19 November 2007

Pedometer mania

It was four or five months ago when I decided to start an exercise routine and in my search for the ideal exercise - something that doesn't require going to the gym because I've faced the fact that I simply have no time for it - I came across this nifty little device called the pedometer, which counts your steps. To benefit from walking as an exercise, you either have to do brisk walking (and set aside time for this), or accumulate 10,000 steps in a day. Walking? I walk all the time! I was set to go.

Or not.

I searched sports shops and drugstores for a pedometer, and it dawned on me that pedometers aren't exactly popular in Manila. I found one though at a sports shop, but it costs around 2,500 pesos! Darn.

Fast-forward to last week. We visited Divisoria and I chanced upon a digital pedometer for a measly 50 pesos! Of course, I am rather dubious about anything electronics sold in Divisoria, but at 50 pesos, why not try it out?

And then last Sunday while watching TV, we saw this Anlene (a milk brand for adults) commercial encouraging the drinking of milk to fight osteoporosis and exercising daily. And as an added boost to this campaign, they were giving away pedometers for free! Come on! That very afternoon, we went to the supermarket and there it was, the 250 peso-box with the free pedometer. I bought the milk for my wife and kept the pedometer for myself.

And then just yesterday, I dropped by the Japanese 88-peso store and discovered that they are selling pedometers at - you guessed it - 88 pesoses! What a deal! Operators are standing by!

I'm still trying out the two pedometers I have and unfortunately I'm getting different readings. Yes, I have two pedometers on my belt, though I'm not exactly fond of the eye-catching white and green Anlene pedometer which stands out against my otherwise dark-themed office attire. The divi pedometer has a black body with a grayish face. Much better.

Also, I must be accidentally resetting the things when I put the seatbelt on (I travel a lot).

And a colleague asked me if I had a beeper on. That was a laugh.

Question: Are pedometers a girl thing? The packaging makes me think so. Hmmm.

Anyways, I make my report soon about my "pedometer challenge". For now, this device is indeed motivating me to walk-walk-walk!





24 comments:

  1. hmm.. those pedometers have interesting prices ha.. from 50 pesos to 2500? kakaloka..

    well, good luck to you. i saw that commercial too.. that 10000 steps thing.. whew.. for me, i dont i can rech that quota

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  2. Anonymous3:14 pm

    so which one works? I'm into brisk walking too. hope you can share your findings. thanks!

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  3. Dessagirl: Medyo mahirap nga abutin yung 10,000 steps. Talagang you have to add more walking time to what you normally do. I will display 5 days' worth of walking in this blog one time.

    Corina: right now, talagang kitang-kita yung Anlene pedometer sa belt ko e. Pangit tingnan. So I'm using the black one right now. If ever I wear something that doesn't need to be tucked in, I'll wear the Anlene one too. I'll post results soon.

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  4. Baka ang mabili parang exercise instructor kung magbilang e hanggang 8 lang yun, tapos babalik na sa 1.

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  5. I have yet to see a live pedometer. I may need one too. You should be motivated to walk now. Sayang ang P300 mo. Hehehe.
    Btw I have a new url for my blog. www.fionski.com but the blogspot url still works, you will get redirected to the new on.
    Happy walking!!!!

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  6. Anonymous8:28 pm

    Tinanong ko muna kay tatang google yang pedometer na yan para makarelate ako, wala yata akong nakikitang ganyan dito.

    Goodluck!

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  7. Anonymous5:57 pm

    hmmmm, makabili nga rin ng anlene.... hehehe...

    to have a nice pic of the starry sky, you'll need a tripod. place your camera on a tripod, put the settings on manual, and have a long shutter speed, let's say 5 or 8 seconds... just rememebr to keep the tripod still and make sure there's no other light in your frame except the stars, otherwise it will be over exposed... try experimenting which settings on your shutter looks best... happy shooting... :)

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  8. Anonymous7:50 pm

    Let me know if that pedometer really works! 10,000 steps should at least equate to an hour's exercise.
    Mag-jogging ka na lang, buy a good running shoes then do five miles every other day. Five miles should be between 40 to 45 minutes.
    Goodluck. Cheers!

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  9. Cool Nick! Walk on =) Gusto ko rin ng ganyan.

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  10. Saang Japan Home yan?

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  11. Tito Rolly: Ganun yata yung sa Anlene, kasi palaging nagre-reset! hehe

    Fionski: Thanks ha. You'll be surprised at the very limited supplies of pedometer Manila has.

    Ann: Nalaman ko rin lang ito through research.

    Lino: Aaah I see. So posible sya kahit sa Canon S2IS? Thanks Lino!

    Trublue: unfortunately, nahinto ang morning jogging namin for a week now, although Harry is still able to jog periodically. Walking 10,000 steps is my current goal, although ang hirap pala!

    Donna: walk walk walk!

    Dan: Sa Park Square 1 sir. Thanks for dropping by!

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  12. Anonymous11:57 pm

    so talagang seryoso ka na sa pagpapapayat? buti naman at para healthy na hehehe.

    anyway, im not sure if you've seen my sagada video but clickthecity is currently featuring my sagada video and here is the link:

    http://www.clickthecity.com/clipcast/?v=357

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  13. Anonymous3:09 am

    I've been looking for a pedometer for quite some time now, saan yung japanese store na yun? hehe

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  14. Biyahengpinoy: 150kgs na ako. Waaaah obese na ako talaga. Kelangan ko talaga magreduce. Sige I will check out the Sagada video.

    Mae: Ang pangalan po ng store is Japan Home Center. Meron sa Park Square 1 at sa Walter Mart, both in Makati. Thanks for dropping by!

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  15. Hi, Watson. Interesting din akong makabili ng ganyan (seriously)

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  16. Anonymous2:17 am

    i'm also thinking of getting a pedometer. a few clicks here and there got me here...

    kumusta na ang mga pedometers mo? i'm thinking of getting the divisoria pedometers, although the cheap price makes me doubt about their accuracy. ang laki kasi ng range ng cheap at mahal :P

    thanks for the help!

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  17. Hi, Watson! Got my own pedometer now. See it here. Thanx din pala sa tip kung saan mabili ito ;)

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  18. Off-topic:
    Can't find your shoutbox. I would just like to inform you that I had replied your query in my post (re: pedometer) :D
    Thanx...

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  19. got here via google search for the anlene pedometer haha.
    i bought my omron pedometer at abenson, it comes with a snap-on cover so you wouldn't worry about accidentally pressing the reset button.

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  20. Dodong: Kumusta yung pedometer galing sa Japan Home? Ok ba?

    Brittas: Ang laki nga talaga ng difference... either it's cheap or free, or it's over a thousand bucks each. Kakaiba ano? So far... ang problema ko, palagi kong nare-reset! hehe

    Francesbean: uy thanks for dropping by my blog! How much is the Omron pedometer? Yan yung mahal, over a thousand pesoses diba? I cant afford :-(

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  21. Anonymous3:43 am

    watson: baka maluwag 'yung reset button? hehe. i checked out the P50 pedometer in divisoria mall. buti na lang i asked for a sample first, kasi habang hawak ko ang pedometer, the thing was 'ticking' na, after a few seconds, it read '8' already, and i hadn't taken a single step! o.o

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  22. Okay pa naman yung sa akin. Working na working pa :)

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  23. What i use every weekday is a Nano with a Nike+ kit. Quite accurate and even gives you the history of your training. A bit pricey though but worth it, especially if you already own an iPod nano.

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  24. Anonymous2:42 am

    do you know where to buy this now? is it still in 88 stores? coz' i can't seem to find any.. :( the only thing i find is the one from the sports store that's around 2500-2900.. :(

    ReplyDelete

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