Steps to Health Challenge

Steps to Health Challenge 2024

Challenge Dates: 13th May to 16th June 2024

What is Steps to Health

Steps to health is a five week walking challenge that supports staff in the HSE and other health care organisations to get more active and to increase their physical activity levels. The aim is to get you walking and counting your steps daily and connecting with your work colleagues in a fun way whilst improving your health and wellbeing.

How does Steps work?

Download a poster to advertise the challenge
Set up a team of 2-10 people
Nominate a coordinator who will look after your team
Register your team
Download participant and coordinator guides here
Get active daily by stepping or moving with your teammates. Every Move Counts!
Record your daily steps using phones, personal devices or step counters from last year’s challenge
Record your teams total weekly steps for the 5 weeks
Keep an eye out for local competitions and leader boards in your area.
Keep active and walking after the challenge!

Most of us walk between 3,000 to 5,000 steps a day. We challenge you to make up the extra steps so that you reach the goal of 10,000 steps a day.

It might take longer for those who are inactive at present. You can break up the steps into ten minute walks at a time and still get the health benefits.

New guidelines have shown us that we need to move more every day and adults need to get at least 2 hours and 30 minutes of moderate activity everyday for health benefits.

Sitting at your desk all day is known to increase our risk of ill health – so remember to take breaks every hour and to try and get a walk or stretch in at lunchtime. Every Move Counts so try and limit your sedentary time and replace it with any type of activity. Any is better than none.

Steps to Health for Wheelchair Users

It is possible to take part as a wheelchair user. While the HSE Steps challenge is obviously based on logging steps there are several ways in which wheelchair users' activity can be recorded as steps. Activity trackers such as FitBit and Apple Watches and personal devices can convert movement to steps.

Other Methods to Convert to Steps:

Track the distance wheeled

An odometer, which can be purchased from a cycle or sports equipment store can be attached to the wheelchair and will monitor the distance covered each day. The distance can then be converted to steps by using the following equation: 1km = 1250 steps.

Minutes of moderate/vigorous activity for any exercise

10 minutes of moderate intensity activity = 1,000 steps
10 minutes of high intensity activity = 2,000 steps”

Check out what staff have to say about the Steps Challenge

Find out more about being active for your health and wellbeing

Check out the new physical activity guidelines and sedentary behaviour guidelines for Ireland and see how much physical activity you should be doing every day.

Walking Routes

There are over 250 Slí na Sláinte walking routes around the country, all waymarked and great for getting out for a sociable walk and talk with family and friends. For more information visit Irish Heart Foundation – Slí na Sláinte Routes.

National Looped Walks and Forest Trails

There are over 175 National Looped Walks developed throughout Ireland, ranging from short strolls to longer walks. There are also over 250 forest walks developed in forest sites around the country. For more details visit getirelandwalking.ie, coillte.ie and irishtrails.ie