Setting a Pedometer
Any pedometer will count your steps, assuming that you are wearing it level and correctly on your belt – but in order to get an accurate estimate of how much distance you have walked, you must first let your step counter know exactly how wide each step is by setting your pedometer.
Obviously people of different heights will have different sized steps, and running, jogging, or walking can make a difference in how much distance is traveled too. Setting a Pedometer is simple, you need to follow the instructions that came with your model, but most require you to measure at least one “average step”.
First, you need to understand that the “step length” is the distance between the heel on one foot to the heel on your other foot during an average step.
Here are some of the ways to measure a step length:
- Using a tape measure, measure a distance of 10 feet and then while walking at normal speed, count how many steps it takes to cover that set measured distance. Your step length in inches will be 122 inches (10 feet) divided by the number of steps.
- Pour some water into a puddle on your driveway. Start away from the puddle and walk at normal speed through the puddle and keep walking. You will be able to measure the distance on the wet footprints from the heel on your left foot to the heel on your right foot.
If you cannot use one of the methods above, you can get going quickly with a rough estimate of (your height x .413 for women) or (your height x .415 for men). Note: this is the most inaccurate way to “guesstimate” your step length but its still better than nothing!