Pedometers and how to use them

Pedometers are simple and affordable fitness tools that are useful for both tracking and motivating a walking program. The following is a guide to measure pedometer-determined fitness in healthy adults:

1. sedentary lifestyle is <5000 steps/day
2. low active is 5,000-7,499 steps/day
3. somewhat active is 7,500-9,999 steps/day
4. active is ≥10,000 steps/day
5. highly active is >12,500 steps/day

Research shows that most people see significant health benefits when they incorporate 10.000 steps per day. However, it is extremely important to start slowly and increase your daily steps by no more than 10% per week.

How to Wear Your Pedometer:

Our pedometers are small, lightweight, and comfortable. We recommend that you put your pedometer on when you first get up in the morning and wear it all day long. At the end of the day, record the number of steps you took and then press the reset button to return the step count back to “0” for the next day.Most people find that they can wear a pedometer attached to the waistband of their clothing or their belt. Try to wear it either on your hip or slightly in front of your hip. Keep it parallel to the ground. You may need to experiment with different positions around the waist to get consistent readings. Not everyone will wear their pedometer exactly the same way, although everyone will wear it somewhere near their waistband.

Pedometers are fairly sensitive. If you are getting inconsistent readings, be sure to check the following:

• It is positioned correctly on or near your hip.
• Keep the pedometer parallel to the ground.
• Never clip it sideways on a belt loop or pocket.
• Keep the pedometer cover closed.
• Never let it go through the wash or get submerged in water.

How to Use Your Pedometer:

Once you have positioned your pedometer correctly, it is simply a matter of wearing it all of the time to get a good sense of how many steps you take in a day. Clip it on first thing every morning and forget about it!

For the first few days that you wear your pedometer, you will want to get a count of your baseline steps. Go about your normal day and see how many steps you accumulate. You can use this baseline information to set realistic goals to increase your steps over the next few months. Remember, that you are ultimately trying to get about 10,000 steps per day.