subject: Benefits Of Using A Pedometer Daily [print this page] The importance of fitness is today widely recognized among the medical community as well as the general public. Since most of the modern jobs are of a sedentary nature, involving sitting at a desk for hours on end, you have to deliberately set aside a time for vigorous physical activity. But you may simply lack the time to go to the gym. In such cases, you can consider using a pedometer to regulate your daily dose of fitness.
What is a pedometer?
A pedometer is a device that is used to measure the number of steps that you take over a specific time period, generally a day. Crude forms of mechanical pedometers have been known for a long time when it was used for military purposes. In recent times, advanced types of digital pedometers have become popular among the health conscious people.
The modern digital pedometer is a small instrument which can be clipped to your belt or waistband. It uses sensors to detect your hip movement and records the number of steps that you take all day. It even includes such apparently small sessions of walking like taking the stairs instead of the lift. At the end of the day, you can see the total number of steps that you have taken. When you input the average length of your stride, you will be able to calculate the total distance that you have walked. Some versions of digital pedometers also calculate the amount of calories burned and the maximum heartbeat achieved. It is therefore a most important aid to fitness incorporated in our daily routine.
Benefits of a pedometer
Most doctors are of the opinion that walking is a very good exercise. It helps in the following ways:
Weight loss
Increasing fitness and stamina
Loss of calories
Control of blood pressure and blood sugar
Helps in fighting such diseases as osteoporosis.
If you cannot keep aside a particular time for walking, it is a great lifestyle choice to walk as much as you can in the course of your daily activities. But it is necessary to keep a record of how much you are walking so that you can gradually increase the amount in order to keep fit. The digital pedometer helps in measuring and keeping track of your daily dose of walking.
The role of the pedometer is to keep an accurate record of the daily walking done by you. How is this important? Studies show that people who use digital pedometer obtain a fair idea of the actual amount of workout they are getting. So they are often motivated to do more and increase the number of steps they take daily. People who do not use pedometers are more likely to gradually reduce the number of steps they take everyday.
Health experts recommend that you take 10,000 steps per day. If you manage to reach this goal, risks of stroke, blood pressure and blood sugar are significantly reduced, especially in women. It is an easy and convenient way to lose weight and keep fit.
You have to use a few precautions while using a digital pedometer. Motions like jumping, bending, jerking of a car may be miscounted as a step. So keep the pedometer as much parallel to the ground as possible and avoid sudden hip movements.
