How do I Wear a Pedometer?
Your pedometer should be attached to your waistband about half-way between your side and your belly button on the waistband of your pants. If it is inline with your knee, then you've got it in a good spot. It should always be kept in the horizontal position and remain parallel to the ground.To test that your pedometer is in the right place, reset it to 0 and manually count off 25 steps. Then, take a look at your pedometer. It should reflect no fewer than 24 steps and no more than 26. If it's further off than that, move it to the left or right and re-try the test until the results more accurately reflect your actual number of steps.
What is a Good Number of Steps Goal?
If you choose to wear your pedometer all day, every day, an excellent goal to work toward is 10,000 steps per day. If you only wear your pedometer when you're walking for exercise, try 3,000 steps to start out (about a half hour walk) and work up from there.If you're like me and you're just starting to exercise after a long time out of commission (or if you've never exercised), you should start slow and work your way up by 500 steps each week.
Go with your gut and adjust your goals accordingly. Don't get discouraged if you can't hit your goal at first. Remember, only you know how your own body feels and if it's telling you you're doing too much, too soon, you should listen.
Now, the only thing left to do is to get going towards that goal… one step at a time!
Source:
Tudor Lock C., B.E. Ainsworth, et. al., "The relationship between pedometer-determined ambulatory activity and body composition variables". International Journal of Obesity Related Metabolic Disorders. 25 Nov 2001 (11) 1571-78.
