For my infoviz class, my group is working on a fitness application that uses pedometers to track the number of steps a person takes in a day. The average American walks about 5,000 steps a day and most walking programs recommend walking 10,000 steps a day. My group and I have had our nifty pedometers (thanks to the UM Department of Family Medicine) for about a week now. Most school days, I walk around 7,000 – 8,000 steps a day. Over the weekend, my step counts were dismal (a little over 4,000 steps) due to the fact that I’m just at home working on homework. This morning, I walked over to the IMSB and worked out for a half hour on the elliptical trainer.
17,381 is the number of steps I’ve taken today. According to my pedometer, that’s about 7 miles.

That’s a great project! Way to motivate yourself to exercise! Does it record your steps on the elliptical trainer?
Yep, I think my half hour on the elliptical was 4,000 steps.
I still haven’t broken 10,000 steps, and I only get close on the days I run :(
I think my step counts are probably inflated because I’m so freaking short! :p
I want a pedometer now! I keep thinking “I walked a lot today. I wonder how many steps?!”
You could always beg apete to loan you his for a day!
Or you could just buy one . . .
Although the one we’ve got isn’t even available in the US yet! ;)