In a continuing collaboration with Scott over at Straight to the Bar, we will be writing about alternative exercises throughout the month of June. Cross training can easily be expanded outside of the realms of running, weight lifting, bicycling and swimming.

This week, Scott suggests that you walk for at least 10,000 steps per day (about 5 miles.) Replacing a few simple chores with your feet instead of your car can easily cause how far you have walked in any given day to add up.

One of the easiest tips that I can think of to walk further in a day without even noticing is to be mindful of where you park. When you pull into a parking lot, park in the first empty space that you see near the back. Not only will you have to walk the extra distance to the store or to your office, but you will also waste less time driving around trying to find a spot close to the doors, you will be less likely to have somebody park next to you and ding your doors, and the whole experience will generally be less stressful.

Many health care providers will provide you with a cheap pedometer if you ask for one. Simple ones will tell you how many steps that you have taken; slightly better ones can be programmed with your stride length to give you an approximate distance. I got a pedometer when I was a kid in an effort to figure out how far I was running, but it was not very accurate. Pedometers have improved quite a bit since then. You can even get ones that talk to you through your iPod and accurate to within 2%.