Okay, dudes. It’s time for me (Daniel Berenson) to put up a post instead of Dr. Crankenfuss getting his usual turn.  But don’t be concerned  about the good doctor. He’ll be fine and he’s almost ready with his next entry. In the meantime, here is some sage advice for many of you adults:  something that should take a load off your mind (if not your other body parts).

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10,000 STEPS! Let me repeat that impossibly high number: 10,000 STEPS! That’s what Fitbit and other similar devices tell us we’re supposed to take each and every day to maintain our fitness. 10,000 STEPS?? That’s a tough row to hoe for most of us, ain’t it? Many of us feel like giving up before we even start. But hey, aren’t there other activities that are worth a bunch of steps even if they’re not exactly steps. For example, when I get on a recumbent bike and do an hour of cycling, doesn’t that get any respect from Fitbit? Well, it should! Same thing for swimming and weight lifting, right?

Let’s get real. Most of us have like a zero chance of attaining our Fitbit goal if we have to rely solely on our legs. So, as a public service, I’ve come up with 12 activities that Fitbit creators may not have considered when they manufactured their guilt-inducing apparatus, but they use up plenty of energy and calories just the same. Use these to up your number of steps so you can soar to the Olympian heights that Fitbit dangles in front of you like a sweet piece of pizza. Hey, we might not all be runners or walkers but we all can take pride in our own unique forms of exercise.

So don’t despair if you aren’t into using your legs to move yourself around. Use these proven substitutes to help you reach that 10,000 step goal.

There’s more than one way to take a step.