1、Fitness Walking With a PedometerPick your goal. Eventually build up to: 10,000 steps per day for health. 12,000 to 15,000 steps per day for weight loss. Increasing your speed for aerobic fitness. WEEK #1 (Measure your “baseline” steps in a typical week.) Dont change your routine; ignore the pedomete
2、r. TueDate: Mon Wed Thu Sat SunFriSteps today:Total # of steps for the seven days _ Divide by seven _ Average steps week #1 _WEEK #2 (Boost your average daily steps by 20%.) Start with the easy stuffa step here, a step there.Average steps week # 1 _ Multiply by 1.2 _ Goal average for week #2 _Steps
3、today:Total # of steps for the seven days _ Divide by seven _ Average steps week #2 _Seek easy ways to add steps: get off the train a stop early, take the stairs, grab a five-minute stroll (good for 500 steps).WEEK #3 (Try for another 20% boost.) Look for opportunities to add steps all the time.Aver
4、age steps week # 2 _ Multiply by 1.2 _ Goal average for week #3 _Steps today:Total # of steps for the seven days _ Divide by seven _ Average steps week #3 _Get in the walking habit: walk to get the daily paper or to your post office box, recruit a walking partner (its proven to help). WEEK #4 (Boost
5、 by 20% again if you havent reached your goal.) Begin building routine steps into your life!Average steps week # 3 _ Multiply by 1.2 _ Goal average for week #4 _Steps today:Total # of steps for the seven days _ Divide by seven _ Average steps week #4 _Boost your steps permanently: leave the car behi
6、nd, commute on foot; stroll for errands; walk the kids to school or a friends. WEEK #5 (Keep on boosting until you reach your daily goal.) Think about ways to make a “step-friendly” world.Average steps week # 4 _ Multiply by 1.2 _ Goal average for week #5 _Steps today:Total # of steps for the seven
7、days _ Divide by seven _ Average steps week #5 _Help build a more walkable world: lobby for sidewalks and crosswalks, help build or maintain a trail, be a walking role model. For more, see “Pedometer Walking,” by Mark Fenton Optimal Health Products: 888-339-2067; New Lifestyles: 888-748-5377; Accusp
8、lit also markets simple but reliable analog pedometers; slightly less accurate than the digital devices, but ideal for bulk purchases and as prizes, since they retail for about $10. (Put a safety string through any pedometers waist clip and pin it or loop it through a belt loop, so the pedometer isn
9、t lost or dropped down a toilet.)In general, most people only need a pedometer that measures steps. Thats quite sufficient for the 20% Boost program shown here. Some pedometers will estimate the distance, but that depends on you accurately measuring and entering your stride length (and then you walk
10、ing at the same speed you measured, since stride length increases with increasing speed). Some even estimate calories burned, but such estimates are notoriously inac-curate. So dont feel compelled to invest in those added features. How do I estimate walking distance most accurately?After walking at
11、least five minutes to warm up, reset the pedom-eter and walk around a quarter-mile track at your normal walking speed. Multiply that number of steps by four, to get your typi-cal number of steps per mile. (For greater accuracy walk a full milefour times around the track). Now to estimate any distanc
12、e youve walked, just divide the total number of steps youve taken by your “steps per mile” calibration. Keep in mind its just an estimate, because the length of your stride increases as you walk faster. So, on faster walks you may underestimate the distance somewhat, and on slower walks youll overes
13、timate a bit. Some pedometers allow you to enter your step length and they will calculate your distance automatically (see the example), but dont expect the calorie counts to be at all accurate, as theyre based on very gross averages.EXAMPLE: Jan wears her pedometer for a walk around the quar-ter-mi
14、le trackit counts 473 steps. She multiplies by four, to estimate that she takes 1,892 steps a mile. (For ease, she calls it 1,900 steps.) Another day she takes a walk and covers 6,685 steps. Jan divides 6,685 by 1900, and gets 3.52, or about three and a half miles.To calculate a step length, divide
15、the known distance youve walked in feet by the number of steps youve taken. A quarter mile walk is 1,320 feet long (a mile is 5,280 feet). So Jan divides 1,320 feet by her 473 steps, learns each step is 2.79 feet long, and can enter that into a pedometer if needed.How do I add 100 steps? It only tak
16、es a minute. Literally! Do jumping jacks, jump rope, or just walk around the house for the length of a TV commercial break. Walk out and check for the mail (if your mailbox isnt at your front door). Take out the trash, bundle up the recyclables, dust the tops of your kitchen cabinets (and the fridge
17、). Pacedont sitwhile talking on the telephone. Hide the garage door remote controlopen it by hand. Go down every aisle in the grocery store, even if you dont have to.How do I add 1,000 steps?Invest 10 minutes to get an extra 1K. Use the bathroom on another floor (up or downstairs) at work. Get a pus
18、h mower, and break the yard up into 10-minute chunks. Wash the carby hand. Walk, rather than drive, your child to a friends house to play. Get a dog. (Dont worryit will make sure you get your steps.) Vacuum two or three rooms, with vigor.How fast am I walking?Count your steps for one minute, then es
19、timate:110120 steps/minute: 3.0 mph (40 steps in 20 secs.)125135 steps/minute: 4.0 mph (45 steps in 20 secs.)145150 steps/minute: 4.5 mph (50 steps in 20 secs.)Copyright Mark Fenton 2001Promoting a walkable world may be the hardest, but most important “step.” For many people, their community isnt th
20、at friendly to walkingsidewalks are missing or in disrepair, traffic is intimidating, worthy walking destinations are few and far between. But all of these things can be changed over time. The best way to build more physical activity into your day is to build a community that invites you to be out a
21、nd about on foot all the time. Here are a few resources: To learn about walkable settings and how to build them, and to download a walkability checklist: www.walkinginfo.org For information on trails and greenways: www.railtrails.org; www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa/physical/trails.htm To learn more about the benefits of good nutrition and physical activity: www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa/ For creative walk to school programs and extensive resources: www.walktoschool.org
