In my last post I talked about the Why bother? Affect that often occurs when exercise advice is too far from a person’s current reality. One reader mentioned how helpful a pedometer had been for becoming more active. 

A pedometer is a fun way to measure your activity level throughout the day, both during routine activities and while exercising. It is a small device that is worn on your waist to measure the number of steps you take making it easy to set realistic goals for yourself. It’s really motivating to see those steps add up—and see your energy level rise as your fitness improves. 

How do you use a pedometer?

• Wear your pedometer on your waist, attached to your belt, skirt or pants (even your underclothes as long as it fits snugly against your body.)
• Place it in line with the seam of your slacks or over the center of your kneecap, parallel to the ground. It will not give accurate readings if it is tilted to one side.
• Try it out in different positions along the waist; count the number of steps you take and compare that to what the pedometer actually reads.   
• Put your pedometer on when you first get up and wear it all day long.
• At the end of the day, record the number of steps you took then press the reset button to return the step counts back to “0” for the next day.

One Step at a Time

• Get an idea of your baseline activity level by recording the number of steps you take without changing your normal routine.
• Once you know your baseline, set specific goals for increasing the number of steps you take each day or week. You can pick a number or a percent increase to shoot for.   
• Watch the steps add up when you pace while you talk on the phone, walk a flight of stairs, skip a half hour TV program and walk the dog (add about 2000 steps!), stroll instead of sit at the airport, park further, or window shop with friends instead of sitting to talk.
• Of course not all activities can be counted in steps (for example, swimming or yoga) but they still count toward your fitness. 

I think you’ll find that using a pedometer for simple, accurate feedback will motivate you to take a few more steps in the right direction.