Counting #steps and Kicking Off My Shoes

My facebook and instagram friends have been seeing my almost nightly routine of reporting how many #steps I've walked according to the pedometer on my phone as I kick off my shoes.

Even the most comfortable of shoes doesn't beat being shoeless for me, especially after a long day. In my youth and childhood, pretty much all of the dance classes I took were barefoot, Modern and Israeli Folk Dance. In those days the exercise classes I took and taught were also barefoot. This predated the "invention" of aerobic exercise. I still think that exercise should be barefoot, and it should include moving the feet around, too. You can't do it in a shoe, and trying can be dangerous. Shoes restrict us, even the softest.

To be honest, I now need something softer than Israeli floors to walk on. Maybe it's age, but when I'm out, soft, flexible shoes are necessary. This past summer I almost never wore sandals. I only wear soft flexible shoes. But after a long day, I just must get them off.

And if you're curious, I've been trying to top 12,000 steps a day. Sometimes it isn't easy. This includes walking around the house doing all sorts of ordinary things, like walking from the laundry room to the clothesline, to the kitchen and back to the den, etc. When I'm taking a "long" walk, it's rarely more than 4,000 steps at a time. I believe that it's best to break up your exercise and walking into small doses spread throughout the day. This is especially important as you get older. That's why I like the simple program/application on my phone. It counts everything, every step. I have noticed that it even counts the steps in fitness routines.  I find that very encouraging.

Do you have any tricks that help you exercise? Please answer in the comments, thanks.