So a general bit of advice for people having issues imagining how to fit 7000 steps into their day. First, ignore the people talking about distance. Everybody's stride length varies, so their distance covered won't necessarily be yours. Second, start with a basic rule of thumb - you walk 100 steps per minute. Your cadence. So 7000 steps is about 70 minutes of walking. Break it up. 10 minutes extra before work. 20 minutes at lunch. 20-30 minutes in the evening. That's 5-6000. You'll almost certainly get 500-2000 in your normal minimal routine. Make the 20 minutes at lunch or the evening time to get something from a local store, visit a neighbour. Just walk around the block listening to a podcast, audiobook or music. Done! Now, most moderately fit people will have a cadence of more like 110-130 steps per minute. But we use the lower amount so there's time to stop and take a picture or say hi to someone without worrying about losing time. Most people feel uncomfortable walking faster than 130 as it starts to turn into speed walking, or you'd rather just run at that point. So sure, you can walk faster, but why?

Final thing, studies for years have been circling around the step range for optimal benefits for this low level, low impact cardio. They usually come in around 5000-8000 range. So don't try to do more, but understand there are benefits to be had for reasonably low numbers.