Walking, walking, walking.

Starburst
Starburst Member Posts: 2,546
edited 11. Dec 2015, 02:54 in Living with Arthritis archive
I'm looking at getting one of those fancy pedometer-style wrist bands and wondered what you thought. I trust you to be honest with me but perhaps less blunt that my family who wanted to know why I wanted to count the steps from my house to the car. :lol: Cheeky so and sos! Do you use one and does it encourage you to move more? My mobility has gone downhill and I need to find a way to encourage myself to get moving. Getting to the gym feels like an impossible goal. I thought this might help to set reasonable goals; small but achievable. I'd be interested in people's experiences and general thoughts.

Comments

  • elnafinn
    elnafinn Member Posts: 7,412
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Hi Starburst

    I use an Omron pedometer, very simple. Hubby had to plug in a few details for me, height perhaps, weight, and my step had to be measured. I am stupid with things like that or rather, lazy as I know he will do it for me. ;) I love my Omron ped. It is like a lovely, silent friend and I get very cross with myself if I go out and forget it, which is very rare.

    Personally I am not interested in the fancy ones ie fitbit. The Omron ped tells me all I want to know, which is how many steps I have achieved in a day. It has motivated me to get out and walk.

    My goal is 10,000 steps per day and I love to see the "waving hand" on the ped when I reach that number of steps. Of course I do not always achieve this but I do not beat myself up about it, because sometimes I wish to do cooking/baking and I cannot always go out walking as well. One sets one's own goal.

    It is surprising how few steps one does if just in the home. Standing will not make the ped work! ;)

    I found my pedometer on Amazon. There are a few to choose from and mine is no longer there but it is very similar to the Omron Walking Style III Ped. It measures a few other things besides steps, ie calories use etc. but I do not bother with them.

    Happy walking,

    Elna
    The happiest people don't have the best of everything. They just make the best of everything.

    If you can lay down at night knowing in your heart that you made someone's day just a little bit better, you know you had a good day.
  • LignumVitae
    LignumVitae Member Posts: 1,972
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    I thought about getting one and then my new phone has an inbuilt one. I was so pleased at first but soon had to readjust my relationship with it. It's good, on the one hand to know that a trip to the supermarket can really bump up my step number and it was great the night I danced at a gig (how I paid the weeks after) and danced myself to a whooping 17,000 ish steps. I soon realised though that I was actually causing myself problems with it. Things aren't so great in the body of an LV at the moment and I found one half of my mind berating the other half of my mind for lack of activity. I was at a point where really, lack of activity was exactly what I needed but I still got annoyed that I wasn't doing more steps and more flights of stairs (I should carry my phone every time I go up to the loo to empty another potty, it would soon mount up). I found myself one day, struggling to cope with just being awake, exhausted, shaking and looking at my phone to see if I had managed to please my brainless digital master and gain the number of steps needed to pass a certain line on the chart. I realised then that I needed to step away from the podometer app in order to do what was right for my arthritis. That's me though, you are probably far less stupid about these things!
    Hey little fighter, things will get brighter
  • emmaadams
    emmaadams Member Posts: 140
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    this sounds like a great idea .. i will have to invest in one as my Physio is always asking how far or how long i have walked in a day or at any one time .. at the moment i can only manage around 5/10 minuets of continuous walking (outside) then have to sit and rest .. i am trying to improve this which can be difficult at times.. so it would be good to actually KNOW how many steps i can do in those 5/10 minuets .. please let me know which one you get and how it is ??

    thanks
  • stickywicket
    stickywicket Member Posts: 27,697
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    I've used them before but only the kind that clip onto the belt / waistband and got disheartened when I felt I'd put in a good day only to find nothing had registered. Or when it had dropped off.

    I think we have to use them with caution and not get carried away. I'm intending to get another of some sort but only to try to increase my daily steps (at entirely the wrong time as my feet are playing up badly right now but the right time might never come :lol: ).

    Good luck and be sensible, as you always are.
    If at first you don't succeed, then skydiving definitely isn't for you.
    Steven Wright
  • dreamdaisy
    dreamdaisy Member Posts: 31,520
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    I bought a Misfit which connects to my phone and is worn around my wrist. I find it very useful, not because I aim to do 10,000 steps per day (dream on, daisy) but because I can set the target and see how well I am doing towards achieving it - as the day progresses more and more lights come on around its face: no counting as such, but I can see the progress. You can also set targets for running (ha-ha) and swimming (I wish I could but the payback is definitely not worth it). I bought it at J lewis and also got one for the Spouse - it is still in its box. :wink: I had a thread about it, called I am electronically tagged: I'll see if I can find it and bounce it for you. DD
    Have you got the despatches? No, I always walk like this. Eddie Braben
  • slomo
    slomo Member Posts: 180
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    I bought a pedometer in September with some birthday money. I think it's an Omron sounds similar to Elna's right down to the letting OH set it up for me!! It's about 3 inches long by about 1 inch wide. Quite light but sturdily made. Can put it in a pocket or wear it round the neck. It measures steps, calories used, distance, speed of walking. I wanted to use it to steadily increase my walking distance and speed but my GP told me what I really needed to do wa just rest.
    I think really its about getting the balance right with using it. I now don't use it to consciously increase my distance or speed up my walking but I do use it as a confidence aid. It's fine for me to know that I can walk from A to B when I'm around about and near my home but if I go to the next town (for shops, or hairdresser or even my upcoming OccH appointment), it helps me know how far realistically I can walk. I can give myself little pep talks. You know the sort of thing, where you tell yourself that you can walk that distance at home so there's no reason why you won't be able to manage that distance in another town.
    I don't want to be so afraid of walking myself to a standstill when I'm alone and in a less familiar location that I end up being too afraid to try to walk and end up actually walking less and less. I really like it and get annoyed with myself if I forget it.
    Hope you find you that suits for you
    slomo
  • heather89
    heather89 Member Posts: 10
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    I use a Garmin Vivofit, which is a wristband. You also use Garmin Connect on the laptop/PC and an app for the phone or tablet to record your progress. I use it mainly to record the number of steps I take in a day, plus the distance walked. I stress that I use Vivofit which is the basic model - I bought it cheaply online, because it is probably too basic for a lot of people! The good thing about this device is that if you have been sedentary for too long, a red line appears indicating that you should get up and move. The longer you delay, the longer the red line becomes, and the longer it takes to make it disappear!! So as soon as you see it, get up and move! You can also use Garmin Connect to monitor how long you sleep (!!), calorie intake, and various other bits and pieces which I do not use!
    I think that anything that will encourage you to "get moving" has got to be good.
    Keep calm, and keep smiling!
  • Jen
    Jen Member Posts: 155
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    I've got a free one from diabetes UK, it won't be as accurate as the expensive ones, but it certainly counts steps and gives an approximate count.

    The one I have clips onto your waist band.

    I would say the digital ones would be more accurate though.
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  • Jen
    Jen Member Posts: 155
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    If you have an nano ipod 7th generation, that has a built in pedometer.
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  • frogmorton
    frogmorton Member Posts: 29,332
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    I have an app on my phone :)

    It 'tells me off' if I haven't done enough!!!

    I bought my husband a garmin last Christmas and he loves it. Mainly because it is waterproof and a lot of them aren't. He likes to swim, shower and bathe without taking watches off!!

    Good luck Sophie :)

    Love

    Toni xxx