PEDOMETER

A pedometer is a mechanical or electric device that measures the movement of the body as it walks, primarily by recording movement in the hips, although it is most often worn on a wrist or across the chest with a chest strap. They have been used by athletes and amateurs alike and once were used as a way to motivate the entire nation towards greater health in a Walk Fit America campaign. You can use your step counter to measure calories burned, steps walked, or set a goal to walk a marathon in a month and do a count down. It is a great way to motivate you towards being more active and getting more sedentary people off the sofa.

One of the best things about pedometers is that to reach a 10,000 step per day benchmark set as a standard of good health and an active lifestyle by many experts in the fitness industry, then you need a measurement. They supply a first-hand, immediate gratification motivating factor for people who have no idea how few steps 10,000 really are. Sometimes it is just a matter of walking a mile or more in the evening, or taking a walk to a nearby market instead of driving there. With little changes, the 10,000 step benchmark becomes approachable and a pedometer can help encourage the lifestyle that would support walking on a daily basis.

A pedometer is a great way to calculate the number of steps you’ve taken and even how many calories you’ve burned just by walking. In clinical studies, these devices have proven to increase physical activity among all types of users. If you are tired of standing on a treadmill to get fit, you can take your fitness to the next level by using a pedometer. Walk outside, to the shops in your neighborhood or to the market for an extra gallon of milk; Burn calories just by walking your dog or taking extra steps at the office. Park a little further away and walk to the storefront or even walk leisurely in the park. It doesn’t take a huge life change to start to trim your waistline, just a few extra steps each day and a device that records them.

There are pedometers that measure many different aspects of your health including your target heart rate, and resting heart rate; tools often used by athletes to determine their peak performance levels, and there are devices that someone can use simply to determine the number of steps taken in a day, week or month. You can find really high-end step counters as well as very affordable ones, that meet your requirements for either elite-athlete training or just a means to measure your footprint. From the Omron pedometer in an affordable price range to the Sportline pedometer and Yamax pedometer; there are many products to choose from.

A pedometer such as the Omron Hj-112 can also show you how many steps you reduce your own carbon footprint on the planet. You can walk for your own health and walk for the health of the planet too. Every step you take instead of driving a car means reducing the emissions on the planet, and thereby reducing global warming and pollution, as well as reducing the use of non-renewable fossil fuels. These devices can be a great motivating force for individuals or entire groups of people wishing to make a difference in their own health, while aiding the health of the big blue globe we live on.

From Leonardo Da Vinci’s first visions of a device that could count steps, to the devices we use today, the pedometer has grown in popularity and usefulness.