Do you or have you ever used a pedometer?

I check my mileage on my iPhone.

I used a pedometer many years ago. It didn’t hold my attention so I stopped. My iPhone counts steps also, but I don’t have my phone on me during half of my stepping.

The 10,000 step thing was a miscellaneous number with no real data, but it gives people a goal. A lot of people need or like to have that sort of thing. A goal or finish line to motivate them and feel accomplishment.

The Fitbit I guess is that thing that’s around your wrist like a watch? That sounds better so you don’t have to carry the pedometer with you.

My personality fits better with learning what my regular activities give me in terms of steps, like Zumba 5,000 steps, cleaning my house, 1,000 steps, etc.

There are studies on how many minutes/hours of exercise help extend age, Real Age looks at those and discusses them. Steps and time spent exercising have a correlation. Excessive high intensity exercise for extended periods actually seems to shorten life span, but I would guess you aren’t doing that.

If you have an iPhone you can use the app a few days to click your steps. Or, you can google and there is plenty of info on how many steps in particular exercises.

4K steps a day is considered sedentary. I usually get in between 15 to 20K steps per day (from being active in calisthenics, canoe paddling and waling. Been using a V-19 ECG fitness tracker. It’s pretty cool and cost far less that a FitBit. Also on my Apple watch.

@janbb -I got rid of my phone years ago but I have heard they can be useful ;)

@gondwanalon I might buy one of those. Looks good. Do you feel it is accurate for blood pressure?

I imagine if these had been around in the black & white days, Fred Astaire would hold multiple world records.

I used a fit bit for three years to track my steps/elevation gains, and now track it with my apple watch.

@JLeslie -That sounds like calorie counting/serving size= whatever, in a way.
I don’t mind that as I do it in regards to carbs and how much insulin I give myself, especially if I’m out to eat.
I will definitely check out Real Age.
I’m always curious about these things and like to see where I’m at with my efforts.
My reasons for measuring steps is mainly to see where I am at with MS and setting more goals to reach.
I know how I feel on any given day (lol) but still like to see numbers as it gives me more motivation.
My workouts haven’t varied much in the last 26 years. Weights 6x week, aerobic (walking) 6x week but because my gait is compromised, I need to add something to strive for, I suppose.
Zumba sounds like a blast but I think I’d break my ass. LOL

@gondwanalon – I don’t swing my arms like many people do when I walk so I wonder, is that how it measures that kind of movement?
Could I wear it on my ankle? XD

@ucme -So would Jed Clampett

@zenvelo -Do you know how it measures steps? I’ve never heard of Google XD
Ok, I looked. It’s called an accelerometer If that *IS*a real name….
I need to see what that’s about….and I did-kind of.
Fitbit devices use a 3-axis accelerometer to understand your motions. An accelerometer is a device that turns movement (acceleration) into digital measurements (data) when attached to the body. By analyzing acceleration data, our devices provide detailed information about frequency, duration, intensity, and patterns of movement to determine your steps taken, distance traveled, calories burned, and sleep quality. The 3-axis implementation allows the accelerometer to measure your motion in any way that you move, making its activity measurements more precise than older, single-axis pedometers.

Fitbit devices have a finely tuned algorithm for step counting. The algorithm is designed to look for motion patterns that are most indicative of people walking. The algorithm determines whether a motion’s size is large enough by setting a threshold. If the motion and its subsequent acceleration measurement meet the threshold, the motion will be counted as a step. If the threshold is not met, the motion won’t be counted as a step.-from reddit
Here lies the problem: My gait is not always smooth so I wonder how accurate this would be?
You can set parameters but I wonder if it is accurate & sensitive to a wobbly step?

Over 1000s of steps your wobbly steps average out. A little high here, a little low there. And it would be consistently inaccurate day by day. So even if it were (making up a number) 10% off, it gives a very good idea of your activity relative to “10,0000” steps and which days you’re more or less active.

I wore a Fitbit for a while, say that I was nowhere near 10,000 and upped my exercise. I didn’t keep wearing it because tracking day after day after day was not interesting.

In contrast, I really like tracking my bike rides and seeing how many miles I can rack up. I use a GPS phone app called RunKeeper for that.

Regarding setting the parameters on the Fitbit – I just remembered that I actually counted my steps for a few miles to figure out my average stride for the Fitbit. That give a really good number.

@Call_Me_Jay -That makes sense. I still would like to get something that attaches to my leg or ankle.
I remember doing that years ago with a cheapo pedometer but this was all before my gait issues.
As for bike rides, I know my mileage based on the road near the trail I ride on but I like the idea of better accuracy for walking as I want to measure progress well (down to small increments) because something is better than nothing) as some days are not good as of late.

No. But when I was teaching I’d bet I hit 10,000 every day I taught.

I used one at work one time. I was doing fire watches that required walking. I was averaging 23,000 steps per day. I figured that about 2,000 steps was a mile.

@seawulf575 -Do you have a long stride?

^^^^^2,000 steps per mile is not a long stride, it is about the same as me.

@zenvelo – 2’.5’’ step length being average,I just read.,,not taking into account height or length of legs.
but still seems short to me.
I wish I could test this

@lucillelucillelucille my stride is about 3’. Just about one yard per step. so 2,000 is probably more than a mile, but I think I figured it out one time as that being the magic number.

I just checked my pedometer and it looks like I’m about 3,000 strides to the mile. Actually, with my penguiny waddle, you’d think it would be about 10,000!

My wife used one today at work.
She apparently registered some 13k plus steps.
Surprised, I asked if she actually caught any chickens at all :D

I have used a pedometer.
Now I use my iWatch

@lucillelucillelucille I can invite you to some Zumba zoom classes if you want to check it out. You can also turn off your video if you want so people can’t watch you. I find it more fun to zoom live than to just watch a youtube,

@JLeslie -Thanks, but I have to pass.
From what I know of Zumba, I’d be auguring into the floor due to balance issues. LOL

@JLeslie It measures blood pressure a little higher than the sphygmomanometer around my upper arm. It has consistent precision but it’s exactness is a little off. The ECG mode is not good but will let me see it my heart is in a-fib or not.

@lucillelucillelucille I don’t know about that but perhaps arm movement isn’t that important. When I canoe paddle 9½ miles (Easy) the V19 just it registers about 6 or 7K steps but when I walk 8 miles it registers over 15K steps. But it also factors in heart rate. So if your heart rate is high at the building strength level then you will earn more steps per distance than if your heart rate is in the lower burning fat level.

I probably have about 6 of the old style mechanical counters that I either got for free or paid almost nothing in a bargain bin. I wore them for a bit to understand my activity and then relegated them to the electronics shelf for projects. I now have one on the shaft of my sump pump so I can monitor how many times per day my sump pump runs.

I also bought a couple of Striv wrist bands that I played with for a week or two until I got bored with it.
I do not like the idea of the device sending my data to the mother-ship. I want a device that I can use with no connection anywhere.

@LuckyGuy – Me too.

Apple watch

@josie I’ve been looking at them.
It tells you when you have a high heart rate after being inactive for 10 minutes? That’s bananas!
Am I having a heart attack or am I just excited about my new Apple watch?
How does it keep track of steps?
Please tell me the answer to that question in a Spanish accent, please
“Track your menstrual cycle with one tap.”
It goes back in time as well?? LOL
I must have this