"One small step for mankind – one giant leap for exercise"

The Story

So every New Years Eve we all make those resolutions about losing weight, exercising more, being nicer to children and stray animals etc. Two weeks later we drive past the Health Club, hang our clothes on the exercise machine at home, and crack open a few beers and a bag of potato chips while watching the NFL playoffs – it’s the American way. International readers feel free to substitute your own cultural biases and habits here.


I’m one of those people who has to measure things to know I’m making progress – and although stepping on the scales once a week is the ultimate test – how can you monitor activity during the week to make sure you’re getting enough exercise? I decided I needed to track how far I walked each day as a measure of my activity level. I also knew by setting myself a target I would compete with my ego to beat it.

Last year I tried out one of those super-cheap pedometers McDonalds was giving away – and found it was totally useless. It only recorded about half the steps I took, but counted every single little bump I hit when driving my car. An interesting, but ultimately futile experiment.

Over the Christmas holidays I reviewed a bunch of pedometers, using Epinions and Amazon reviews – and decided to go up-market and settled on the Omron HJ112.


What’s In The Box

The unit comes with the following:

 Main Unit
 CR2032 battery
 Mini-Screwdriver for battery insertion
 6” strap
 Clip for strap
 Beltholder
 Instruction Card
 Warranty Card ( 1 year )

Bells, Whistles and Feature

First things first. After setting the date and time you need to input your weight and stride distance. Your weight is used for calorie calculations and your stride distance for calculating actual miles walked (i.e. the conversion from steps to miles). Based upon these settings the device can then measure and calculate the following.

 Steps Taken
 Aerobic Steps taken
 Miles Traveled
 Calories Consumed

The Aerobic steps taken is an interesting addition as it tracks steps taken when you have exercised continuously for more than ten minutes at a rate of greater than 1 step per second.

The HJ112 keeps track of historical data for seven days, so by pressing the memory button you can compare today’s achievements to the past week. A very useful feature if you actually want to keep a diary or log of your activity. You should also note that the unit automatically resets to zero at midnight, so you don’t have to remember to do it yourself in the morning.

Using The Pedometer

Although you can slip the pedometer into a pocket or a purse (as long as you keep it reasonably upright) I’ve found the best position for it is either clipped to my belt or to the inside of my pants pocket. The unit actually has two independent motion detectors, so unless its positioned parallel to the ground or swung around like a pendulum you will get an accurate reading. The actual spring-clippie-thing is a little smaller than I expected, so if you bend over your stomach can push the pedometer off the belt. Since there is also a safety strap I always attach that as well to keep the HJ112 safe and secure. It has never completely fallen off – otherwise I would have lost it ten times over already.

One added benefit, especially if you’re using it during the workday, is that it is totally silent.

Accuracy

The device is amazingly accurate – I’ve tested it walking around the block, on a treadmill , going up and down stairs and in the car – and every time it has been accurate to within one counted step. I suspect the mileage reading is probably the most inaccurate as your stride length will vary depending upon whether you are walking or running. There is a maximum settable stride length of four feet – so if you have long legs and are a serious runner it may not track the distance accurately – although rest assured it will track every single step you take.

Motivation

As mentioned in the prior section I keep the device mainly on my belt – even at work. The HJ112 is a stylish burnished metallic unit, about 2¾” height by 1¾” wide and at first glance could be mistaken for a mini cell phone.

I set my personal goal as 10,000 steps a day – which I find a challenge unless I work out every day on my treadmill or walk the dog several times. I have found that the feedback helps me add steps into my everyday routine. By not parking in the closest parking spot, taking the stairs at work and so on I can add almost 2,000 steps to my daily count. 2,000 steps is about 1 mile which equates to just over 100 calories. Do that every day and that’s equivalent to losing a pound a month just through incremental exercise !!


Miscellaneous Stuff

Miscellaneous Information

Battery required = CR2032
Limited one year warranty

Contact Information

Omron Healthcare, Inc.
300 Lakeview Parkway
Vernon Hills, Illinois 60061

Website = www.omronhealthcare.com
Customer Service = 1-800-634-4350


Bottom Line

If you are even halfway serious about purchasing a pedometer the Omron HJ112 is worth a serious look – my only wish is that the clip-on holder was a little bit larger, otherwise it’s good enough for me.


Recommended: Yes