Count on a Pedometer
To count your steps, you’ll need a pedometer, a simple device that counts steps by foot impact. Basic models are inexpensive. You’ll have to experiment with yours for most accurate use, but here are general guidelines:
- Clip the pedometer to your belt or waistband, over the center of your leg.
- Quicker and harder steps are more easily counted. Shuffling around the house may not record. Pedometers do record running steps.
- In the car, take off the pedometer and lay it flat. When it’s upright, bumps can count as steps.
Download the Pedometer Pledge (PDF)
Problems with your Pedometer? Download some helpful instructions (PDF)
The 10,000 Step Program: Slow and Steady
It’s always best to begin new exercise programs slowly and to check with your primary care physician first. Here’s a staged 10K-a-Day plan recommended by Shape Up America.
- For two weeks, wear your pedometer to log your normal steps every day. A person’s daily routine can vary from 700 to 3,000 steps!
- Set your highest number of daily steps as your goal for every day of the next two weeks. If you’re not comfortable with that level, a lower one is fine. Be sure to log your steps each night.
- At the end of the two weeks, decide if you’re ready to add 500 steps as a new two-week goal. Continue in increments of 500 steps, as slowly as you like, until you reach 10,000.
Always take pain as a warning sign. Rest and if necessary check with your physician.