I’ve been talking and reviewing the progress of some pedometer step counter users-lucky newbies who received pedometers as gifts for Christmas. If your friends and loved ones have given up waiting for you to make the decision to walk for your well being (in some way-there are so many benefits from regular walking it could be for health, weight loss, fun, stress relief, etc) and given you a pedometer then this post may have some relevance for your pedometer steps progress.
Firstly, which pedometer steps category do you come into?
It does often seem to be gender related so this is not intended to disparage one approach over the other- both work brilliantly so choose the attitude which is most likely to benefit you:
1. You want it to be simple and effective, not a certificate course in fitness by pedometer.
2. You love gizmos and technical jargon. The challenge in assessing and achieving goals is a highlight of your walking experience. You could be male!
Look at which category most resembles your attitude over the last few days. Obviously it can be a combination and over time a category 1 can move into category 2 for instance but to start it is best to get to know yourself and how you like to walk, or work, as there are going to be a lot of similarities.
Keep It Simple
Pedometer steps is a very simple approach to walking for weight loss. It is generally based on the 10,000 step concept which alleges that the average person will lose weight if they consistently walk for 10,000 steps a day.
Setting up your step counter usually requires putting in your stride length if a distance estimate is wanted, but otherwise it is plug and play.
The important early tasks are:
remembering to put it on at the same time every day e.g. after your shower and dressing in the morning or when you get up if you are immediately active.
recording your daily steps over a few days, preferably a week, and average them.
set a new pedometer steps target for next week of, say, 500 more steps. E.g. This week you averaged 5600 steps in a week which combined very active days with very slow activity periods. For next week you set a target of 6,100 average pedometer steps. Next week you may find that this is easy to achieve and can reset the target by another 500 steps; if the target seems a struggle it may be the first week was unusual for you, or this week is unusual. Calculate this week’s average results and reset the target by adding 500 pedometer steps.
The Pedometer Challenge
Your pedometer probably has more choices for information retrieval, and requires a bit of setting up, such as calculating your stride and then you may want to assess the accuracy of the distances recorded etc. Stride length does change depending upon the ground, route etc.
The pedometer steps format may be applied successfully here as well. You can use the technology to find distance and calories burned, best routes etc. Recording the information in a personal journal, online forum or between competitors/friends adds a desirable element or incentive for many people.
Either way you are at the beginning and there is much more to enjoying the pedometer steps process whatever your goals. Make using a pedometer, and walking for weight loss, a highlight of 2010!
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For the many who are reluctant to feel good about walking as an exercise:
1. The majority of successful weight loss comes with some form of walking as the main (not necessarily exclusive) exercise; generally anyone can start walking at their own pace and benefit from it. Using a pedometer is a helpful way to get started.
2. Walking has many benefits over and above its calorie burning such as for general health and well being. Any way of feeling better about yourself can lighten your spirits and build confidence, all of which reinforces the use of pedometer steps as a weight loss tool.
3. Pedometer steps is one way which simplifies the weight loss exercise process without the need for a guru or fitness trainer
Pedals and Pedometer Steps blog knows personally and from others who are using pedometers, that if you concentrate on the good feeling that tracking your day’s steps brings, over time all you want comes true.
Take a look at some of these suggestions:
go for a long walk through Christmas Lights displays or gardens-over an hour of delightful sights and think how good those pedometer steps are looking!
too crowded in the shops during the shopping frenzy? Leave the car at home and walk. Those pedometer steps are saving petrol, stress and money-it changes everything!
spend some downtime looking for forums and websites which support your pedometer steps monitoring. Do not eat at your computer!
Technorati Tags: pedometer, pedometer steps, weight loss
If this winter you have to find fun ways to make treadmill walking your way of counting pedometer steps then add some incentive by trying virtual walks. In a previous walking to lose weight post I talked about and then featured virtual walks, and had a lot of fun doing it. Part of the reward is learning about interesting things to do and plan trips or activites for the future. I know that eventually I will do that 6 day luxury walking tour of Rocamadour. I can see how walking about 25 kilometers daily will create the perfect environment for gourmet meals and wine at night! Although cruises and wine valley tours are wonderful, afterwards the participants tend to look puffed up instead of fit and glamerous.
This year my suggestion for designing a virtual walk is to do one million steps in 90 days. This averages at 11,111 pedometer steps daily for 90 days. Do you want to make your first million? This could do it for you.
Inside the home look at your own equipment such as a treadmill (or treadmill desk for in the office), exercise DVDs which contain aerobic or high calorie impact movements (preferably which show up as pedometer steps) or something like the Wii Fit which has a great running exercise where you can freestyle in front of your favourite TV program, all the while keeping track of distance and your faithful pedometer looks after the steps.
Anyone using the 10,000 or more steps a day target for weight loss should start thinking about how to keep going in winter, now.
I have noticed that the gym classes consist of not so many attendees during the colder months but those who are there are slim, and the same classes are full with half the class overweight in summer. Obvious lesson- to stay slim forever keep the exercise program going, once you’ve lost weight and during the less fun months.
Technorati Tags: pedometer steps, virtual walks, walking, walking to lose weight
I love this time of year for pedometer walking for weight loss. If you are on one of these programs this is a lucky time of year. Just take the focus from food and put it where it needs to be -doing the Christmas activities of your choice by moving your feet!
You can really enjoy the advantages of using a pedometer to count pedometer steps, now. If going for a regular walk is too difficult there is no reason not to walk the malls and do lots of movement around the home and on the social whirl that Christmas can be.
The beauty of counting pedometer steps is that most physical activity counts on that little gadget and it is so easy to add steps into your normal day as long as you have that mind set.
Even though weight loss may be too much to expect during the festive season (although still entirely possible!) weight maintenance is a great goal to set. This requires keeping your pedometer steps as high as you can doing what you would be normally doing, and moderating your eating. In other words find any excuse within the list of activities you would like to do, or have to do, which can add to the total pedometer steps- make a game of it!
Make the time to dance (a lot) at that party, prepare and clean up after a Christmas lunch, help buy all the presents and walk that mall! Hand deliver Christmas cards where possible. Put up Christmas decorations. It’s crazy how easy this is right now. Do a house clean for Christmas. Offer to do some of the family chores. Go Christmas carrolling. Part of this process is to do pedometer walking but also a part is to distract you form eating!
Deck the halls at the local hall or church. Volunteer to help at Christmas functions. Hand make Christmas or New Year cards.
Put a little effort this Christmas/New Year into making it a win/win for fun and pedometer walking.
I love Christmas!
Technorati Tags: Christmas walking, counting pedometer steps, pedometer, pedometer steps, pedometer walking, walking for weight loss, weight loss
