I’m the first to admit I keep an eye on the step count on my smartwatch. I keep it real though as I hardly ever reach 10,000 steps, however, I know not every step is created equal. For example, I do a lot of hill work and in fact I do a lot of backward incline stepping in my day, as mentioned previously. Or your steps with a pack or bag, those steps are not the same as your unloaded walk. And so on….

So where am I going with this? Here is some data to think about. Trunk loading on average causes ~2.5%, 4.2% and 8.5% increase in energy expenditure (EE) for added loads of 5%, 10% and 15% BM (body mass) respectively. However, add 250 to 500 grams distally to the lower leg and you can get 3-7% increase in EE. Go to the work of Martin (1985) and Martin and Cavanagh (1990) if you want to do a deep dive on this.

Note the stats above relate to running. Nonetheless, feel the difference in those steps when light loads area attached to the lower leg (e.g. 500 gm on calf sleeves), and understand they have similar EE to 10-15% BM vest loads. Attach loads to the lower arm as well and start power walking and your EE (calorie burning) will hit new levels.