Scroll through wellness content lately and you’ll notice two competing mantras everywhere: Hit 10,000 steps a day and commit to a 45-minute workout. Each sounds definitive. Each promises better health.
But as Sumit Dubey, Fitness & Wellness Coach and founder, Sumit Dubey Fitness (SDF), explains, real health rarely fits into neat, isolated rules.
According to Dubey, most fitness confusion begins when people treat these habits as either-or choices. “The truth,” he says, “lies in understanding how different forms of movement influence your energy, mood, and long-term vitality not just what looks good on a fitness tracker.”
To start, it helps to decode what these numbers actually mean. Walking 10,000 steps daily is less about intensity and more about consistency. As Dubey points out, it encourages regular movement in otherwise sedentary lives, standing up, walking short distances, breaking long hours of sitting. In a world dominated by screens and traffic, this steady motion quietly supports circulation, posture, and joint health.
A structured 45-minute workout, however, works on a different level altogether. “Focused workouts deliver targeted benefits,” says Sumit Dubey. Cardiovascular endurance, muscle strength, bone density, metabolic health, and mental resilience all respond powerfully to intentional training. In under an hour, the body can be pushed to adapt, stronger muscles, better oxygen use, improved blood sugar response, and sharper focus.
But where people go wrong, according to Dubey, is assuming one can replace the other. Walking doesn’t replicate resistance training. A workout doesn’t undo 10 hours of sitting.
So which approach truly wins?
“The winning formula,” Dubey explains, “is a well-designed 45-minute workout paired with an active lifestyle throughout the remaining 23 hours.” That combination amplifies results. Exercise creates the stimulus; daily movement preserves it. A few intense sessions each week improve performance, while walking keeps stiffness, fatigue, and mental fog at bay.
Blending endurance, strength, and mobility within each workout, starting with proper warm-up and ending with recovery-focused movement is recommended. On most days, aiming for 7,000–12,000 steps works well, adjusted to individual schedules and energy levels. Short movement breaks, post-meal walks, and hourly standing all add up.
Listening to your body matters just as much. “Low energy days call for lighter movement,” Dubey advises. “High energy days? Push a little harder.”
Ultimately, as Dubey reminds us, progress doesn’t come from obsessing over a single number. Health is built through effort layered into everyday life, training with intent, moving often, resting well, and enjoying the process. When movement becomes part of how you live, not a task to tick off, it stops feeling like discipline and starts feeling natural.
