Pedometer Question

**mtomm**[$] · #1 10-18-2001, 06:37 PM

For my last birthday my mom gave me a pedometer thingy. I haven't really used it until the last couple of days I strapped it on some because of all the discussion here.

It is a brand I haven't heard anyone mention, Acumen. But I am not sure how accurate it is. This morning when I went on my 50 min. walk that I do a couple of times a week it registered over 6600 steps. I scoffed and pulled it off. Doesn't that seem incredibly high? I probably walked a 4 min. mile. (I didn't check those stats before pulling it off and resetting, stupid I know.)

What do you think? I thought it was too high but I don't have anything to compare it to.

**jgibson2**[$] · #2 10-18-2001, 08:43 PM

Margo,
Your pedometer probably isn't far off. I just checked mine. I've been stepping all day -- shopping, dog-walking, 2 doctor's appointments, assorted household chores. It's got nearly 8200 steps on it, which it claims is about 3.7 miles. It also says I spent 1 hour 20 minutes (or maybe that's 1.20 hours) walking today to make those steps. I can believe 6600 steps in one brisk 50 minute walk.

**taurusmoon** · #3 10-18-2001, 09:33 PM

Margo,

It sounds okay to me. Figure on 2000 steps per mile on the average. Your mileage may vary.

Now that you've tested the waters come on in and join the club.

Sara

**mtomm**[$] · #4 10-18-2001, 11:19 PM

Cool! I feel a lot better. I hope I can handle all the pressure if I join, it sounds so competative!

**taurusmoon** · #5 10-18-2001, 11:25 PM

Competitive? Us? Nah.

Honestly, it's as competitive as you allow it to become. Me? I'm always competing. Against myself that is. This week I'm losing miserably. Next week, I swear I'm going to kick my butt.

Sara

**jgibson2**[$] · #6 10-19-2001, 12:29 AM

Quote:

Cool! I feel a lot better. I hope I can handle all the pressure if I join, it sounds so competative!

Excuse me! You get 6600 steps in one 50 minute walk and you're worried about competitiveness? I don't think you have a problem. I've only been doing this for a week, but my impression is that the competition is of 2 kinds -- the friendly encouraging sort and the I can do better than I did last week sort. Both beneficial. You'll like it!

**pluckyduck** · #7 10-19-2001, 08:55 AM

Quote:

I've only been doing this for a week, but my impression is that the competition is of 2 kinds -- the friendly encouraging sort and the I can do better than I did last week sort. Both beneficial. You'll like it!

Judy, thank you for your impression!

That's exactly what we're working towards.

We try really, really hard to not make the club about competing against other people. Fortunately, the club has attracted good, encouraging folks, and that really helps.

People come into the club with completely different lifestyles (and hence different numbers of base lifestyle steps), and at different fitness levels. The very first thing to do is to compete against yourself. You see about how many steps you seem to be getting naturally and start trying to better that.

Of course, you look around and see Miss Sara or Miss Deb turn in an outrageously high stepping day (they are notorious for that!), and think "My heavens, I barely eeked out 10K steps, and Sara did 35K. How the heck is she doing that?"

What's the proper response? Just filing the information in the back of your mind that it is physically possible to do 35K after you've been stepping for a few months.

I've never done anywhere near that, but maybe one day I will.

In the meantime, I know that I've pretty much doubled my own activity over the 2 1/2 months I've been doing it

and am having a blast.

Yay! More people to play with! Yay!

Andrea

**mtomm**[$] · #8 10-19-2001, 12:54 PM

I know, I know, it is not mean spirited and everyone is just trying to improve their own fitness levels which is what I want to do, too! I am getting a serious kink in my neck though, walking with my head down to look at this pedometer all the time. :p I'm thinking that can't be very safe.