may not even be aware of , further increasing your NEAT . This is why active people burn a lot more calories , even above and beyond what you would think . Because of this cascade , because of this compound effect of one little thing that upward spirals into multiple behaviors , sometimes unconsciously .

Philip Pape 4:59

Now one of my clients , jerry I had him on the podcast a while back . He had already lifted for many years . He built a ton of muscle . He was carrying a little bit extra weight , so we wanted to work on fat loss , but he was only getting like 3,000 steps a day because he was an attorney on his butt all day behind a computer Raise your hand virtually if that is you and so we got his steps up to about 8,000 steps per day . It wasn't like 12 . It was eight . And within I'll say within weeks , if not days his resting heart rate dropped dramatically . But he also saw that his expenditure climbed as he was in fat loss , which was almost a little I'll say a little bit surprising . It wasn't surprising for me I've seen this happen but the fact that he'd already built most of his genetic muscle that's what made it a little bit surprising the power of adding some steps , and that was just for his expenditure . We saw his health markers improve as well from the movement alone , before he had even lost very much weight at all . So keep that in mind if you're facing a plateau , if you're having issues with recovery , with training , with the amount of food you're eating , how powerful steps can be .

Philip Pape 6:12

Now let's get into why this specific number . So I came up with this challenge . I'm calling it the 3 million steps challenge . It's not a challenge that you sign up for . It's just a goal that you can aim for for the year , and then you join our Facebook group and together we are going to help each other achieve it . And that specific number may not even be your goal . We'll get there . But I want to explain that number first . If we break it down to a daily number , it comes out to 8,200 steps per day . And here's where the research gets interesting . A 2022 meta-analysis in the Lancet showed that the sweet spot for health benefits lies between 7,000 and 9,000 steps per day . So this target of 8,200 lands right in the middle , right smack dab in the middle of this evidence-based range .

Walking and Strength Training Benefits

Philip Pape 6:56

And for those of you already committed to strength training , which I'm going to mention multiple times today , you've got to be doing Walking is not enough , you've got to be strength training . The benefits directly support your goals and they compound them and they spiral them upward . So let's go through those benefits . I have quite a list based on what we've seen in the research . First are the metabolic benefits . Walking enhances your insulin sensitivity , which means better nutrient partitioning when you're trying to grow muscle . Now we know strength training also vastly improves this as well , so they go hand in hand . Related to this is it improves blood sugar control , which helps you with recovery , reducing fat storage as well . If you have historical issues with blood sugar maybe you're pre-diabetic or diabetic it's as powerful , if not more so , than metformin , which is the leading type 2 diabetes medication .

Philip Pape 7:50

When you go for a walk after a meal so that's always the first place I advise people putting their walks is after a meal . It increases your NEAT , which we mentioned before , and that can account for up to half yes , half of your daily energy expenditure if you are a big time walker , and it also helps with your appetite regulation energy expenditure if you are a big time walker , and it also helps with your appetite regulation . So it just naturally helps you get in better tune with your hunger signals and makes the intuitive aspect of eating food easier . While you're tracking and getting to that point and I see this all the time with clients who increase their steps they're like wow , I didn't know it would help me with my yeah , my BMs and my digestion , but also with my hunger signals . Awesome , so those are metabolic .

Philip Pape 8:29

Then we have the recovery and performance benefits that I don't think get talked about enough . For example , it enhances your blood flow between your training sessions . So it can actually not only help your muscles recover and repair , but also reduces DOMS , right Delayed onset muscle soreness . It's a great way to just kind of mitigate some of the soreness that you might get , which you shouldn't always be sore , but if you're in fat loss or you're doing a new movement or certain high rep work , I get it . You could , you could be sore . Maybe a type of person that has some extra cardio in there , you might get sore . So this is helpful . It also lowers systemic inflammation , which actually supports better adaptation to training , which is more of an acute inflammation , right , like training is an inflammatory response to the muscle tearing , but we don't , which we want , but we don't want systemic inflammation , so walking actually lowers that . It also improves your sleep quality .

Philip Pape 9:21

Okay , if you're having trouble with sleep or getting good sleep quality and you're not walking enough , adding some walks in , especially later in the day , not too late , could be helpful . See what it does for your sleep , and we know how important sleep then is for everything else Muscle growth , fat loss , you know , avoiding fat gain in your belly , all those things . And then it helps reduce your stress . Just walking itself can be stress relieving in many different ways right Walking out in nature , walking while you listen to a podcast or music , just being with your thoughts , being with people , being in the sun . But it also just naturally reduces your chronic stress physiologically and that supports better testosterone and better growth hormone production . We see how all this stuff is connected . And then the last , not last . I actually have four categories here . So the third category benefits from walking , from steps , is the fat loss support which I know a lot of you came to listen to this based on my title , but it is very helpful and it's a great incentive .

Philip Pape 10:15

So walking creates a calorie deficit . Well , it creates a calorie deficit . If you were previously at maintenance and now you add more steps , you're obviously going to burn more calories . Something like if you add 4,000 steps a day , you might burn an extra , say , 150 calories a day . That is not nothing . That is pretty significant because that means if you were maintaining , well , now you could eat 150 more calories of food to maintain , or you can just eat the same and actually start losing you know , maybe a half a pound a week or not quite just by adding 4,000 steps a day .

Philip Pape 10:46

Um , success studies show us that successful weight loss maintainers right , people who lose weight and fat and they maintain it . They average about 11 to 12,000 steps and again , you don't have to go that high . If you're doing a lot of other things , it's not going to be as necessary . I do like those numbers if you can get there , but we're focusing on that 8,000 step minimum today and then over a year . If you , let's say , you got 3 million steps , that is equivalent to about 120,000 calories burned right , and again , that's total . Obviously , if you're getting 4,000 steps now , and you'd go up to eight . You're getting 60,000 extra calories , not 120 , but you get what I'm saying . Just do the math . So , as far as fat loss goes , those are helpful .

Philip Pape 11:29

It also helps preserve muscle during fat loss phases because you are increasing your energy flux . You're keeping your metabolism higher than it otherwise would be , which then allows you to eat more of everything protein , carbs , everything that supports muscle and helps avoid catabolism , the breakdown of muscle . Super amazing thing that you might not be thinking about . It's like well , if I'm in the same calorie deficit , what does it matter ? Well , wouldn't you rather be in the same calorie deficit with 200 more calories a day ? Yes , of course you would . And finally , it supports insulin sensitivity , which we mentioned before , but that also makes your body more efficient at using nutrients , which can be helpful during fat loss . And then , finally , we have lifting-specific benefits Better joint mobility , reduced stiffness between training sessions and , by the way , the best thing you can do for your mobility and joints is lift weights .

Philip Pape 12:19

So don't take this to mean like , oh , we're gonna walk to offset how weights hurt your joints . No , that's not the mentality . The mentality is we need to lift weights . That supports our joints , and then walking also supports our joints and helps with the blood flow , and all that . It also improves your cardiovascular function , of course , which helps with your work capacity , which helps you get through workouts and get all the reps without feeling out of breath . It gives you more stable energy levels throughout the day , partly because of the blood sugar control , and it gives you better cognitive function for focusing during intense training sessions .

Philip Pape 12:51

And I didn't even mention the mental health benefits . I don't know why I didn't have that in my notes , but the mental health benefits of walking are also well-demonstrated and worthwhile even just for itself . I did mention stress , but anyway , now I wanna be crystal clear again Walking alone is not enough . You absolutely need to be lifting weights with progressive overload to build and maintain muscle mass . But for those of you who are already doing this , increasing daily steps is like adding fuel to the fire . It's adding a catalyst to those efforts . That's the compound effect , and I see it with clients all the time . They add more walking in and so many things start to improve , almost surprisingly , like they'll fill out their check-in form and they'll say well , you know , I just all of a sudden felt like I had a lot more energy and I was actually walking more this week . Like well , there's probably a reason for that , and so any one of these benefits might apply to you and they're worthwhile in terms of a reason to walk , all right .

Philip Pape 13:48

So here's where we get a little bit more practical right . Just like in engineering systems , we want to calibrate based on where you are starting from and where your baseline is . So , even though 3 million steps for the year equals 8,200 steps a day , if you are currently getting 3,000 steps a day , I don't want you to try to get 8,000 steps this week . Just add 500 steps this week and then add 500 more and then keep going . Now , if you're already getting , say , 6,000 steps , well , maybe you're at the point where you can add a thousand steps this week instead of just 500 . You know , it's kind of like progressive overload for walking and just gradually progress . Allow the compound effect to start working .

Philip Pape 14:26

Don't overwhelm your schedule or your stress or your lifting or anything by feeling like this is a burden . We don't want it to be a negative . We want the walking just to be an easy little thing . They're adding in and , by the way , 500 steps , that's like a quarter mile . You can add that almost by just changing some of the way that you do normal day-to-day activities , your chores , where you park , when you go to the store , taking the stairs instead of the elevator , pacing around the house , when you're on a call , it may not even require a walk , quote unquote . But then to get more steps than that , yes , it helps to have structured walks in there . So how do we do this ?

Philip Pape 15:01

All right , step one is to get that baseline . If you don't even know what you're getting , that's step one . Track your current steps for a week or two using any old device that can do that . They're all fine . Your phone , a wearable , an expensive wearable , cheap wearable they all work and you'll get a good average right .

Philip Pape 15:17

Some days are high , sometimes are low . Don't beat yourself up just because you had a low day , because then you might have a high day . Don't try to make it up . Just see what your average is and then , based on where you honestly are now , you can choose how you want to increase from there and set your new floor . And then make sure that you are doing this intentionally around your schedule with what's really going to happen in your life . Don't just assume you can crank up the steps without any thought , right ? So that's step one . Step two is so . In other words , I want you to not feel like you're forcing yourself to do it . I want you to set up the environment to help you be successful .

Philip Pape 16:00

Park farther from the gym or the grocery store . Take a 10-minute walk right after you train . You know , since you're already at the gym , like , just add the walk to your gym session . Think of it as a cool down , or do it before the gym session , that's fine . Think of it as a warm up . Schedule walking meetings if that's a thing you can do . Add a 10 minute walk after meals , or even a five minute walk if that's all you can do .

Philip Pape 16:23

Here's a hack that I like Use your rest periods between your sets in the gym and just walk around . I mean , unless it's just like massively intense , like super heavy deadlifts , where you're just gassed and you need to sit , and that's better for you , unless it's that , use the periods between the sets to just get a bunch of steps . You might get two or 3,000 steps during your training session just from that . And then the final thing here is now that you've tracked your baseline , you've set a target and you've set up your environment for success is to build that feedback loop . All right , log those steps Now . Again , if you're using a phone , it does it for you pretty much . I like an app called pedometer plus plus . Uh , it's on iPhone , I don't know if it's on Android , but it's a free app . You can donate to them too , but it's free , and it has a widget for your uh what do you call a complication for your Apple watch , so that you could set a target and see how you are tracking against the target .

Philip Pape 17:18

Another way to build a feedback loop is to join our Facebook group and share your progress . That's actually one of the most powerful ways is community support and accountability . Jump on in there , show us your pretty face , take a picture of you walking , video of you walking outside , whatever . Throw a screenshot of your GPS , track whatever floats your boat , and we'll just all jump in and give you the applause and the recognition , but also the encouragement to keep going and help with any issues along the way . Also , look at how your increased steps helps everything else .

Philip Pape 17:52

So you should be tracking your lifting performance at a minimum . Is it helping with that ? Is it helping with your heart rate ? Right , you're probably tracking . That was part of your . If you have a wearable , is it helping with your sleep , with your energy , with all the ? Tie them together as an incentive for why increasing your step count is so helpful . And then always celebrate achievements . So if you went from 3000 average and now you're up to 3,500 average , celebrate that . It is worth celebrating .

Philip Pape 18:24

All right , the last fascinating kind of twist here I want you to think about with this compound effect is that it works both ways . In other words , if you make a choice to take the elevator instead of the stairs and then you keep doing that , that's going to compound over a year in the opposite direction . That's 365 opportunities . If it's every day for the effect to work either for or against you , it's like a decision tree . So it's just like how missing one workout is not going to kill your gains , but if you keep skipping sessions , it's going to cause you to detrain your daily movement . Choices accumulate into either progress or regression . So this is the year to think about which direction you want to go . The compound effect is not just a abstract principle , right , it's a fundamental law of nature . It really is . We see it everywhere and by applying it to your movement through the 3 million steps challenge . You're working with those natural laws to amplify your results instead of fight against

Community Support for Fitness Challenge

Philip Pape 19:18

them .

Philip Pape 19:18

All right , join our Wits and Weights Facebook group to connect with others taking the hashtag 3 million steps 2025 challenge . You could share your progress . You could support , be part of a community that understands the power of not quick fixes , but small , consistent actions . Click the link in the show notes to join the group or search Wits and Weights on Facebook . Until next time , keep using those wits lifting some weights and Weights on Facebook . Until next time , keep using those lifting some weights and remember every step counts . I'll talk to you next time here on the Wits and Weights podcast .