Step conversion chart: exercise to steps

Short answer

This step conversion chart turns other exercise into an estimated step count. Moderate activity is credited at 100 steps a minute and vigorous activity at 200, using intensity values from the 2024 Compendium of Physical Activities. Pick an activity and your minutes, or use the 30-minute table. Results are estimates for challenges and logs.

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First two rounds free · teams of 2–4 · a new round every Tuesday

By Coach Josh · Get Your BMR

3 sources · Reviewed October 29, 2026

The short version

  • Moderate minute ≈ 100 steps
  • Vigorous minute ≈ 200 steps
  • An estimate, not a measurement
Illustration: three coworkers walking outside their office at lunchtime.

Free interactive tool

Convert exercise to steps

Pick an activity and your minutes. Moderate minutes count as 100 steps, vigorous as 200.

Steps per 30 minutes (estimate)
ActivityMETsSteps
Cycling, easy (under 10 mph)43,000
Cycling, steady76,000
Swimming laps, slow5.83,000
Water aerobics5.53,000
Yoga (Hatha)2.3Not converted
Low-impact aerobics or dance class4.83,000
Zumba6.56,000
Elliptical, moderate53,000
Weight training3.53,000
Tennis, doubles4.53,000
Tennis, singles86,000
Gardening, moderate effort3.83,000
House cleaning, moderate3.33,000
Hiking66,000

Where the numbers come from

Researchers found about 100 steps a minute is a reasonable floor for moderate-intensity walking. U.S. guidelines treat one minute of vigorous activity as roughly equal to two minutes of moderate activity.

Activity intensities come from the 2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities, which lists MET values for adults aged 19 to 59. Pickleball isn’t listed, so it isn’t in the chart.

Using it in a step challenge

Agree on the rules before the challenge starts: which activities count, and whether you’ll use this chart. Many workplace challenges allow conversions so people who swim, cycle or use a wheelchair can take part.

In the Walk & Water app, steps come straight from Apple Health or Health Connect, and teams of two to four are ranked on their average.

Walk it with a team this week

Join a team of 2–4, walk & drink your water Tuesday to Thursday, and see the winners Friday.

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First two rounds free · teams of 2–4 · a new round every Tuesday

The 3-Day Walk & Water Challenge

How a round works

  1. 1. Join a team

    Two to four of you on one team: a friend’s, your own, or one you join in the app. Your team gets a name, a crest & a spot on the live leaderboard.

  2. 2. Walk + water, 3 days

    Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday. A step goal & a water goal sized to where you are today. The board updates as you walk & closes Thursday at midnight, Arizona time.

  3. 3. Friday winners

    Friday morning the results go up. The winning team’s card glows gold, badges land beside names on the board, and a new round starts Tuesday.

Bigger isn’t better. Teams rank on their AVERAGE.

A team’s score is its average per woman, not its total. So two friends can beat a team of four, and every walker’s day counts the same. When one of you goes quiet, the others notice & send a nudge in team chat.

The Walk & Water team card: team name and crest, team level, the average steps per woman, and each teammate’s steps and glasses of water.
Your team card. The big number is the average per woman.
The Walk & Water leaderboard: your rank this week, steps, glasses of water, day streak, and the 3-day challenge rankings.
The live leaderboard. Solo, team & global ranks for this round.

How the conversion works

The calculator above does this for you.

  1. Find the activity’s intensity

    Each activity has a MET value: how hard it is compared with sitting. Moderate is 3 to 5.9 METs; vigorous is 6 or more.

  2. Credit steps per minute

    About 100 steps a minute is moderate walking, so a moderate minute is 100 steps. A vigorous minute counts as two moderate minutes: 200 steps.

  3. Light activity isn’t converted

    Under 3 METs, like gentle yoga, still counts as moving but isn’t turned into steps here.

Questions

How many steps is 30 minutes of cycling?

Easy cycling (under 10 mph) is moderate, so about 3,000 steps. Steady cycling is vigorous, about 6,000.

How many steps is 30 minutes of swimming?

Slow laps are moderate, about 3,000 steps.

Does yoga count as steps?

Hatha yoga is light activity, so this chart doesn’t convert it. It still counts as moving.

Is a step conversion accurate?

It is an estimate based on average intensities, good for a fair challenge, not a measurement of your own effort.

Sources

Written by Coach Josh and checked against these sources on October 29, 2026. General information, not medical advice.

Show all 3 sources
  1. Tudor-Locke et al. (2011). How many steps/day are enough? For adults. International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity
  2. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services — Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, 2nd edition
  3. Herrmann et al. (2024). 2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities. Journal of Sport and Health Science
Coach Josh

Who writes these guides

Coach Josh

Professional trainer since 2018 · ISSA & NCCPT certified · Creator of Get Your BMR & the Walk & Water Challenge (BodyByReason)

I’m Josh. I built Get Your BMR so you could see what your body burns at rest, & I built Walk & Water so you’d have somewhere to use it with people who notice when you show up.

I walk every round too: same board, same three days, on my own team. I don’t always win. Tap Chat with Coach in the app & it’s me who answers.

About 7 in 10 women who finish a round come back & play the next one.

Walk & Water app data, 73 finishers, snapshot October 19, 2026.

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Related guides

Get Your BMR is Coach Josh’s free calculator. The 3-Day Walk & Water Challenge is where you put the number to work, and it runs inside the APEX: Walk & Water app on iPhone and Android.