How do I Convert Steps on a Pedometer?

If you use a pedometer to record your daily steps, you can convert this number into distance walked, calories burned and time spent walking. These pieces of information may be more useful to your fitness goals than a simple number of steps.

Distance

• To find distance, first measure your stride length. Mark off a starting point on the sidewalk with chalk, take two steps, and mark where you stopped. Measure the distance in inches with a tape measure and divide by two to get the distance of one step. With a calculator, multiply the step distance by the daily number of steps on the pedometer and divide by 63,360 to get daily miles walked.

Calories

• According to the Mayo Clinic, a brisk walk for an average 200-lb. adult burns about 100 calories per mile. To get a rough idea of the calories you burned walking, multiply the miles you walked by 100. A moderate walking speed will burn fewer calories. Your weight also directly affects calories burned.

Time

• To estimate the hours you spent walking briskly, multiply miles by .286. If you walk more leisurely, multiply miles by .5. While not exact, the result you get will be accurate enough to support your fitness goals.