A pedometer is an exercise device that measures the distance you run, your time, and, in most cases, the calories you burned. In order to accurately measure your running distance you need to program your stride length to your pedometer. Determining your stride length is a simple task you can accomplish with the help of a tape measure.
Step 1
Pick a straight road and mark your position with a tape or a rock. Place the tip of your shoes to the starting point.
Step 2
Run for a total of 10 steps. Your running stride length is most likely little longer than your walking stride so when you determine your stride, do it by running with your typical speed. To get an even more accurate measurement, run for 30 steps.
Step 3
Stop on the 10th step and mark the point where the tip of your shoe landed.
Step 4
Measure the distance you ran with a tape measure. Use feet or meters, depending on which unit your pedometer prefers.
Step 5
Convert your running distance to inches or centimeters; multiply feet by 12 to get inches, or multiply meters by 100 to get centimeters.
Step 6
Divide the distance you ran, either in inches or centimeters, by 10 to get your stride length. If your tape measure reports only feet and your pedometer requires you to report your stride length as centimeters, calculate your stride length in inches and then multiply it by 30.48 to convert it to centimeters.
Step 7
Program your stride length to your pedometer.
Tips and Warnings
- The 10-step method is fairly accurate, according to the Southern Connecticut State University. If you would like an even more accurate method, count your steps as you run a football field from one goal line to the other, which is 300 feet or 3,600 inches, or run on a straight road for a set distance you have measured with your car's odometer or using a digital map or GPS device. Divide your running distance, in inches, by the number of steps you took to get your stride length in inches.
Things You'll Need
- Tape measure
- Calculator
Member Comments