Exercise / Workout thread

[walkerwally1]

If you have a smart phone the App Stepz works quite well but you have to keep the phone with you all the time.  A Fitbit gets kind of pricy but there are much cheaper pedometers that work just fine.  You probably would be surprised at how many steps in a day you actually do just getting around doing the things you normally do.  It's kind of fun to see just what you do normally. 

[Shanny]

I have a cell phone, but it isn't a smart phone.    I guess an ordinary pedometer is what I should look for. Thanks, Wally.

[Grammabear]

I prob'ly should get a step counter because it's getting so I absolutely MUST get up every 20-30 minutes or face a painful rising if I sit any longer, so I'm prob'ly getting a few more steps than before. This sacroiliac joint is better, but it hasn't healed completely. I wonder if I'd even reach 1k steps a day? 

My step count total is nowhere near as wonderful as I would like it to be and sometimes I'm downright disappointed in my total.  However I am making an effort and I have mixed feelings about my fitbit.  As Wally has said, they are pricey but if you really want one - try watching their website as every now and again they have sales on them and you can get a good price.  I have a Fitbit One and normally the price is $99 USD but it was on sale and I got it for $79 USD.  I also have the stepz app on my phone but I sometimes don't wear jeans that have a decent pocket in them so I leave my phone on the table (which doesn't help me at all).

My younger son has challenged me to reach 5K and at first I was enthusiastic, but it is a lot harder for me than it sounds.  Younger son showed me his phone app and on average he gets 19,000-20,000 steps when he is at work. 

[bigskygal]

7,937 steps yesterday. 

[skb]

I have a cell phone, but it isn't a smart phone.    I guess an ordinary pedometer is what I should look for. Thanks, Wally.

There are quite a few inexpensive replacements of Fitbit. Some of these health monitoring watches / bracelets come for under $ 50.00. They can calculate / display other things, out of which heart rate is the more important one.

https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=sr_1_4_hso_sc_smartcategory_2?rh=n%3A5393958011%2Ck%3AStep+counter&keywords=Step+counter&ie=UTF8&qid=1492474582&sr=1-4-acs

[Shanny]

Thanks for the link, Shyam! 

[Grammabear]

I'm not sure about this step counting.  My fitbit says 2833 steps and my Stepz app on my phone says 4076 steps.  There is quite a lot of difference between the two.

[walkerwally1]

I'm not sure about this step counting.  My fitbit says 2833 steps and my Stepz app on my phone says 4076 steps.  There is quite a lot of difference between the two.

I am using both the Fitbit and Stepz on my IPhone and I also see a difference.  Several times I have counted steps for 250-300 and the Stepz app seems to be more accurate.  The Fitbit Charge 2 I have is worn on the wrist and seems to miss some steps.  I think wrist worn trackers may not be the best for counting walking steps.  A lot has to do with how I am walking and when using my arm for anything like pushing a cart or even using my cane causes a problem.  Sometimes they are right in line with each other all day so go figure.  I like the Fitbit for other features like sleep monitoring, the app for the computer and the food diary that keeps a record of your diet and calculates your macros and calories, if you care about calories.
Also the Fitbit prompts me to get moving each hour from 8AM to 5PL to get up and move at least 250 steps.  The first pedometer I bought was just that, it counted steps.  I just can't stop myself sometimes and just have to get something Bigger, better, or so I think but counting steps is really all you need if that is what you want to keep track of and you can go with a much less costly device.  I tend to shy away from wrist models because there are many that do not do a very good job.  If you want to keep track of heart rate then the wrist mounted device is necessary but I have found cheap ones are not very good. 

[Grammabear]

Thank you for the input Wally.  It is sort of comforting to know that you have noticed the same differences that I noticed.  I wonder if it is like a blood glucose meter in that a person should just choose one step counter or two and stick with them to see if you are making progress?

The step counter app my son uses said 2,609, fitbit said 2,833 and stepz said 4,076.  So I guess I'm making some progress even if it is a small amount.

[walkerwally1]

I will walk and count steps for a period, like 500 steps, and compare the actual number of steps to what the device came up with.  The Fitbit is the most expensive but is kind of erratic.  Sometimes it is very close and sometimes it is off a bunch.  The Stepz app seems to compare the best but I haven't tested it for a long time.  I don't know if my memory is up to it.   

[Grammabear]

I will walk and count steps for a period, like 500 steps, and compare the actual number of steps to what the device came up with.  The Fitbit is the most expensive but is kind of erratic.  Sometimes it is very close and sometimes it is off a bunch.  The Stepz app seems to compare the best but I haven't tested it for a long time.  I don't know if my memory is up to it.   

The Stepz app usually gives me the most consistent readings even when I am just walking in the house.  And for sure the Fitbit is the most expensive.  I have the Fitbit One and it doesn't remind me to take 250 steps each hour and for sure I do get lazy now and again.  I have 'selective' memory loss that chooses not to remember to take that many steps when I know very well I should.   

[Shanny]

That would be me with the selective memory loss! 

[walkerwally1]

Yeah, if it weren't for the Fitbit prodding me every hour I would surely forget that it was time to start moving.  To me it is important to move more often and not sit for long periods of time.  I can forget what I am doing and get so absorbed in what I am doing it could be hours before I remember to get up.  Like Shanny it is much harder to move when sitting too long.

[skb]

I will walk and count steps for a period, like 500 steps, and compare the actual number of steps to what the device came up with.  The Fitbit is the most expensive but is kind of erratic.  Sometimes it is very close and sometimes it is off a bunch.  The Stepz app seems to compare the best but I haven't tested it for a long time.  I don't know if my memory is up to it.   

I use an app called Argus. It does a lot of things including step counting & heart rate monitoring. Funnily, it is spot on accurate when checked on the treadmill, but 24% short when walking on the road. I use Google Earth to chart out my path and measure it.

[bigskygal]

8,121 steps yesterday. 

I have found the Stepz app early in the day is not quite accurate.  I count my steps in the morning and compare to the app and it misses a lot of steps.  Oddly once it reaches around 1500 steps it is spot on.
No idea what is up with that, but as Grammabear says, it is like bg monitors, pick one and go with it.

During the day I am up and moving around quite a bit.  In the evening when I am more sedentary I make myself get up every time the commercials come on and walk until they are over.