Are Pedometer Watches Good For Running?

Pedometer watches keep track of how many steps you take when you walk or run. Pedometers have become popular as Americans become more conscious of the importance of being active every day: the pedometer can be a useful tool in tracking how active you are, because it allows you to quantify your daily activity been based on how many steps you've taken. Pedometers can also help runners monitor both their stride and distance run.

Features

There are several types of pedometers you might want to consider, depending on your running routine. According to manufacturer Omron, some pedometers will allow you to record how many steps you've taken from day to day and month to month with the push of a button; others may connect to your computer via software, or come with a user-defined pace setting function or a heart-rate monitor. Deciding which features are the most important to you can help you select a model.

Benefits

Just as you might like to keep track of the minutes you've run or the miles you've covered, counting the number of steps you've taken during a run can be rewarding as well as useful. Gathering data on your daily runs can help you get motivated to be consistent about how many steps you take on those days when you feel like turning home early; at the same time, knowing what your history has been can help you identify the cause of injury or an exceptional performance and modify future workouts accordingly.

Research

According to study results published in the "Journal of the American Medical Association" in November 2007, use of a pedometer has been associated with increases in physical activity and significant decreases in both body mass index and blood pressure. Considering that many people run daily to lose weight, stay healthy or to run faster, wearing a pedometer watch aligns quite well with many of the goals of running, and could complement your running by helping you be conscious of maintaining a healthy lifestyle even when your running shoes are at home in the closet.

Uses

According to the National Institutes of Health, digital step counters are appropriate for running, and for "most physical activities for which there is a stepping motion." The NIH recommends a step-only pedometer for those who require no adjustment or calibration; this type of pedometer only requires a daily resetting to 0. Those who wish to calculate the distance of each stride, however, as many runners might, may need a more complex model.

Linkages

Wearing a pedometer while running can also help you assess how many calories you've burned during exercise; if you'd like a pedometer with this feature, look for watch models that track calories burned on the screen or that will allow you to download information from your run to your computer and analyze your calorie expenditures there, Omron suggests. Linking your pedometer statistics to your dieting statistics, if you're keeping them, is one way you can gain a high degree of understanding --- and, ideally, control --- over the energy you take in and exert.