PEDOMETERS
WHAT IS THE NEXT STEP?
Pedometers are motivational tools that count each step a person
takes by detecting the motion of their hips. When a person strides
or makes movements, the balance of a device on the pedometer
is disturbed enough to make sensors count a step. So, continuous
movement will keep the device counting.
If your company is interested in the Step Challenge, contact the Health Promotion Department
on 01 668 5001 for more information. Once you sign up you will be supplied with the following:
When promoting the Step Challenge it’s important to emphasise that aerobic activity, such as a
brisk walk, must be included to build up to the 10,000 steps. By being active for at least 30 minutes
five days a week, the risk of heart disease, stroke and obesity is reduced. If the 30 minutes cannot
be done in one single session, the minutes can be broken down into 10 minutes sessions or more.
ACCURACY OF PEDOMETERS
Most pedometers are reasonably accurate at a walking pace on a flat surface if the device is
placed in its optimal position (usually a belt clip). If it is placed in a individual’s pocket or handbag,
accuracy is dramatically reduced.
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Promotional posters
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Step Challenge cards for all participants
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A sample questionnaire
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A PAR-Q medical screening questionnaire (this or a version of it should be completed by all
participants prior to taking part)
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Heart health information leaflets (e.g. leaflets on physical activity, weight loss, healthy
eating etc.)
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Achievement certificates for all those who complete the Challenge
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Telephone support and follow up advice to the co-ordinator of the programme
What is the Walk Challenge?
FAQs
The Walk Challenge encourages employees to build up to the recommended 30 minutes or
more of moderate intensity physical activity five days a week, in their own time, such as walking
or jogging during lunch or walking to and from work. Each employee receives a walking diary
card to record their minutes of activity and a certificate of achievement on completion. The
Walk Challenge calculates time spent walking, while the Step Challenge calculates steps taken.
The Walk Challenge does not require pedometers.
How many kilometres are equivalent to 10,000 steps?
Walking 10,000 steps is approximately 8 km (5 miles).
Can the pedometer record how fit I am?
ORGANISING THE
IRISH HEART FOUNDATION’S
STEP CHALLENGE
No, the pedometer records steps only.
Active@Work Award
How do I know if my pedometer is recording my steps properly?
The Step or Walk Challenge can form part of the criteria for the Irish Heart Foundation’s
Active@Work Award. The Award is formal recognition of your company’s efforts and
achievements in implementing programmes in your organisation to encourage employees to
be more active. To get your Active@Work guide see www.irishheart.ie or telephone 01-6685001.
Please follow the manufacturer’s instructions when using your pedometer for the first time.
Can the pedometer record other activities such as cycling or running?
No, the pedometer does not record other activities accurately. You can however convert other
activities to its equivalent number of steps using the following formula:
10 minutes of moderate intensity activity = 1,000 steps
10 minutes of vigorous intensity activity = 2,000 steps
VIGOROUS INTENSITY
Causes a slight but noticeable increase in
breathing and heart rate. You should be able
to maintain a conversation
Makes you “ huff and puff”, conversation is
difficult
Brisk walking, swimming, cycling, rowing,
dancing
Aerobics, brisk rowing, fast cycling, jogging,
competitive sport e.g. squash, football, tennis
Charity Number CHY 5507
MODERATE INTENSITY
OTHER IRISH HEART FOUNDATION WORKPLACE PROGRAMMES
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Slí@Work programme
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Heart Health Checks
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Happy Heart Healthy Eating Award
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Mini Health Checks
Irish Heart Foundation
50 Ringsend Road, Dublin 4.
D04 T6X0
Phone: +353 1 668 5001
Fax:
+353 1 668 5896
Email: [email protected]
Heart and Stroke Helpline:
Locall 1890 432 787
Monday to Friday
10am to 5pm
Web:
www.irishheart.ie
www.stroke.ie
www.irishheart.ie
STEP UP TO THE CHALLENGE
SOME RECOMMENDATIONS:
Implementing the Irish Heart Foundation’s Step Challenge over four to five
weeks can be done by your organisation at low cost. The Step Challenge
encourages employees to be more active but more importantly it’s fun and
creates healthy competition between employees. Employees also get the
support of other colleagues and are therefore more motivated to become active.
MOVING MORE AT WORK
WHAT WILL THE STEP CHALLENGE DO FOR EMPLOYEES?
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Motivate employees who are not very active to become more active
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Motivate employees to change behaviour and adopt positive lifestyle choices related to
physical activity
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Encourage accumulated activity throughout the day
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Create more fun, chat and social interaction between employees
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Get management to support your
programme and become involved in the
different activities.
HOW DOES IT WORK?
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Increase awareness and levels of physical activity
Set up an Active@Work team and
nominate a coordinator to manage the
Step Challenge programme.
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The Step Challenge encourages
accumulated activity, such as
stair climbing and walking. Using
a pedometer, employees are
encouraged to build up to at least
10,000 steps daily and more, all of
which can be done at work, at home
and at leisure. Employees record
the number of steps taken each day
in the Irish Heart Foundation diary
card, which encourages on-going
motivation.
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Ask employees if they are interested in
doing the Step Challenge. This can be
done through questionnaires, informal
discussions or suggestion boxes.
Decide whether you want employees
to do a ‘virtual’ Challenge, by walking
the equivalent number of steps of a
particular mountain or walkway, or if you
want them to do their own Challenge
with weekly targets. Most organisations
undertake the ‘virtual’ Challenge, as it
creates more fun and competition.
If doing team Challenges, divide into
teams of five, or less if your company is
smaller.
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Ask employees to support their
colleagues who are not as active to join
the Challenge.
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Teams can be picked at random or selfassigned. Each team will nominate a
team captain who will total the number
of steps taken each week, and will
motivate other team members to be
more active. The steps can be logged
in an excel sheet and saved on your
computer system.
WHY DO EMPLOYEES SIGN UP TO THE CHALLENGE?
The most common reasons employees sign up to this Challenge are fun, fitness, to lose weight
and most importantly because it’s organised by the workplace.
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If some employees in your workplace are
very active, you might consider setting
them different targets, so that people
who are very inactive are not competing
against them. Similarly, employees who
want to do the Challenge on their own
rather than be part of a team should be
permitted to do so.
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The teams choose a name for their team.
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Each week the teams’ progress can be
displayed in a league table to generate
some buzz and competition. You may
have an intranet or somewhere on your
network that may be suitable to post this
information. Include the teams’ progress
on emails, ezines, newsletters.
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Each week employee’s individual steps
goes towards their team’s total.
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The team with the most steps at the end
of the four – five weeks is declared the
winner. It’s even better if an individual
does more than 10,000 steps and means
they contribute extra steps towards their
team’s total.
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Each week the company coordinator
should encourage employees to stay
motivated by sending an email of
encouragement. This can include an
interesting fact about physical activity,
healthy eating, blood pressure or
cholesterol.
Ensure employees are included in the
planning of the programme. Promote it
so that you are encouraging maximum
uptake and consider what might
motivate your workforce to be more
active. For example, men are more
inclined to sign up to the Challenge if
it is promoted as a trek or climb as it
implies a greater Challenge.
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Conduct a survey. It’s always a good idea
to record some baseline information on
physical activity levels activity in your
company. Consider doing pre and post
questionnaires – See insert 2 of the
Active@Work pack for a copy of a prequestionnaire.
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Ask employees to complete the
PAR-Q (Physical Activity Readiness
Questionnaire) form which asks
questions about their health and
whether they should seek further advice
from their doctor on becoming more
active. See insert 3 of the Active@Work
pack for a sample questionnaire.
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Advertise your programme at least three
weeks in advance, so that all employees
are aware of the programme’s start and
finish date.
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Have a registration day whereby all
employees, including shift-workers can
sign up. Ask senior management to attend.
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Give pedometers to employees a few
days in advance of the Challenge.
Employees can get used to wearing
them and will remember to put them on
first thing in the morning.
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Assign a team captain to each team and
get them to log their team’s steps.
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Email employees the different ways they
can accumulate steps i.e. walking to
colleagues’ desks instead of emailing,
having walking meetings, getting off the
bus or luas one or two stops earlier. Map
out some walking routes around your
workplace and the equivalent number
of steps.
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Post stories, pictures, targets in
newsletters, ezines, intranet or other
forms of communication available.
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Send reminder emails each week
with words of encouragement and
motivation.
Examples of ‘virtual’ mountain Challenge
Week 1
Target: Matterhorn & more i.e. 60,000 steps (actual height is 14,692 feet)
Week 2
Target: Mt Blanc & more i.e. 70,000 steps (actual height is 15,774 feet)
Week 3
Target: Kilimanjaro & more i.e. 80,000 steps (actual height is 19,341 feet)
Week 4
Target: K2 Mountain & more i.e. 90,000 steps (actual height is 28,251 feet)
Week 5
Target: Mount Everest & more i.e. 100,000 steps! (actual height is 29,029 feet)
(Generally 1 foot of climbing = 2 steps. In order for this to be a greater challenge, more steps
are added. Similarly, you can do your own ‘virtual’ Challenge by walking part of the Camino
Way, walking to the moon or walking from your office to your headquarters in another country.