Need pedometer for indoor walking

[Sasha]

I'd like to get a pedometer to measure all of my walking, including that which I do indoors on carpet. I used to own a cheap pedometer some years ago that worked by having a little ball bearing or something inside that I could hear jiggling up and down on each pace but whatever was registering its movement didn't count most of the paces I was making on carpet, only those I made rather more forcefully outdoors on pavement (and then, not always).

I'd like to buy a new pedometer to help me with pacing and Bruce Campbell's "energy envelope" stuff. Does anyone know whether there's a particular kind I should look for? This Omron one on UK Amazon, for example, mentions that it uses "acceleration technology" but that could mean anything, including a little ball bearing or something.

I don't want to have to buy several before I find one that can do the job!

 

[lancelot]

I use a pedometer and it really helps you understand and measure your physical limits before the Crash/PEM/DPEM. i just got a basic $12 digital omron pedometer at amazon but look for their reviews before you buy. Using a pedometer will tell you how much you can walk before you CRASH/PEM/DPEM. It may take a few months of experimenting to find out. I will tell you my limits as measured by the pedometer. I average 7mins or 7O0steps everyday just to get around the house and this is where i am +5 days of the week without crashing. On my very best days which is about 1-2days/week, i can walk a maximum of 20minutes or 2000 steps(100step=1min or 1000steps =10min) in a 24hour period without DPEM. I can walk to 30minutes and feel the same as 20minutes, but i will horribly crash the next morning i wake up or DPEM. Everyone will be different.

the Pedometer will help prevent Crashing/PEM/DPEM from physical walking but it will not predict other reasons for crashing from sleep problems, meds, supplements, stress, and the elusive "random" crashes for no good reason! It helps when you are out running a short errand on your good days and being able to monitor your total steps before a PEM.

Good luck!

 

[Sasha]

I use a pedometer and it really helps you understand and measure your physical limits before the Crash/PEM/DPEM. i just got a basic $12 digital omron pedometer at amazon but look for their reviews before you buy. Using a pedometer will tell you how much you can walk before you CRASH/PEM/DPEM. It may take a few months of experimenting to find out. I will tell you my limits as measured by the pedometer. I average 7mins or 7O0steps everyday just to get around the house and this is where i am +5 days of the week without crashing. On my very best days which is about 1-2days/week, i can walk a maximum of 20minutes or 2000 steps(100step=1min or 1000steps =10min) in a 24hour period without DPEM. I can walk to 30minutes and feel the same as 20minutes, but i will horribly crash the next morning i wake up or DPEM. Everyone will be different.

the Pedometer will help prevent Crashing/PEM/DPEM from physical walking but it will not predict other reasons for crashing from sleep problems, meds, supplements, stress, and the elusive "random" crashes for do good reason! It helps when you are out running a short errand on your good days and being able to monitor your total steps before a PEM.

Good luck!

Hi lancelot - I'm glad your pedometer has helped you. I think I need to be much more systematic about recording my activity like you have been.

I've checked out some of the reviews on Amazon but no-one seems to be mentioning the carpet issue (I assume most people use them mostly outside the house and don't need to monitor their activity as closely as we do). I bought my old ones about ten years ago - I wonder if the technology has changed? It sounds as though you are happy with how yours is measuring your activity in the house - do you have carpeted floors? Would you mind telling me which Omron model you have?

 

[Sasha]

Actually I've just gone ahead and splurged 17 on the "Omron Walking Style II Pedometer" (here on Amazon UK. People were saying in the reviews that it could measure paces even if it was in your backpack or hanging round your neck so it sounds pretty sensitive.

I will try to remember to report back on it once it has arrived and I've had a chance to try it out!

 

[lancelot]

Hi lancelot - I'm glad your pedometer has helped you. I think I need to be much more systematic about recording my activity like you have been.

I've checked out some of the reviews on Amazon but no-one seems to be mentioning the carpet issue (I assume most people use them mostly outside the house and don't need to monitor their activity as closely as we do). I bought my old ones about ten years ago - I wonder if the technology has changed? It sounds as though you are happy with how yours is measuring your activity in the house - do you have carpeted floors? Would you mind telling me which Omron model you have?

What would be the issue with carpet? i have carpets. It just measures your steps indoor or out very accurately. you just clip the digital pedometer to your pants waist or any pocket and it accurately measures your steps. advanced models measure half steps, fast steps, jogging/running, etc, but i don't need those extras. I average 700steps or 7min indoors in a 24 hour period. the hard part is figuring out how many steps you can take on a bad day vs good day before PEM and DPEM, but also finding the maximum steps on a good day w/o the dreaded DelayedPEM which is 2000 steps/20minutes for me at this point working my way up from 10minutes/1000steps about 2 years ago.

My basic Omron is model HJ-150.

 

[helen41]

I used a centrios pedometer for a couple of months, just trying to corrolate my activities with my level of fatigue. The pedometer was cheap, less than $10.00, but it did the trick. I made myself a checkoff sheet where I recorded my steps, my level of fatigue, cognition and discomfort each waking hour. It seemed to be fairly accurate, and I used it around the house or doing errands. I could do about 2-3000 steps a day, but the more I broke it up, the better I was. On the few occasions I would do all my walking at once I'd invariably have consequences. I was interesting

 

[Sasha]

What would be the issue with carpet?

Hi Lancelot - the old, cheap pedometers I bought ten years ago had trouble counting my steps on carpet. I think their mechanism was relying on maybe measuring impact more than movement per se and carpet deadens impact. Maybe the modern ones are so good now that this is no longer an issue (I hope so!).

 

[Sasha]

I used a centrios pedometer for a couple of months, just trying to corrolate my activities with my level of fatigue. The pedometer was cheap, less than $10.00, but it did the trick. I made myself a checkoff sheet where I recorded my steps, my level of fatigue, cognition and discomfort each waking hour. It seemed to be fairly accurate, and I used it around the house or doing errands. I could do about 2-3000 steps a day, but the more I broke it up, the better I was. On the few occasions I would do all my walking at once I'd invariably have consequences. I was interesting

That is interesting, Helen. On most days I've been having a short walk outside the house but I don't think it is really good for me; I think I'm doing too much without realising because I'm ambling into shops for errands and it is adding up without me realising it and it all happens in one go. I think I am using a (bad) strategy of thinking, "well, I'm here now so I ought to do everything I've got to do" like I could have done when I was well, but now I pay a price. I'm really hoping the pedometer will help me see what I'm doing more clearly.

 

[helen41]

That was exactly what I learned by using the pedometer (and I meant to say 'it was interesting', not 'I was interesting', LOL). Previously I would invariably do 'just one more thing' each time I'd go out and I was making myself sicker. Now I go to the produce store one day, the bank the next, etc. I feel better, and I think I actually end up getting more done in the end, even though it still is really restricted.