A pedometer can help get you on the fast-track to being fit. A pedometer is a small device that adds up how many steps that you take. A pedometer can help be a motivational and tracking tool for your fitness goals because it easily records how many steps that you take. This can allow you to easily set targets for yourself and make sure that you are meeting them. You can set a variety of different types of targets including how many steps you get in during a workout, a day or even a whole week. Pedometers are easy to wear and are lightweight. A few of the most popular types of pedometers can be worn on your waistband, wrist or even as a mobile app on your phone. Keep reading to find out how to meet your fitness goals with the best pedometers.
Why Use a Pedometer?
A pedometer can help you to meet your fitness goals by giving you a fairly accurate record of how many steps that you take in a day. Pedometers come in a variety of different styles including apps, watches, waist clips and more. They are easy to conceal and can be worn all day, allowing you to track your activity not only during workouts but during your whole day. Wearing a pedometer can allow you to figure out how many steps you take on an average day and determine if you are on the right track to fitness or if you need to add more steps to your day. The gold standard for steps a day is 10,000, and most people do not get nearly close to that. People generally overestimate how many steps that they take on a given day, with many believing that they have taken twice as many steps than they actually did. A pedometer is a great way to get honest information about your mobility habits so that you can make changes where necessary.
Benefits of a Pedometer
There are many benefits of using a pedometer including:
- Goal setting
- A pedometer can allow you to set goals for how many steps you want to take a day. A common goal for most people is to walk 10,000 steps a day. If that figure seems too high, you can work yourself towards that goal by adding a few hundred extra steps in daily until you hit 10,000 steps. Using your pedometer, you can easily track if you are near meeting your goal.
- Accountability
- It can be easy to get off track with your fitness routine, but a pedometer keeps you accountable. If you think you have had an active day just check out your pedometer. It will tell you how many steps you have taken, and if you need to take more to keep aligned with your goals.
- Health benefits
- A pedometer can help keep you active on a regular basis which can provide a wide range of health benefits. A few of the main benefits that regular exercise such as walking provides includes stress relief, lower blood pressure, lower cholesterol, blood sugar control, lower risk of diabetes and heart disease and more.
- Social fitness
- Many pedometers allow you to connect with other users to create a fitness community. This allows for you to not only be accountable to yourself, but you can also share information, join challenges and seek encouragement. The social aspect of having a pedometer can allow you to connect with like-minded people with shared goals of becoming healthier.
- Promote weight loss
- A pedometer can help you to become more active and lose weight. It can also keep you motivated to maintain your weight loss through regular activity. Many pedometers also connect with fitness and health apps that can help you to create a food diet and monitor your calorie intake so that you can make healthy decisions.
Best Pedometers
If you have decided that you would like to buy a pedometer to keep track of how many steps you have taken, or to record how many calories you have burned, you are going to want to do your research. There are many different types of pedometers on the market that can help you to track how many steps you take or calories that you have burned so that you can meet or exceed your goals. A few of the top-rated pedometer brands include Omron, Fitbit, Garmin, and Sportline.
You can easily become more active by using a pedometer to track your daily activities.