Over the years, I'm sure most of us have heard the common wisdom that walking 10,000 steps a day is a great way to get and stay in shape.
Until recently, that would have been hard for me to achieve. But I now have a walking commute of 0.4 miles. So back and forth, plus back and forth for lunch is 1.6 miles right there. Plus I extend my "commute" by coming in a side gate and walking the zoo grounds.
So I dug out my old Omron pedometer, replaced the battery, and added it to my belt. The belt is staring to get Batman-envy, but hey, this is science in the name of health!
I quickly discovered that even with my walking commute and extensions, it's hard to walk 10,000 steps in a day! That's about 5 miles. If I walk the zoo in the afternoon, or have a particularly busy time supporting the staff, or if I walk the dogs... then I hit 10K (haven't yet hit 11K). I make it to 10K about 1 or 2 days out of seven.
I was perusing some twitter posts and came across an article that mentioned a free app called Moves. Oh my goodness, an appaholic's dream come true. Moves records your steps as well as other "moves" you make throughout the day. So if you drive a bit, then walk, then bike, it gives you a nifty timeline of your activity. Clicking on one of the legs, you get a map marked with your route. Neat!
I love that this app is just on all the time - no need to start if up or even think about it. It is a bit of a battery drain, but nothing that a nightly recharge doesn't solve. I've gotten rid of the Omron pedometer (sadly, but probably accurately, Moves seems to record fewer steps than the pedometer. I think the pedometer was easily fooled by other movements like rocking in a chair). I have my phone on me all the time, anyway. And now I can go back in time and see what I did yesterday or last week. I suppose I should be creeped out or worried that this level of personal detail is being uploaded to the web, but somehow I don't care. The app is just too useful. It's 4 in the afternoon and I know that today I have walked 8,570 steps so far, walking a total of 1 hour and 34 minutes and covering 3.4 miles.
Until recently, that would have been hard for me to achieve. But I now have a walking commute of 0.4 miles. So back and forth, plus back and forth for lunch is 1.6 miles right there. Plus I extend my "commute" by coming in a side gate and walking the zoo grounds.So I dug out my old Omron pedometer, replaced the battery, and added it to my belt. The belt is staring to get Batman-envy, but hey, this is science in the name of health!
I quickly discovered that even with my walking commute and extensions, it's hard to walk 10,000 steps in a day! That's about 5 miles. If I walk the zoo in the afternoon, or have a particularly busy time supporting the staff, or if I walk the dogs... then I hit 10K (haven't yet hit 11K). I make it to 10K about 1 or 2 days out of seven.
I was perusing some twitter posts and came across an article that mentioned a free app called Moves. Oh my goodness, an appaholic's dream come true. Moves records your steps as well as other "moves" you make throughout the day. So if you drive a bit, then walk, then bike, it gives you a nifty timeline of your activity. Clicking on one of the legs, you get a map marked with your route. Neat!I love that this app is just on all the time - no need to start if up or even think about it. It is a bit of a battery drain, but nothing that a nightly recharge doesn't solve. I've gotten rid of the Omron pedometer (sadly, but probably accurately, Moves seems to record fewer steps than the pedometer. I think the pedometer was easily fooled by other movements like rocking in a chair). I have my phone on me all the time, anyway. And now I can go back in time and see what I did yesterday or last week. I suppose I should be creeped out or worried that this level of personal detail is being uploaded to the web, but somehow I don't care. The app is just too useful. It's 4 in the afternoon and I know that today I have walked 8,570 steps so far, walking a total of 1 hour and 34 minutes and covering 3.4 miles.