Harvard professor debunks the ‘10,000 steps per day’ myth | Daniel Lieberman

Did you know treadmills were invented as prison torture machines? Modern exercise is confusing. Harvard professor Dan Lieberman sets it straight.

Today, most of us tend to medicalize exercise, turning it into something that we “have” to do. Case in point: the treadmill. If our main goal was enjoyment, there’s no way we’d regularly spend 45 minutes walking in place on these expensive machines.

But our relationship with exercise — or, more generally, physical activity — was not always so discrete and joyless. For much of human history, people got plenty of physical activity by not only walking long distances, but also by doing activities that were both necessary and socially rewarding, like hunting, dancing, and sports.

Harvard biologist Daniel Lieberman argues it’s time to rethink our relationship with exercise, and to understand physical activity as a complex and integral part of human evolution. After all, while walking thousands of steps through the environment to find our next meal was a major part of our evolution, walking on the treadmill was not.

0:00 Treadmill torture (really)
1:54 Exercise vs physical activity
2:40 Why exercise stresses us out
3:12 “Medicalizing” exercise
3:48 The 10,000 steps myth
5:02 Warrior origins of exercise
6:12 Aggression: Proactive vs. reactive
7:15 The anthropological view

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About Daniel Lieberman:
Daniel Lieberman is Edwin M. Lerner II Professor of Biological Sciences and a professor of the Department of Human Evolutionary Biology at Harvard University. He received degrees from Harvard and Cambridge, and taught at Rutgers University and George Washington University before joining Harvard University as a Professor in 2001. He is a member of American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Lieberman loves teaching and has published over 150 peer-reviewed papers, many in journals such as Nature, Science, and PNAS, as well as three popular books, The Evolution of the Human Head (2011), The Story of the Human Body: Evolution, Health and Disease (2013), and Exercised: Why Something We Never Evolved to Do is Healthy and Rewarding (2020).

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Read more of our stories on exercise:
When is the best time to exercise?
This molecule may be the “secret sauce” of exercise — but it won’t work as a pill
How exercise changes your brain biology and protects your mental health

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[JoshuaYoung]

I wouldn't say he debunked it. He explained and deconstructed it, but it was still relatively true in his own words.

[wiganagames]

Do something is better than do nothing. Everything starts with the first step

[mral]

I was told at a young age "Use or Lose It" or "Always keep moving" which both grandma's would say. The one who kept to these lived almost to 100 while the other was shy by 20 years. This rule seems to be true for my parents as well.

I believe Harvard just released finding that cancer patients on chemotherapy that exercised / forced themselves to move had a 63% survival over those who did not move.

[potatochalbro]

He was talking for 8 minutes but didn't really say anything.

[pfrydog]

Exercise equipment like treadmills are fine if you live in an environment where you can't go outside for certain periods of time.

[Belx]

"I don't know anybody who really enjoys being on a treadmill."

But... I actually enjoy being on a treadmill... I get to listen to and organize my Spotify playlist while exercising. It's very therapeutic to me.

[SuperDarthKelly]

"debunks" is basically the exact opposite of what he does in this video but ok

[chickadddee]

Straight forward message, very clear. Walk as much as you can, but you don't have to count. He is an advocate of exercise being a natural part of your day, and enjoying whatever you do.

[mzdimt]

Nobody has ever said less with as many words as this man does here

[arturogonzalez]

I think he's talking about the people who exercise for the sake of something. Like lifting weights to look good without a shirt and hitting the treadmill to lose weight, etc. Although this might be true for some people, others, myself included, LOVE to exercise. Lifting weights can be a hell of a challenge, while I"m doing it, I could tell myself, "man what am I doing." But once the session is over, I feel so relaxed and so happy. Being stronger also helps me do a lot of daily stuff.

[clingdawg]

I use a treadmill because it's hard for me to walk outside in the winter. I fall too easily, and am getting to the age where falls are particularly hazardous.

[xXAlmdudlerXx]

Without having watched the video its still save to say that any kind of exercise that makes you move is better than no exercise.

[snowpanther]

This whole video makes the assumption that everyone hates going on the treadmill. I love walking on the treadmill. It's relaxing. Aiming for 10, 000 steps has helped incredibly with my fitness and made exercise a habit. Bashing the 10, 000 steps a day thing makes no sense to me

[CoachSeamus]

"Exercise is not fun its like taking your medicine".

I can't properly put into words how much I disagree with this. I LOVE exercise. Is it hard? of course it is, but I love every minute of it. I lift weights 6 days per week and do 2 hours incline walking on my home treadmill (daily).

Exercise is by far one of the best parts of my day. The health benefits just make me love it even more.

[cenationofjnu]

eat less + work more + drink more water + stay away from stress = healthy body.

[AntonioRockGP]

Working out in the gym is way less of a torture that listening to this guy talking so much without saying anything

[ceoofmemes]

let me summarize the video because the guy, as someone else stated, found the longest way to say the idea. just don't count. walking is natural, so you don't need to count how many steps you take, you just need to make sure you do it. i have no idea how he "debunked" this when all he said was that you shouldn't count. he didn't debunk that 10k steps a day is good for you.

[hawleygriffin]

For me the real advantage to the treadmill is doing intervals. If my schedule has me doing speed work like eight 400's at 6 minute mile pace (I'm 64) with a jogging 400 in between each one, the advantage of the treadmill is that if I put it at 10 MPH, I HAVE to keep up. On the track I can dog it and miss my pace. On the treadmill, I can't. If I don't keep up, it's gonna spit me off the back.

[rakeshkrishnan]

Hitler was not a vegetarian. He had a very weak stomach and other health issues so he could not eat actual meat but he ate meat sausages. This is mentioned in Hitler's Last Witness: The Memoirs of Hitler's Bodyguard by Rochus Misch.

[jamie]

I know each step is not equal. I also know that to accomplish anything, you have to have a goal. If 10, 000 steps are your goal, that's awesome when you attain it. Any work you do towards accomplishing your goas is "step" in the right direction.