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We are having a little competition at work, where we form teams to walk across America. Not literally of course, although that would be a lot more fun! We are tracking our steps using a pedometer, and logging the results at startwalkingnow.org. This website is hosted by the American Heart Association. We all log our individual steps, and the website keeps track of those steps, plus calculates the team total.
The concept sounded interesting, plus I get a FREE pedometer! It’s kind of funny in a way. I’ve always wanted a pedometer, but could just never justify the purchase. I realize that pedometers don’t really cost that much, but I try to have a valid reason before making purchases. I could just never talk myself into needing one. But, I’ll go with free any day.
So, I now have my shiny new pedometer in hand (or on my belt actually.) I registered on the site so that I can track my steps. And I started walking. 60 steps back to my desk, hurray! Ok, walk to the water cooler for a glass of water. Now I’m up to 123! Wait, how many am I supposed to do in a day? 10,000. Wow. I have a long way to go.
I’m not sure who came up with the idea of walking 10,000 steps per day, but from what I read that equals about 5 miles. I guess someone decided that was a good distance in working toward a healthier lifestyle. Apparently the average sedentary person walks about 3000 steps per day. I’m guessing that’s about what mine is, but did they really have to use the term sedentary? Maybe “mobility adverse” or “one who likes sitting” would be better terms.
I’m looking forward to tracking some of my average daily routines to see how many steps I take and discovering how active (or sedentary) I really am. Perhaps I can shed that sedentary label. I’m also looking forward to how many steps I take walking around the Disney parks. I heard the average person walks 10 miles when visiting a theme park. That would be about 20,000 steps. I’m not sure I’ll get that many since we usually only go for half a day, and we’ve gotten a little more proficient at getting around the parks, but it will be interesting to see how many steps I end up with. Shoot, the walk in from the parking lot should be a good half mile anyway. I always walk in instead of riding the tram. Mainly so I don’t have to unpack and fold the stroller to get on, and then unfold and repack the stroller when I get off five minutes later. Also, it’s usually just as fast, if not faster, to walk.
I’ll update the blog from time to time with any data I find interesting during my pedometer use.
Want to make fun of me because I’m overly excited about a pedometer? Go ahead and do it in the comments section. Or, you could share your story of pedometer use and let me know how it worked out for you.
UPDATE: Check out the latest developments in my Pedometer Use.
Photo by David Paul Ohmer
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
Hey Eric.
That’s pretty cool. It is nice to see how far we travel with quantitative measurement tools. Measuring anything is actually enjoyable. I think the word you were looking to use there is “sedentary”.
I like to measure just like this, like by using a ruler on Google Earth to see how far I ran, or with a word count checker in JDarkRoom to see how long an article of mine was after I wrote it. We get a good sense about ourselves when we do this.
Good idea about setting 10000 steps as the goal, as it is a nice round number, and we love those.
.-= Armen Shirvanian´s last blog ..Timeless Information Video #2 =-.
Armen,
Thanks for the typo correction! You are correct. For some reason, we just like to measure things. Distance, temperature, size, time; we associate measures with all these things. Must be part of our human nature.
Hi Eric – Thanks for stopping by my blog and leaving a comment. I enjoyed reading about your walking adventure. I’m a walker too, although haven’t been doing as much of it lately. My dream is to do a week long walk through the French countryside. I’ve never used a pedometer, but I hear they are truly helpful!
.-= Patty @ Why Not Start Now?´s last blog ..How Do You Sustain Meaning In Your Life? =-.
Hi Patty, Thanks for commenting. A week long walk throught the French countryside sounds like it would be a wonderful adventure. I wish you luck in achieving your dream!
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