The man’s supervisor, u/ronearc, shared the story in a now-deleted post to the r/MaliciousCompliance subreddit. They earned 11,400 upvotes and 450 comments for their post, “10,000 steps a day or else!” before moderators removed it.
The original poster (OP) said that their story happened “years ago, long before smart phones or Fitbits.” Their coworker, “Bob,” had a heart attack, albeit a “mild” one.
When Bob was able to come back on the job, he had a new pedometer to make sure he was getting enough exercise. The OP says that Bob walked as much as he could, but “he was suffering and his work was suffering.” They initially assumed Bob’s recovery was just not going well, and, as his supervisor, they reduced his workload to just the cases that he specialized in.
“However, at the end of his first full week back the issue became more clear. I overhead Bob’s wife berating him in the parking lot because he didn’t even meet half of his steps goal,” u/ronearc wrote, adding that no one in the office thought much of Bob’s wife, calling her “intolerable” and “awful.”
That was when the OP discovered that the pedometer wasn’t Bob’s doctor’s doing, but his wife’s. Bob, whom the OP describes as “a tall guy with a long stride,” was normally walking about 4,200 steps a day. For a 6-foot tall man walking at an average pace, that’s a little under two miles per day, according to The Calculator Site; using those metrics, 10,000 steps would be 4.51 miles.
While Bob was walking about two miles a day, that was more than his doctor recommended. The OP says his doctor wanted Bob to walk 1.5 miles every day, and not in one go.
After Bob’s wife yelled at him the next week, his coworkers decided to help out.
“Bob’s pedometer just sat on the corner of his desk while he was working. If anyone had to walk down the hall or to the other building, they’d grab the pedometer on their way out of the office,” u/ronearc wrote.
They said that Bob did get yelled at a bit more from his wife, but that was only because they imagined that if he immediately started reporting 10,000 steps a day, it would look suspicious, so they “ramped him up” instead.
“In the end, Bob got his 10,000 steps every day. Well, Bob’s pedometer registered over 10,000 steps every day, and almost 1/3 of them were actually his steps. Bob was overjoyed to have the help, and we were all willing to keep the secret (because we were frightened of her turning on us),” they wrote.
Though the cause of Bob’s heart attack wasn’t mentioned, the winter season can be a dangerous time for people’s hearts, especially with snow storms hitting the northeast U.S. Earlier this year, Dr. Barry Franklin, a physiologist and director of preventive cardiology and cardiac rehabilitation at Beaumont Health in Michigan, told Newsweek that shoveling snow is a common cause of heart attacks.
Franklin blamed a “perfect storm” of five factors that can lead to heart attacks while shoveling snow. He says arm-work is harder than leg-work, and that since people are usually standing still while shoveling, they’ll have less blood flow. Lifting the heavy snow can also cause static exertion—and as some people are likely to hold their breath while in the cold, that can also cause the heart rate and blood pressure to “skyrocket.”
He added that those at highest risk for a “snow shoveling-related, acute coronary event,” are those who have previously had a heart attack or heart surgery, those with high cholesterol, hypertension, diabetes or are normally sedentary. If people with these conditions can’t have someone else shovel the snow for them, he says they should start gradually, push snow rather than throwing it, and take frequent breaks.
Another potential cause of heart attack is air pollution. Air pollution contains radon, which also is the leading cause of lung cancer in people who don’t smoke.
As for post-heart attack exercise, Erin Michos, M.D, M.H.S, American Heart Association volunteer, associate director of preventive cardiology at Johns Hopkins, told Newsweek that though “there is no magic number when it comes to steps, any movement is better than no movement.”
However, she says, cardiac rehab is very important to a patient’s health.
“Following a diagnosis of heart attack or heart failure, or after a procedure such as angioplasty or heart surgery, one of the best things patients can do for their health is participate in cardiac rehab. Cardiac rehab can help patients safely increase their tolerance to exercise and manage other risk factors in an individually tailored manor,” Michos told Newsweek.
She also made clear the importance of a support network.
“There are guidelines and recommendations for lifestyle changes that are important for recovery, but it is so important for patients and their caregivers to work closely with their health care professionals to successfully manage chronic conditions. A strong support system can help keep patients motivated and accountable,” Michos said, recommending the American Heart Association’s patient support network, calling it “a great resource,” which can “help connect people who have been through similar health challenges.”
Reddit users praised Bob’s coworkers for helping, and others shared their own stories.
“Great system. Hope Bob is doing all right,” u/motor1_is_stopping wrote.
“My grandfather had a heart attack. He survived, but doctors told him to rest and recover. But grandpa felt he had to ’earn his keep.’ He was chopping down a tree when he had his second heart attack. Doctors said they couldve had an entire team with full medical equipment right there and they wouldnt have been able to save him. Grandpa died a few years before I was born,” u/preciousjewel128 wrote.
“This is one of the few cases of a workplace group that’s actually acting like a ‘family’ and taking care of each other,” u/gotsingh wrote.
“10,000 steps isn’t even meaningful in any way - It’s a nice target but if you’ve just got started walking or especially if you had a heart attack then you should work your way up naturally - and especially at your own pace. 10,000 steps is about 4.5.-5 miles and I try to squeeze that much in but I do that while enjoying myself - I put on an audiobook, or a podcast, or stop at a store on the way and grab a coffee or something,” u/Kaitensatsuma wrote. “Good on you guys, and I hope Bob is doing better.”
Newsweek reached out to u/ronearc for additional comment, though they declined, telling Newsweek they think they “covered it all” in the original post. We could not verify the details of the case.
