Pedometers – Someone Has an Eye over Your Footsteps

Isn’t it fun to count the steps you have taken in a day? Yes, of course, as it provided you the data, about the fitness level and the steps you have taken towards it. This step-counter is also known as tomash-meter. The pedometer must be the Holy Grail for fitness freaks and a detector for the people seeking towards gaining more fitness.

Initially this compact electronic device was used for sports or fitness purposes. With the changing times, it has been used as a tool in the exercise kits. It measures and motivates the steps taken by a person to match it to the experts’ view.

Scientifically, a total of 10,000 steps are recommended by experts as a benchmark for the daily fitness regime. 10,000 steps are nearly equivalent to 5 miles or 8 kilometers a day. The pedometer not only counts the steps but provide the total distance traveled by a person in a day in terms of kilometers and miles (distance=Number of steps x length of the step taken). Hence, it helps keeping a check over the followed fitness routines.

Adding to this, it has a benefit of ignoring false footsteps. False footsteps may include step taken to tie your shoe lace, or shifting from your place while sitting on a chair. Thus, accuracy and credibility are featured by pedometers.

Pedometer being compact can be carried like other technological instruments like mobile phones in pockets. It can be carried on pouches on waist belts, thus being handy. Initially, pedometers included a mechanical sensor and a software application to count steps. But today, advanced step counters rely on modern technology called MEMS (micro-electro-mechanical systems) inertial censors and a hi-fi software solution to detect steps.

These censors have axis detection of acceleration and this allows for more accurate detection of steps. As such, the accuracy of device varies from one device to other. Most pedometers count steps at walking pace on a flat surface accurately being the device loaded at the optimum position. The optimum position countered for step counters are the waist belts. Moreover, it tends to calculate some false steps like while driving a car. Basically the calculation depends on length of the steps taken and as a result, sometimes tends to have misleading counts.

The pedometers are no more considered to be separate devices; rather they are integrated with personal electronic devices. Nokia 5500 sports phone, Sony Erickson W710 walkman phone, NTT Do Como Fujitsu pedometer phone, ipod clubbed with Nike are mere examples of integration. They are clubbed with such instruments which support a person all the time.

Most of the walkers use ipods and walkman during their walk, however, pedometer witnesses the steps taken.

Pedometer is a decent way to have a count on your footsteps. It does not include complex technologies and heavy weighing instruments. A compact device can keep an eye over your footsteps assisting you to have an eye over your health.