I’ve been a pedometer fan for years. Currently, I have an excellent model from Omron, which is battery-powered, tracks ‘aerobic’ steps as well as normal steps, and maintains a week’s accessible history and a 40-day internal history that can be uploaded to my computer.

It’s a crutch, in a way; I have much less motivation to walk-as-exercise if I can’t track how much I’m walking. But this summer, I’ve been walking more than ever. It’s still not 10,000 steps a day, not everyday. But I’m getting closer.

This is what I’ve observed.

  • On a day where all I do is sit on my butt in front of a computer, I manage about 2,000 steps.
  • On a day where I go to the grocery store or do a lot of chores, I manage about 4,000 steps.
  • On a day when I make an effort to go outside and walk, I average about 6-7,000 steps. Lately I’ve been walking laps around our cul-de-sac or back yard while Robin plays, which works better for me motivationally than, say, walking to the park– because then I become focused on the goal rather than the process and thus want to get the process out of the way.
  • On days where I do walking as entertainment– mall or warehouse shopping, or going to the zoo or similar, I record 11k-14k. This usually happens at least once a week.
  • I’ve managed to work my way up from a goal of averaging 4k a day at the beginning of the year to averaging 6k a day.
  • I feel really lazy making this post! Various websites documenting the 10k steps recommendation make it sound so easy.