Step counters / fitness trackers

[mark st1]

Work has been manic the last 2 weeks god bless the "snap election"

 

[subaqua]

I use the one on my iphone.

regularly walk 16K steps plus. lots of it is up and down stairs on site too as lifts not for people only for goods.

it knows when i am cycling ( speed i think) so doesn't record that.

walked from Holborn to Old street on Thursday as not allowed to cycle at moment ( chest infection) . that put the count up

 

[welsh dragon]

The 10,000 steps a day so called recomendation first came into being just before the 1964 tokyo olympic games and that number was being plugged by a new gadget that was invented to yes, measure the number of steps that a person walks per day. And the gadget was invented in Japan of course, plus that number is a very auspicious number as far as the Japanese are concerned. In reality any amount of walking is good for you. Its the act of getting up and moving at all that is what is important.

I think that 2,000 steps equates to roughly 1 mile. Obviously some people have longer strides than others, but this gives you a rough estimate at least of the number of steps you have walked. Instead of spending money on gizmos and gadgets, i would prefer to just use strava or another app to measure the distance i have walked, then work out the steps from that.

I think there is also an equation that will roughly translate the distance you cycle into equivelant steps.i think some of those gadgets are a bit hit and miss but if they get people off of the chair and exercising, then they are a good thing simply for that reason alone.

 

[PaulSB]

5k at best, but that's only recorded if I have the phone on me.

Just bought my wife the Garmin Vivioactive HR, which wasn't cheap, but got £50 off RRP at Halfords. She also has the Xaiomi, but wants one for swiming, hence the Garmin.

I bought one of these about six weeks ago. Great for tracking my walking and cycling plus it gives me data about my daily exercise which I've never had before. Gives me just enough to be interesting but not so much I become overwhelmed with stuff I don't really understand. Love it and this from a man who regards this as a rather frivilous and unneccesary bit of kit!!

 

[ufkacbln]

My daughter uses one of these bits of technology. However, somewhat reversing @Cunobelin 's experience, when she's pushing her youngest one's buggy, it decides that she's cycling. Perhaps it senses a lack of movement in the arms, with increased vibration, and a raised heart rate. (She does walk unreasonably quickly, it has to be said.

It is probably my fault!

I ride recumbents almost exclusively these days.

Because the wrist tends to be horizontal and there is very little transmitted through to the handlebars, it is a recording issue

I used to wear the Fitbit one on the leg of my shorts and that upped the steps dramatically

 

[CanucksTraveller]

Probably less than 4 or 5 thousand when working from home, and over 14 thousand when I'm out and about. Huge difference, it's not good for you to work from home. I'm thinking of putting a walk into the start and end of the day to simulate walking to work.

 

[mybike]

Work?

I got a Fitbit orb because it was cheap and I was concerned that I wasn't getting enough exercise. It got me out walking but kept coming out of the strap. I eventually lost it. My wife has one but sadly Fitbit no longer support it if you don't have a smartphone.

I'm now using a Garmin vivofit which records ~30 steps for cleaning my teeth. Gets me out walking and I can easily do 10k in a day, providing I don't have long drive. Cycling records very little, even on the bumpy towpath, but I use it with a HRM to get my heart rate. Every now and then I have a 'holiday', otherwise it just keeps raising the target.

 

[MrGrumpy]

The 10,000 steps a day so called recomendation first came into being just before the 1964 tokyo olympic games and that number was being plugged by a new gadget that was invented to yes, measure the number of steps that a person walks per day. And the gadget was invented in Japan of course, plus that number is a very auspicious number as far as the Japanese are concerned. In reality any amount of walking is good for you. Its the act of getting up and moving at all that is what is important.

I think that 2,000 steps equates to roughly 1 mile. Obviously some people have longer strides than others, but this gives you a rough estimate at least of the number of steps you have walked. Instead of spending money on gizmos and gadgets, i would prefer to just use strava or another app to measure the distance i have walked, then work out the steps from that.

I think there is also an equation that will roughly translate the distance you cycle into equivelant steps.i think some of those gadgets are a bit hit and miss but if they get people off of the chair and exercising, then they are a good thing simply for that reason alone.

It measures trends and in all fairness thats as accurate as it needs to be. As for strava thats fine but useless for measuring every step of your day .

 

[Sandra6]

I don't have a step counter. For one I have zero interest in how many steps I take in a day, and for two, I've used them in the past and they're easily cheated and massively inaccurate.
I know 2000 steps is roughly a mile and I walk between one and four miles a day. so 2000 to 8000 steps. If you count the running up and down stairs at home, and wandering between the living room and bathroom, it might be more. But, like I say, I don't care.
I don't think it's an accurate measurement of a person's activity or fitness level.
I spend 8 hours a day on my feet at work, and they ache a lot by the end of it. Compression socks can help, and stretching
Some people swear by gel inserts in their shoes too but I only use them in very flat shoes.

 

[marinyork]

I have a stand up job, no walking. I do however do 5k to 10k every day. Two of the people I work with have now got fitbits and obsessed with hitting 10k steps a day and somehow doing it at work, but of course they don't achieve it. My phone measures steps anyway and I have no great interest in it but people at work when I've shown them it amazed how I clock up those number of steps per day.

In the old job did 18k and more easily and cycle commuted 10 mile round trip a day.

P.S. I have a friend who tracks carefully his steps on his phone and has averaged 25,000 steps over the last 3 months. He said he hasn't got the fitness benefits but then got into a conversation about heart rates. I pointed out that he didn't have a HR monitor, but if he had he could confirm the expected fitness improvements one way or another. Essentially the steps isn't telling him what he wanted/needed to know.

 

[gbb]

I have a stand up job, no walking. I do however do 5k to 10k every day. Two of the people I work with have now got fitbits and obsessed with hitting 10k steps a day and somehow doing it at work, but of course they don't achieve it. My phone measures steps anyway and I have no great interest in it but people at work when I've shown them it amazed how I clock up those number of steps per day.

In the old job did 18k and more easily and cycle commuted 10 mile round trip a day.

P.S. I have a friend who tracks carefully his steps on his phone and has averaged 25,000 steps over the last 3 months. He said he hasn't got the fitness benefits but then got into a conversation about heart rates. I pointed out that he didn't have a HR monitor, but if he had he could confirm the expected fitness improvements one way or another. Essentially the steps isn't telling him what he wanted/needed to know.

I wonder what info he wants regarding his heart rate. My cheap Xiaomi 'monitors' heart rate...rather measures it, a snapshot only. As a long term cyclist I always knew my BP and heart rate was low...and still is even though I'm nowhere near as fit as I used to be, i occasionally measure my resting HR and it's rarely over 60 bpm.

 

[biggs682]

Another desk jockey who is lucky to get to 9k during the week.

Weekends are different more like 25k

 

[MrGrumpy]

If it encourages people to be more active and move about more what's wrong with that?! these trackers just trend your activity day to day , you will see over time your general activity ? Works for me !

 

[marinyork]

I wonder what info he wants regarding his heart rate. My cheap Xiaomi 'monitors' heart rate...rather measures it, a snapshot only. As a long term cyclist I always knew my BP and heart rate was low...and still is even though I'm nowhere near as fit as I used to be, i occasionally measure my resting HR and it's rarely over 60 bpm.

Just comparisons. He was concerned his heart rate was high. As I pointed out to him I believe it may have come down with a lot of walking the last 3 months. Doesn't know for certain.

 

[ufkacbln]

Also, as before, where you wear it can change the number of steps

We have a "naked below the elbow policy" so watches are out, so I attach my Fitbit to the belt of my trousers

On the occasions that I am non-clinical, I do less walking, but the steps are similar of greater when worn on the wrist