"Fitness for Dummies" calls pedometers "a real fitness bargain," noting that even free ones you get as promotions from a health-maintenance organization or a bank for opening an account provide reasonably reliable information. The goal of wearing the lightweight device, which measures steps and distances when walking or running, is to track how much you move during the day and inspire you to increase that figure.
Types
Giveaway pedometers are not likely to be of high quality, Robert P. Pangrazi notes in the book "Pedometer Power." If you can't get your hands on a free pedometer as part of a promotion, you can buy one for between $16 and $60, with the higher price including extras such as accurate distance trackers, activity times and health-management software. Bulk orders for basic pedometers for physical education classes and community wellness projects may run just $8 to $12 per unit, Pangrazi writes. Higher-end devices, such as the Bodybugg, Nike + Sportband and Adidas mi Coach, are worn as an armband and in some cases tie into a chest-strap heart-rate monitor. These cost $60 to $150 as of March 2011.
Features
A horizontal lever arm suspended by a spring moves with each step and opens and closes an electric circuit, writes Greg Welk in "Physical Activity Assessments for Health-Related Research." A digital display records the steps and estimates distance based on your average stride length. On an inexpensive pedometer, the total may be off by 10 percent, but this deviation is deemed acceptable if you are simply trying to obtain an estimate of how many steps you take in a typical day.
Applications
An alligator clip makes applying a pedometer to your waistband easy. Place the pedometer on the front of your waist, in front of one knee, recommend the authors of "Pedometer Walking." Avoid placing it over your belly button or on your hip. Align the device straight up and down. You can begin using the pedometer as a spur to greater exercise. Your community may provide support in the form of a walking route, pedometer Frisbee golf, charity walks and jogs, and signups for the 10,000 Steps program to get people excited about using their pedometers.
Maintenance
Pedometers can be checked for accuracy upon purchase and annually thereafter. The shake test requires putting the pedometer in a small plastic storage box and shaking it with a cadence similar to fast walking, 30 to 50 times. The acceptable error rate is plus or minus 3 percent. Repeat the test two or three times before reaching a conclusion. You can also walk 30 steps and see if the pedometer records the steps correctly. The battery tends to last two years. It's a watch-type battery that you can test with a multimeter and replace with the same type as the original.
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