One of my Xmas gifts is a pedometer. I unpackaged it today & started trying it out. It works by counting down your steps, alerting you when you hit your goal. I don’t think today’s numbers are going to be very good. I didn’t put it on until mid-morning, and I didn’t set it correctly to begin. But after wearing it for several hours during which I sat on my butt working, ran errands, and walked Shiloh for about a mile, I’ve counted down ~3600 steps. Based on the stride conversion chart that came with the pedometer, that is about 1.8-2 miles. (I’m taking credit for 3 miles here as I didn’t log my 1 mile walk with Shiloh yesterday.)

More pedometer reports later…hopefully with more accurate readings. I’ve done a little bit of reading to figure out how many steps I should be taking.  and am finding that by adding ~2000 steps a day “I’ll never gain another pound”.  (That’s laughable. If I walk another 2000 steps to a McDonald’s and eat a Big Mac, I guarantee I’ll gain another pound — at least!)

I also learned that the 10,000-a-day magic walking number is actually derived from a pedometer company promotion. So, what’s the magic number for me? I don’t know. Probably extending my daily walk with Shiloh from ~1 mile to ~2 miles would help. Also, when I’m in the midst of my hands-on garden coaching season, my numbers will automagically increase as I’m walking all the time then.

So this brings an obvious question…does the quality of the step matter as well? Answer (IMHO): Duh! Of course! If my step is brisk or I’m doing stairs, that’s got to count more than shuffling to the coffee maker from my office. More to think about on this…

Yoga? No yoga since Xmas eve. I’ve done a bit of stretching each day, but nothing to write about. I’ve been using my time to relax, watch movies, take hot baths, read new books, clean up Xmas messes and work on business projections. Tomorrow’s holiday schedule looks like one I can make!

Workout:

  • Type: Walk
  • Date: 12/27/2007
  • Time: 14:00:00
  • Total Time: 00:20:00.00
  • Distance: 3 miles
  • Average Pace: 6:40/mile