Stepping up with an iPod
How long does it take you to take 1 million steps? What? You don't count your steps?
My friend M.C. can do it in a little more than six months. He knows this because he monitors his daily walking regimen with the help of his Apple iPod Nano. Anyone with the current version of the Nano (http://www.apple.com/ipodnano/) can also take advantage of the built-in pedometer. The feature is included in the tiny device, and begins recording and tracking your fitness moves after you set up a free account on the Nike Plus Active site:
http://nikeplusactive.nike.com/nikeos/p/nikeactive/en_US/active/
You'll find the pedometer and activate it by following this path: "extras" > "fitness" > "settings" > "pedometer." To keep the pedometer running, select the "always on" option.
M.C. got the Nano as a Christmas gift, and originally planned to use the video capture feature to record his racquetball games. After New Year’s, when he realized that a videographer wasn't always available, he started carrying the iPod, tucked into a sock, in a pocket while he played. He has the Nano with him almost all the time and says the pedometer will run accurately for two days on a single full charge.
Data from the Nano is transferred to the Nike site each time the device is synced. The site has a series of fitness goals that show accomplishments equivalent to the number of steps and calories burned. For instance, M.C. is now working on the "rip through a pizza" challenge, which requires 64,000 steps and 2,300 calories burned.
He's completed the other goals, including walking to the top of a 100-story building; downing hot dogs, burgers, french fries, doughnuts and chocolate (none of which he eats in real life, he tells me, except for an occasional chocolate); climbing Japan's Mount Kilimanjaro and others. There are 13 challenges to complete, and once you complete the circuit, Nike Plus starts you over and compares your progress to the previous time through.
M.C.'s most productive day came in March, when he spent a day touring CityCenter and completed 16,049 steps.
What's playing on his iPod? M.C. said he mostly listens to National Public Radio podcasts while taking his daily walks. His step count before syncing today is 1,007,945. I have a feeling he'll hit the second million before the end of the year.
