Traditionally, pedometers are small recording devices that you attach to your waist -- or even your shoes -- to track the number of steps you've taken, the calories you've burned walking and the distance (in kilometers or miles) you've traveled. Now, thanks to Google, you can monitor your workout online, without wearing -- or buying -- a physical pedometer. Similar to the virtual pedometer Map My Run, with Gmap pedometers, you map out your exercise routine on a Google map.

That's right, using Gmap pedometers means you don't actually need to wear a pedometer to know how long you've walked or how many steps you've taken.

A marathon runner created the Gmap pedometer to assist with training, which might be why the tool is so easy to use. Runners, walkers or cyclists can enter their zip code and zoom into street level. Next, they can plot their workout route -- whether they want to travel in a big, looping circle or a simple out-and-back course.

Unlike other online tools, Gmap pedometer can report your distance traveled, calories burned and elevation differences.

If you find a route that you love, you can save it to use again or you can print your map and take it with you. Those who might be on long runs can leave printouts for their family members so that they know where to find them if they're not back by an appointed time.

If you're not feeling the high-tech Gmap pedometers, you can stick to the basic waist or shoe pedometer that are slipped on your waist (or shoe) and track each step. Shoe pedometers are a little more accurate than traditional pedometers and can track basketball jumps or jumping rope.

Of course Gmap pedometers are not the first online health calculators; but, if you choose to use one, the key is finding the right one you'll use regularly.

Do you want to amp up your exercise routine and monitor your progress? Studies have shown that pedometers are effective in increasing your workout productivity.

Keep track of the latest in diet and fitness Twitter trends and opinions with this weekly post. Not only will AOL Health's Twitter alias Healthpop and That's_Fit ask fitness-related questions and share the best reponses with you, we'll scour the Twittersphere for the latest buzz on everything from good eats to exercise routines gone bad.

---

What are the top gym bag must-haves -- or if you work out at home, what do you just gotta have? Here's what these Twitters were talking about this week:

Photo: mulatsherm, Flickr

Move more. It's a simple measure that leads to a healthier and more energetic life. Yet, despite knowing all the benefits of an active lifestyle, many Americans don't even meet the recommended minimum exercise level (30 minutes a day at least five days per week).

North America isn't the only continent that's spending far too much time parked in front of the TV. Australian researchers recently aimed to discover what health promotion tools would be the most effective (and cost effective) in getting their population moving.

The study included six different health interventions, all of which have proven to inspire lifestyle change to some degree. The interventions included TravelSmart (a program that details walking paths and so forth), exercise prescriptions from doctors, doctor referrals to exercise physiologists, Internet advice, a mass media campaign and the use of pedometers.

Source

I'm a fanatic about working out. I'm a seven-day-a-week exerciser, and rarely do I skip. Until, that, is, I travel, and then my schedule gets out of whack. Occasionally, I'll hit the hotel's fitness center, but that's so boring. Besides, who wants to be trapped in a hotel when there are sights to see? And what if your hotel doesn't even have a fitness center? So here's my solution: Wear a pedometer.

Photo: Karen Asp

Granted, just strapping on a pedometer won't make you move more. (If only it did, though, right?) But it can motivate you to move more, and at the end of the day, it's fun to see how much you've moved without doing "formal" exercise.

For instance, although I did a bike tour during a recent trip to Paris (Fat Tire Bike Tours rocks, by the way, so if you're ever in Paris, look them up), I was mainly exploring museums and churches, watching the French Open and indulging in that fabulous French bread. Was I worried about not doing structured workouts? Not when I looked at my pedometer every night. I logged at least 12 miles every day, some days even more. My reaction? Bring on the bread!

The pedometer tops the list of simple tools that track fitness, and most fitness experts will tell you to rack up 10,000 steps a day on yours. But while a pedometer can tell you how many, what it can't do is tell you if you're stepping fast enough to really do your body any good.

Moderately intensive physical activity -- we know we need to get at least 30 minutes of it a day, but what exactly is it? Researchers at San Diego State University think they know. They put volunteers on treadmills, then used pedometers to count their steps and monitors to track the volunteers' heart rates. The results? 100 steps a minute is the perfect pace for fitness.

"Because health benefits can be achieved with bouts of exercise lasting at least 10 minutes, a useful starting point is to try and accumulate 1,000 steps in 10 minutes, before building up to 3,000 steps in 30 minutes," says lead researcher Dr. Simon J. Marshall in a news release.

Source

We've recommended on many an occasion that you invest in a pedometer to track your daily steps. Heck, we just made the suggestion yesterday when considering how biking can blast belly fat. But Real Simple magazine (March 2009) warns that you should not purchase a pedometer until you consider that not all of them are as good as they're cracked up to be. Here, some guiding principles:

• If you fished it out of your kid's cereal box, don't count on it.
• If it uses a flimsy mechanism called a hairspring and costs less than $15, you'll be lucky to get six months out of it.
• If it's driven electronically or via a coiled spring and costs more like $25, it's more reliable.
• Measurements of distance, speed and calories burned tend to be inaccurate, no matter how much a pedometer costs. Skip these features, which are found on the most expensive models.

We still like the pedometer for tracking steps -- you want to score at least 10,000 per day -- and so we think getting one is a good idea. We also like these Real Simple tips, so we suggest you keep them in mind when making your next pedometer purchase.

Source

Is biking the best way to blast belly fat? I'm not sure. I know it's a great way to get fit. I just don't know if I'd target my tummy troubles with a trek on two wheels. But I'm no expert. Let see what Oprah's Dr. Oz and pal Dr. Roizen have to say about the topic.

"Any physical activity helps you reduce belly fat," they say. But it must be pretty strenuous to have maximum benefit. Try this: Work up to 30 minutes of solid biking (if you stop at a crosswalk, subtract that time), then add about 10 percent more time each week. Keep in mind that one minute of intense biking equals about one minute of intense running. Note the word "intense," say the docs, who have two general tips for those starting out on the bike.

• Wear a pedometer all day. Put it on your lower leg while biking -- every time it goes around, you'll get a step count. Once you hit 10,000 "steps" a day -- including all the walking and biking you do -- you'll be headed for thin.
• Get a heart-rate monitor. Compare how fast your heart beats when you bike to how fast it beats when you walk. If you get the same number of beats per minute, you're probably getting the same level of activity. In this case, pump up the pedaling for tip-top belly benefits.
  

Source

Monday through Friday, you can find a new Daily Fit Tip on the right-hand side of That's Fit. From nutrition to fitness to weight loss to body image ... the Daily Fit Tip covers it all. I scoured through this year's archives for some of the best tips for securing good health. Take these five tips into the New Year for a healthy, happy and fit 2009.

Welcome to Walking the Walk, a feature that takes a deeper look at commonly shared diet and fitness advice. Every other week, I'll choose one piece of advice and practice it for seven days. Then I'll report back on what I discovered about making it work in real life and how it affected my own personal fitness -- and how it ultimately can affect your own efforts.

When I returned home from driving my daughter to school last week, I found my husband waiting for me. "You drove?" he said, his eyebrows up. "We were late!" I argued. He rolled his eyes. "It's coooollld," I whined. This got nowhere with the man who rides his bike through blizzards.

I couldn't argue with him because he had a valid point. It's silly for me to fire up our minivan when, if not for a few houses, I can practically see the school from our front porch. (But we were late!) Walking my daughter to school and home again is an easy way to get an extra 20 minutes of physical activity into my day.

According to WalkScore, my neighborhood scores a 60 out of 100 for walk-ability. By walking 15 minutes or less, I can reach video stores, convenience stores, a fruit market, multiple parks, a pharmacy, restaurants, a hair salon (though not my hair salon), school and extra-curricular activities, my husband's workplace, and our city's downtown. We already sold one of our cars, and if I want to be honest with myself, there's often little reason for us to use our other vehicle.

It's easy to become sedentary when you work from home. I was shocked last winter when I put on a pedometer to count my daily steps, which experts say should add up to a minimum of 6,000 a day, and optimally 10,000. Walking just makes good sense -- it gets me moving, keeps me healthy, and saves on gas. So my rules for this week's Walking the Walk are this:

• If I can walk to it in less than 15 minutes, I will.
• If I can't, I'll try to bike it. If not, then I'll park in the farthest parking spot possible so I can still benefit from the extra steps.
• No elevators or escalators allowed -- it's all stairs for me!
  
  

Click "next" to find out how the week went.

My son has been vacillating back and forth between a few Halloween costume ideas. He's not sure if he should be an army guy, a rapper, or the Dark Knight. Can you tell he's 11-years-old? He's way past the cute costume stage. Not only is he past the cute costume stage, he's way past the walk-with-your-mom on Halloween stage. For safety's sake, however, I still go trick or treating with him. I just make sure to give him his space. That way, we're both happy.

If your kids are a little older, like my son, you can get your own treat while you're walking with them this Halloween. While you're out, try to get as many steps in as you can. When your children run up to the next house, pace in front of the house while keeping your kids in your line of sight. That way, you'll keep moving the whole time. And what better treat is there than squeezing in a little extra fitness time while having some family fun? (Well ... peanut butter cups would run a close second.)

To track your progress, you can wear a pedometer. Check out the gallery for some of About.com's top pedometer picks.

Source

October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. There are many ways you can get involved. One of the simplest ways is to simply purchase products that support the Susan G. Komen Foundation ... so go pink!

From watches to t-shirts to tote bags to yogurt, you can find almost any product that labeled with the familiar pink ribbon. Portions of the proceeds from these products benefit the Susan G. Komen Foundation and help with cancer research costs.

A wide variety of fitness-related products have gone pink, too. If it's time to replace your running shoes or you need some new workout clothes, then why not look for the pink ribbon? Check out the gallery for just a few of the products that help support cancer research.

My kid wore a pedometer to school the other day. Nothing sophisticated -- more like a toy -- and I'm not even sure I should trust its final after-school number but once Joey and I connected after his second-grade dismissal, he showed me how many steps he'd taken throughout the school day. The final tally: Almost 4,000.

Seemed like a lot at first. I mean, don't kids mostly sit while receiving their elementary educations? Apparently not. And after further thought, I realize that my kiddo walks from our car to his classroom in the morning, he walks to lunch and back, he walks to "specials" -- like Art, Media, Music, and Physical Education, where he then walks some more and then runs, jumps, pulls up, pushes up, climbs, and jumps rope. There's also recess, and I've got a pretty good idea Joey and his pals race the entire time. Walking out of school and to the car wrap up the activity of the school day. I guess 4,000 isn't so much, then, given my 7-year-old's day of motion -- which of course, continues once we hit the front door of our house.

Does Joey log 15,000 steps per day, the recommendation for healthy, active boys ages six to 12 (girls this age need 12,000)? I can't be sure because a pedometer is not something he usually wears. But I bet he comes pretty close -- biking, skating, scootering, and ripsticking are his usual after-school activities (yes, he does watch TV and play on the computer too). All I really need to know, though, is that he's an active boy. It's lifestyle steps that keep kids in a healthy weight zone, after all. And this guy lives a pretty active lifestyle, So, yep, I think he's OK.

How many steps does your kid take? And what about you -- 10,000 should be your goal.

Source

If you're interested in tracking your activity levels, you can always write down your workout and try to figure out how many calories you burned walking from your desk to the refrigerator at work. Or, you could purchase a gadget (and who doesn't love gadgets?) that will monitor all of that for you, and more.

One of the newest gadgets on the market is the Fitbit. Well, it's not even really on the market yet -- it's just available for pre-order, and won't start shipping until late December or early January.

But, they say it's worth the wait. Why? Several reasons, after the jump:

Source

Fitting exercise in when you are a parent can be challenging enough. When you are a parent on vacation, you can almost forget it. Unless a trip to an amusement park, as they are called, happens to be on your itinerary.

I should have worn a pedometer when we went to Sea World in San Diego last week. Even without measuring, though, I'm pretty sure we cleared at least five miles. We're talking brisk. No strolling. Not even close. With a show schedule and a 3-year-old, you simply cannot be leisurely. Remember, though, if you want to count a walk in this kind of park a workout, you must bypass the junk food around every bend.

Of course, I'll need a vacation from my vacation when I return home. The good news is that going to the gym will feel like one.

Source

When it comes to fitness, your steps can really add up. So how many are you getting?