step counters-Rant

LiveLoveLift67

I know alot of people use those pedometors and step counters and rely on them to add to their calorie counts, especially as cardio. I think they are far reaching as far as fitness is concerned ( heart health cardio) . I walk probably 5+ miles a day at work but, really walking from the sink to the counter is not fitness .

I spoke to someone the other day who joined a gym ( a co worker) and said i dont plan on using the cardio machines because i walk 10 miles a day at work according to my step counter. That is NOT cardio.....i dont even think it should count if you arent getting your heart rate up while doing it. Those things give people a false sense of fitness in my opinion.

Ok rant over....he just frustrated me when he made that comment re cardio

PikaKnight

So you don't think walking is a form of cardio? If he's doing 10 miles worth of walking, I think he's okay on the cardio in my opinion.

ironanimal

Why isn't it cardio?

Is walking 10 miles over the course of the day not more taxing on the cardiovascular system than NOT walking those 10 miles?

Achrya

That's nice.

I think, honestly, a guy walking 10 miles a day at work is gonna be okay with or without your approval.


Signed,
Someone who doesn't 'cardio' by your standards

candistyx

There is no need for your average person to do intense cardio unless they actually enjoy it. All activity is better than being entirely sedentary and on average people do not meet even the moderate 10000 step goals that are suggested.

Extreme cardiovascular fitness has marginal health benefits compared to the effort required to attain it and for many people it simply isn't worth it. If you enjoy it and want to live that lifestyle that's great but other people have other hobbies.

TavistockToad

sounds reasonable to me that he would just do strength training in the gym if he has an active job...

asdowe13

I'm pretty sure walking 10 miles /day at work is infinitely better than 20-30 minutes on a treadmill or eliptical machine.

Your coworker will benefit more from lifting weights at the gym, sounds like he has it figured out quite well for himself.

BerryH

Research indicates that regular activity throughout the day gives better results in terms of conditions related to being sedentary than doing intense or long cardio then sitting on your bum the rest of the day. Your colleague may not be able to run 10 miles, but walking the same is pretty impressive!

umer76

Rant not acceptable!

Okapi42

I easily covered similar distances on patrol in my last job as a ranger. Believe me, for some people, work is cardio. Just because you sit in an office...

And I did wear a pedometer, both to track my exercise and simply out of curiosity.

RllyGudTweetr

Yeah, so apparently one of my main forms of exercise isn't acceptable to you. I suppose I'll have to learn to live with the disapproval of an otherwise anonymous person on the internet.

emmaxbon

This is your trip, and only yours. Some call it a journey. We are all on our own trips. What someone does or is doing has no impact at all on what you do or are doing. So, don't worry about it.

This ^^

WelshPhil1975

I use a pedometer (Fitbit) and I have a daily target that I hit by means of walking. The pedometer doesn’t know where I am walking from/to, nor does it make any allowances for the times I just get up from my desk, visit a colleague about 50-odd steps away then walk back & sit back down again. I am yet to be told by it that this isn’t an acceptable way of hitting my target and will have no positive effect on me.

However, I DO get to see how my fitness improves, my weight decreases week by week, etc. Now, this may have absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with the few occasions I walk to see colleagues, visit the toilet, walk upstairs to put my kids to bed, etc, but the bigger picture is that I am feeling fitter and healthier aswell as losing weight, so whether or not it’s acceptable to anybody else, it is perfectly acceptable to me.

One question though, what is a “false sense of fitness”? I fell fitter and am more active than I have been in years (granted, it’s more than just short trips that makes up my target, but it’s all part of the overall effect). Is this fitness real, or am I deluding myself?

sabified

Any movement is better than none. And if your colleague wants to focus on weights then I see no need to get heated up about it. It's his choice.

dammitjanet0161

What is there to rant about?

chivalryder

Walking is actually one of the greatest forms of exercise that exists today. Talk to any chiropractor, physical therapist, doctor, etc., and the vast majority of them would tell you to walk. It's low-impact, easy, and a natural thing to do. It beats sitting on your *kitten* all day.

10 miles at work is also a HUGE amount to walk in 8 hours. I assume he's a shift worker at a factory or something? I'd stop ranting at him and say that's damn good. If you two went on a hike in the forest, he'd probably be able to go further, faster than you can.

Azdak

On a continuum of health benefits, walking 10,000 steps is better than sitting a chair all day, but it is not equivalent to a progressive workout program.

Locomotion is not the same as exercise. People have a tendency to vastly overestimate both the fitness/health value and the calorie burn of their casual activity.

ItsCasey

OP, I think you're ignoring the purpose of pedometers. They are actually meant to track every step you take during the day so that you can get a sense of how active you are when you are NOT exercising and then adjust your activity level depending on your weight-loss goals. I don't need to know how many steps I take when I am intentionally walking 3 miles for exercise. I am much more interested in how many steps I take at work and around the house on an average day. And you can bet your last nickel that if I were walking 10 miles a day as part of my job, I wouldn't be worried about doing any additional cardio.

Deborah105

As my two year old used to tell me, "be quieted!"

Hamster-on-a-wheel approach isn't the best either. To me the elliptical is an evil, evil beast. :bigsmile:

PetulantOne

Moving more throughout the day had the largest impact on raising my TDEE, and I lift weights and run on a regular basis.