Stepping It Up!

One way to know that you are staying active is to count your steps. You don't actually have to count every step that you take. You can buy a pedometer or step counter that will do it for you. I have been counting my steps for about 2 years. If you know approximately how many steps are in a mile you can figure out how many miles that you have walked each just in the course of your normal every day activities. If you have just a simple step counter then you can make an educated guess that 2000 steps is approximately one mile. More sophisticated pedometers allow you to program your weight and length of stride so that your distance can more accurately be measured along with the amount of calories that you may have burned in a day. Most sources say to aim for at least 10,000 steps. This is an approximate distance of 5 miles.

Where can you find a pedometer? Many of the ones that I used came right from a cereal box. Special K offered them in the box about 2 years ago. They were actually pretty accurate. I have used several different commercial brands. I have a drawer called my "Pedometer Graveyard". The batteries die out or they fall which messes with the electronics. I have lost several of the Special K ones. I was successful in keeping 3 different ones going. The first was one by the Source called the Nexxtech Talking Pedometer with Heart Rate Monitor. Another good one that I used was the Freespirit Fitness Pedometer from Sears. The one that I am most impressed with is the Omron Walking Style. It not keeps track of your steps but it also keeps track of your aerobic or cardio steps seperately. The Omron is a little more expensive but it is worth the money.

So find a good pedometer and start "Stepping It Up"!