Indoor Walking: How to Get Steps In When It’s Cold Outside

You can keep a daily step goal all winter without going outside, and you don’t need a treadmill to do it. Walking in place burns most of what a real walk does. In a University of Tennessee lab study, stepping in place cost about 258 calories an hour, compared with 304 for walking at 3 mph on a treadmill. Stepping in place during the commercials in one hour of TV added about 2,100 steps. Add some stairs, a mall loop or an indoor track, and an 8,000-step day without leaving the building is realistic.

Winter needs a plan because steps drop on their own. In a study of 96 UK adults who wore pedometers for four weeks in summer and four weeks in winter, average daily steps fell from 10,417 to 9,132. Sundays ran about 1,500 steps lower than other days in both seasons. And with daylight saving time over, the evening walk is now a dark one for a lot of people. So here are the indoor options, with real numbers wherever the research has them.

How many steps can you get walking indoors?

Two numbers do most of the work. Researchers in the CADENCE-Adults studies found that about 100 steps per minute marks moderate-intensity walking for adults from their 20s into their 80s. And when people stepped in place through TV commercials in the Tennessee study, they averaged 2,111 steps over about 25 minutes of movement. That works out to roughly 84 steps a minute.

Put those together and you get a decent estimate for each option.

Walking in place and walk-at-home videos

This is the one everyone underestimates. In that Tennessee study (23 adults, measured in a lab), stepping in place burned about 258 calories an hour, against 304 for walking at 3 mph. That’s roughly 85% of the energy cost of a solid walking pace, in a space the size of a yoga mat. Sitting and watching TV burned 81.

Follow-along walk-at-home videos make it a lot less boring. The good ones mix marching in place with side steps, knee lifts and kicks, and keep a steady beat so you don’t drift into a shuffle. Search YouTube for “walk at home” or “indoor walking workout” and start with something in the 15 to 30 minute range.

A few things make it count for more.

• Aim for about 100 steps a minute. That’s the moderate-intensity line for walking in the cadence research, and it makes a handy target in place too. Count your steps for 15 seconds and multiply by four (25 in 15 seconds is right on it).
• Wear shoes. Thirty minutes of stomping on a hard floor in socks gets old fast.
• Keep your phone in your pocket or your watch on your wrist. A phone sitting on the coffee table can’t count anything.
• Let your arms swing. It feels more like real walking, and it gives a wrist tracker more motion to read.

Stepping during TV commercials

It sounds like a joke. It isn’t. In the same lab, an hour of TV with stepping in place during every commercial break produced 25 minutes of activity and about 2,111 steps. It also nearly doubled the calorie burn of watching sitting down (148 versus 81 calories an hour).

Then the team tested it in real life. In a six-month randomized trial of 58 sedentary adults with overweight or obesity, one group stepped in place during the commercials of 90 minutes of TV a day, and the other walked 30 minutes a day. The commercial steppers went from about 4,600 to 7,600 daily steps. The walkers went from about 4,900 to 7,900. There was no significant difference between the groups.

Streaming without ads? Make your own breaks. Step through the opening credits and the “next episode” countdown, or march for one song between episodes. Same idea, no commercials required.

Stairs: the hardest-working minutes in the house

Stairs won’t pile up steps (a flight is only about 10), but they pack a lot of effort into a short burst. In a UK Biobank study of nearly 459,000 adults followed for a median of 12.5 years, people who climbed more than five flights a day (about 50 steps) had a lower risk of heart disease and stroke than people who climbed none. Those reporting 6 to 10 flights a day had about 16% lower risk. That’s an observational link, not proof that stairs caused it.

Trial data points the same way, though. In a small McMaster University trial, sedentary young adults who vigorously climbed a three-flight stairwell (60 steps) three times a day, three days a week, improved their cardio fitness after six weeks. The gain was modest. The time cost was tiny.

Keep it safe. Turn the lights on, use the handrail, and don’t carry anything that blocks your view of your feet. If you have a heart condition, knee trouble or balance problems, check with your doctor before turning stairs into a daily workout.

Mall walking

Malls are close to ideal for walking in bad weather. Mall Walking: A Program Resource Guide, from the CDC and the University of Washington Health Promotion Research Center, lists why. You get climate control, security staff and other people around, level surfaces that lower the risk of slips and falls, and restrooms and water fountains. The guide also points to the social support that comes from walking with other people.

To get started, call the mall’s guest services and ask whether there’s a walking program or early walking hours. Ask how long one lap is, too. At a brisk 100 steps a minute, a 30-minute loop is about 3,000 steps, and nobody minds if you window-shop on the cooldown.

Indoor tracks

Rec centers, YMCAs and some schools and community colleges have indoor tracks. Ask about walking hours and how many laps make a mile, since it varies from track to track. Then follow the posted direction and lane rules so you’re not dodging runners.

A track is the best indoor option for pace work because the distance is fixed. Count laps, check the clock, and you know your speed without guessing.

Treadmills and walking pads

If you have one, a treadmill is the closest thing to an outdoor walk, and the differences are smaller than most people think. We compared walking on a treadmill vs. outside in detail. Under-desk walking pads are slower and built for walking while you work; here’s what a walking pad actually does for steps and calories. Either one turns sitting time into walking time.

Around-the-house step habits that add up

Small stuff counts. The Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans dropped the old rule that activity had to come in bouts of 10 minutes or more to count, and now say any amount of physical activity has some health benefits.

• Pace during phone calls. Kitchen to living room and back, for the whole call. It’s a staple of our tips for walking more with a desk job for a reason, and it works just as well at home.
• Walk while you wait. Microwave, kettle, coffee maker, oven preheating. March in place or do laps of the kitchen.
• Take the long way. Use the bathroom on the other floor, carry laundry one load at a time, and put things away as you go instead of piling them at the bottom of the stairs.
• Take five-minute breaks. Three 5-minute walk-in-place breaks at about 84 steps a minute add roughly 1,250 steps.

How to keep your daily step goal through winter

Steps slip in winter without you deciding anything. Shorter days, worse weather, more couch. A few moves help you hold the line.

Set a winter floor. If your summer average is 10,000, a winter floor of 8,000 is still a great result. And if you’re not sure what you’re aiming for, here’s how many steps you actually need for health. It’s fewer than the famous 10,000 for most people.

Plan your weekends. In that UK study, Sunday was the lowest day of the week in summer and winter alike. Put a mall walk or track session on the calendar for Sunday instead of hoping it happens.

Stack indoor blocks. Here’s what a day without going outside could look like.

That’s before counting normal movement around the house.

Track it so you know. A step counter tells you whether the plan is working or just feels like it is. Vima Walk counts your daily steps on iPhone, so you can see whether the indoor blocks are adding up.

Grab daylight when it’s there. A lunchtime walk outside beats another indoor block when the weather allows. When you’re not sure it does, check the wind chill first; our guide to walking in cold weather has the frostbite cutoffs.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I get my steps in when it’s cold outside?

Combine short indoor blocks: a 20 to 30 minute walk-at-home video, stepping in place during TV commercials, a few flights of stairs, and a mall or indoor track walk on weekends. Stepping through the commercials in one hour of TV added about 2,100 steps in a University of Tennessee study. Stack three or four of these and 7,000 to 8,000 steps is doable without going outside.

Does walking in place count as exercise?

Yes. In a lab study, stepping in place burned about 258 calories an hour, about 85% of the 304 calories burned walking at 3 mph. Cadence research puts moderate-intensity walking at about 100 steps a minute, which makes a good target when you walk in place.

How many steps is a 30-minute walk-at-home video?

Roughly 2,500 to 3,000 steps, depending on your pace. People stepping in place in one study averaged about 84 steps a minute, which gives you about 2,500 in 30 minutes. Hold a brisk 100 steps a minute and you’ll get closer to 3,000.

Is mall walking good exercise?

Yes. Brisk walking counts as moderate-intensity activity, and a mall gives you a flat, climate-controlled space with security, restrooms and water. That’s why the CDC and the University of Washington put together a guide to mall walking programs. A 30-minute brisk loop is roughly 3,000 steps.

How many steps is one flight of stairs?

About 10. Researchers in a large UK Biobank study treated five flights as roughly 50 steps, and found that climbing more than five flights a day was linked to a lower risk of heart disease and stroke. Stairs add few steps, but a lot of effort per minute.

The bottom line on indoor walking

Bad weather and early sunsets don’t have to cost you your steps. Walking in place gets you most of the burn of a real walk. Commercial breaks turn into step breaks. Stairs give you the hardest minutes in the house, and malls and indoor tracks handle the long walks.

Pick two or three that fit your days, set a winter floor, and put Sunday on the calendar. The sidewalks will be back in spring. Your step count can be right where you left it.