No step counter.

I count my steps for one minute and keep the pace/stride going. I check again every 10 or 15 mintues and it is always very close, so I don't worry about if I'm off pace by 2 to 5 steps a minute. When energy level is strong, stride is steady, when tired or in a head wind, it can cause a slow down, but I deal with it...

I don't necessarily know if I stop at 9,000 plus steps or 10,000 plus steps. I pre-calculated that it takes me on average about 1 hour and 23 minutes to walk 10,000 steps, so that is about how long I walk. When I run/walk (on my strong days), I do about an hour to an hour an 10 minutes....

Many days, after doing the 10,000 steps, I do other walks, such as parking in the furthest parking spot at the malls and shopping centers, walking to nearby groceries, walking around inside stores before shopping, walking in the evening when the weather is nice, sort of just strolling after dinner.... An active lifestyle of not sitting on my ass seems to do wonders for my health... I've even cut my grass with my lawn mower more frequently than most people would just to get in some extra walks that way...

I strongly believe in activities integrated in daily life. If I can avoid mechanical aids (like an elevator or escalator) I do. I prefer running up the stairs. Those extras really do add up during the whole day.

I'll count my steps tomorrow and will report back to you. I always walk/jog for about an hour.

Skyliz, it looks like it is just me and you for now. I'll be posting my activity in my journal and if you do the same, I'll keep up with you there. I won't keep coming here to be reminded of how ill received this challenge was. The sad part is that for T2 diabetics, the best thing they could do for themselves, even more so that diets (in my opinion) is to simply walk steadily everyday and even at several intervals each day and that seems to be low on the priority of most....

We have an overpowering medical establishment that thrives on our not being fit and our not eating healthy, then we have weak mindedness to self destruct from within.

I'll be doing my walks and my challenge will just sit on the table for the most part...

I'm sorry that your challenge has not been challenging enough for the majority of people here. They surely would have benefitted from it. Maybe the number of steps has scared them off?

I wish there were no journals. Nobody has the time to read all the journals and so much valuable information remains invisible that way. That's why I don't use my journal on a regular basis. But I'll find my way to yours, of course.

Since December 26 I have done my daily routine, being 5 miles of powerwalk/jogging and some weight lifting (a joke for you!) to tone up my upper arms. I've done it 7 days a week.

I think for the majority, it is too challenging........ If the challenge would have been to take a magic pill to give the benefit of walking 10,000 steps without having to do it, there would be 1,000 or more challengers...

Anyway, my challenge was not intended for those who do more, but for those who do less and I guess at then end of 2009, many of those to whom my challenge is intended will still not have realized the benefits of my challenge....

I would say that for every 10 people who are aware of this challenge and don't accept it, there are at least 9 that know that this is what they should do, but they just can't get themselves to do it......

Anyway, my wife is insisting I get on the treadmill now, so I gotta go...

You have an empathatic and loving wife! Great.

WARNING

It dawned on me today that as a diabetic, the most important thing when I'm exercising is to not injure myself.

The past several days, I've been doing my steps at a pace of 128 when walking and 170 when running. I can comfortably do this, but at a higher risk for injury.

In listening to my body since yesterday, I can feel a tiredness in my knees and feet, most likely due to pushing myself and not being as natural about my approach to reach 10,000 steps as possible.

Considering that: my health would be a great risk if I injured myself, I'm in reasonable shape now, I'm 61 years old, I'm not trying to look like an athlete in his 20s', I'm just trying to maintain a level of conditioning that will allow me to live a healthier lifestyle....... So, I'm adjusting my walking as of today:

I will limit my pace to 120 paces a minute, which is about 3 mph, or 20 minutes for one mile, or 2,400 steps per 20 minutes. I will do my walks in 20 minute to 30 minute sessions for the 3 or 4 required sessions in order to complete my 10,000 steps.

I've been trying different techniques to keep my injury risk low while trying to get more cardio out of my walks. This is what I've come up with so far....

Keep my treadmill set on 3.0 mph as a constant!

walking pace 120 steps per minute
speed walking 150 steps per minute (shortened stride)
slow jog 170 steps per minute (more shortened stride)
quicker jog 200 steps per minute (very short stride)

In one hour today, I managed to do about 9,800 steps. I continued to my usual 1:20 minutes and ended my walk with about 14,000 steps.

By shortening my stride when increasing my steps, I felt like I was protecting my knees tremendously. I don't know if this would work on the street. My treadmill has a lot of cushioning effect to take the pressure off of my knees....

Also noted: I've recently added an outlet in my exercise room for my satellite tv reception and tuning in to various types of music programs makes the time go by so much quicker. It seems the longer its been since I've listened to particular types of music, the faster the time seems to go when I listen...

I've found that shortening the stride takes some of the impact off. I walked outside almost four miles yesterday (approx 3.8) and when I got back my feet were sore. I guess I need good walking shoes.

Oh, i'd love to join this challenge! i try to walk/jog 10k steps a day, but i haven't been very consistent with it. maybe this challenge will get me going!

Anyhow, for monday 19 (i'm in asia, so it's already nighttime here) i did manage to put in 10350 steps. Hopefully i'll be able to keep this up tomorrow and everyday after this.

Cool!

Welcome aboard...

I was in China when I got the idea from an elderly gentleman who'd been walking his 10,000 steps for many years.

I just finished my 10,000 steps for today, probably closer to 11,000, but I would like to do more tonight if time allows. I don't know where my extra energy is coming from, but I'm thankful when it is around...

Where in Asia are you?

I'm currently in Thailand.

Anyway, so far I'm keeping up with this 10k steps thing.

Tuesday: 10100-ish (it should've been a little bit more if I didn't take an evening nap in order to wake up later at night to watch the inauguration.

Today (Wed 21): 10400-ish.


So, you don't use any pedometer of any sort, do you? just from calculating from time/distance?

yep, it is not difficult to do.... I don't think the pedometers are all that accurate anyway. I just check once or twice on a walk, or whenever I change stride or speed. Counting steps for 10 seconds and multiplying by 6 is easy enough also and I do that most of the time. I'm not too concerned about an exact number. I know I'm within a 100 or so steps of my 10,000 goal and that is good enough.

Yesterday, I did not walk.