As it turns out, you can manually adjust your actual stride length on your FitBit account. If you don’t do this the system will just default to a standard measure based on your height and gender, which may or may not be reflective of your actual stride.
I was skeptical about how my FitBit had been measuring my total number of steps, especially when I compared those stats against another GPS/running app. The total distance was always off, and not be a negligible amount. This led to me believe that the calibration on my stride length was probably off. A quick query online showed me how to manually calculate and input my actual stride length, et voilà! Everything now seems to be in better working order. It’s nice to see my daily step count in the well above 10k range every day this week.
An ambitious Nancy might see this as a good opportunity to raise her daily step goal to 12,000 steps per day. But ambitious Nancy is recovering from 105 lb squats this week, popping muscle relaxants and chugging red wine. She told me to piss off.
Sun Jul 6:
Walking (Recovery day):
- 4.95 miles / 7.98 kms
FitBit Stats: 11,320 steps
Bonus: Spotted one groundhog and one rabbit. Not together, as the photo might indicate, but still, on the same outing.
Mon Jul 7:
Stronglifts 5×5 program:
- Squat: 95 lbs (5 sets x 5 reps)
- Overhead Press: 45 lbs (5 sets x 5 reps)
- Deadlift: 115 lbs (5 sets x 5 reps)
- Bonus: Lat Pull Downs: 60 lbs (5 sets x 5 reps)
Run:
- 15 minutes straight run at 4.5 mph before lifting program;
- 15 minutes straight run at 4.5 mph after lifting program; 5 minute cool down
FitBit Stats: 11,895 steps
Tues Jul 8:
Arms/Shoulders: Load Your Guns program
Barre: 17 minute barre workout
Yogalates: 20 minute yoga/pilates routine This program was short and sweet. No crazy moves, just some good stretching. An energizing start to the day if you do it in the morning. And mercifully there were no poses that involved wrapping my legs around my neck, like a scarf.
FitBit Stats: 12,374 steps
Wed Jul 9:
StrongLifts 5×5 program:
- Squats: 105 lbs (5 sets x 5 reps) <– WHAT?? 105 lbs!!! WOOT WOOT!
- Bench Press: 65 lbs (5 sets x 5 reps)
- Barbell Row: 85 lbs (5 sets x 5 reps)
Run:
- 20 min easy jog at 4.5 mph
FitBit Stats: 11,466 steps
Thurs Jul 10:
At-home HIIT program:
- 40 Minute Cardio HIIT + Butt, Thighs & Abs from Fitness Blender
Bonus Activity: Qi Gong; 15 minute Qi Gong routine (pronounced Chee-gong). I used this as part of a moving meditation and really liked it to help me get centered. This is the same method that they used in my group guided meditation class in Vegas.
FitBit Stats: 14,607 steps
Gorgeous evening walk by the lake:
Fri Jul 11:
Stronglifts 5×5 program:
- Squat: 105 lbs (5 sets x 5 reps)
- Overhead Press: 45 lbs (5 sets x 5 reps)
- Deadlift: 125 lbs (5 sets x 5 reps)
- Bonus: Lat Pull Downs: 60 lbs (5 sets x 5 reps)
Run:
- 15 minutes straight run at 4.5 mph before lifting program;
- 20 minutes straight run at 4.5 mph after lifting program
FitBit Stats: 14,398 steps
Sat Jul 12:
Outdoor Jog: 3.69 miles / 5.95 kms; 51:32
FitBit Stats: 12,237 steps
To all the women out there who are afraid of lifting heavy things for fear of ‘getting big’…
You got that right, Dwight.
Keep moving…
xoxo nancy
Aw, gorgeous lake photos 🙂
But dissing cupcakes…?! We need to have a word…
Only dissing eating too many. I love me some cupcake. Just not every day. 🙂
Define ‘too many’. I dare you! 😉
2 in the same day? 🙂
… not every day?! I guess I could double up on the other days…
Oops… I should have read this before responding to your last comment. 🙂
You really are kicking butt, lady – aren’t you? This is wicked impressive! I’m exhausted from reading it and now need a cupcake and nap. 🙂 Actually, I am going on a walk with Mr. B because all I have been doing lately is either blogging or making jewelry, which translates to sitting on my bum most of the day. Thanks for motivating me. 🙂 🙂
Hope the weather is perfect for your outing! Raining here in Toronto today. 😦
Took a great hike with Mr. B on a new trail. Lot’s of butterflies and my joints cooperated! HeeHaw! 🙂
That is AWESOME! The sun finally made an appearance here, but I was too busy picking out tiles and a new vanity for one of two bathroom renos we need to do to get top $ for my home. The good news is that this Reno should provide good exercise. 🙂
Wonderful shots from your evening walk. And a pretty impressive work out week to me!
All my walks and runs this week have provided beautiful vistas. …making it even harder to think about moving. 😦
After those pictures I understand your unwillingness to move!
No turning back now… I just started ripping out the wall/tile surrounding the tub in the main bathroom to renovate it. (I’ll need to renovate 2 bathrooms to get the selling price I’m looking for) So…it has begun…
ohohohohohoh, isn’t that even harder, to make it all tidy and nice and then not enjoy it yourself?! I feel for you! Isn’t there anything smaller around the same area?
Remodelling/ decorating is a passion so it’s bittersweet. I’m loving DOING it, but then I’ll be sad to give it to someone else. 😦
It’s not so much that we need something smaller (ours isn’t overly big) rather that the location itself is of high value. To stay right here would mean moving into a closet. 🙂 Hope springs eternal though! 🙂
I went to an indoor trampoline park with Mr. T – totally counted it as 30 min of exercise… cause the way I sweated and how high my heart rate had to have been – it WAS a workout! 🙂
Have a great week Nancy!
Any movement is good movement, Kate! Glad you had a great (and sweaty) time with Mr T.
I’m not sure I like the idea of hauling a 100 lbs of anything for any reason, but good for you! I would call that a breakthrough week!
I’m willing to bet that my sons don’t know they can calibrate their Fitbits. I’ll have to let them know – this is a competitive lot!
Love the sunset photos. Gorgeous!
It felt unbelievably bad-ass, Joanne. Good feeling!
Yeah, definitely tell them they can manually enter their win stride length (both for walking and running). At least now things make a bit more sense for me. 🙂
LOL! – you ARE a bad-ass!!!! You had a great week!! 🙂
Obviously my guys aren’t as uber-competitive as their dad. I heard back from son #1 and his reaction was ‘yeah, sounds like work – I’m ok with the generic calculation’. Can’t say I didn’t try 🙂
On the other hand, I see their numbers since we are ‘friends’ and he is ALWAYS well over 12,000 steps every day – and he has the killer-bod of a 20-some-year-old. He walks to and from work, cycles, runs, and does weights. I don’t think he’s overly worried about his steps 🙂
I think mine was off because I have an I characteristically wide stride for my height. I’m sure my stupidly fast walking pace also throws things off. The system probably figures someone this short couldn’t possibly move that far in those few steps. 🙂
No question, you are FAST!
To be clear, it’s only my walk that’s fast. 🙂
It counts!
🙂
Hahaha I love when ambitious Nancy is pissed. She has attitude. Another great week. I keep saying this but I do need to do more about strength training. After this running adventure is done I will get into it. I will. I will. I will. (Not sure if that repetition is to convince me or you!). You are a machine, woman!
It took me nearly 18 months of telling myself that I would! That “man area” of the gym is fucking intimidating, dude. Props to the chicks that brave that area. I’ve been doing it for 3 weeks now and I still feel anxious when I walk over there.
Hope that wine is easing the sore muscles 🙂
It’s not hurting, that’s for sure. 😉
You are a diesel tank with your triple digit squats 🙂 way to get it this week, Nancy!!!
Felt pretty awesome, Martha. Now I’m wondering when I max out though. It’s gotta be pretty soon, I would think.
Omg I didn’t know I could calibrate the steps on my fitbit! Checking how to set it now… I hit over 16,000 steps every day on vacation hiking to some amazing beaches, but now I’m wondering if it was really higher. 🙂 Your lakefront walk photos are beautiful, Nancy!
If you use the new activity tracker (latest fitbit app upgrade) for walking/running/hiking, your stats will be accurate because it’s using GPS. It’s the day to day movement that can be off because that’s just using your hip/arm motion. Worth measuring your stride to check it out.
Interesting, thanks for the tip. 🙂
The real-time tracking, via a record button, like you’d find in other run-keeping apps, just became available for fitbit. Just go into your app for the upgrade.
Great, I’ll spend some time today exploring all the new features.
Let me know how you make out. In retrospect, I think that by adjusting my stride to my actual, what it did was to better calibrate my distance, not my # of steps. Meaning, I was hitting over 10,000 in the past, but sometimes my distance showed up as < 3.5 miles…it didn't add up. So now my distance is pretty close regardless of whether I'm recording a walk/run on the new fitbit activity tracker, a 3rd party app OR by just using the built-in step counter in the FitBit.
As far as my step count being up this week, it's because I'm moving more. A wider stride (which is what I've got) would translate to FEWER steps (but longer distance).
and now that I've thoroughly confused everyone… 🙂
It took me a minute but I get it now. 🙂 It’ll be a few days before I can get somewhere to measure my steps but I’ll let you know if I see a change in counts/distance once its done.
Yay! Sorry that “ambitious Nancy” is giving you a hard time when you just wanted to give her a friendly piece of advice. 😎
I’ll give her a break; squatting with 105 lbs on her back was no small feat. 🙂
You are very fair . . . and kick ass strong!
Broke my PB for 10k yesterday Nancy – gotta watch them cupcakes most definitely!
Congratulations Jim! That is fantastic news!
I am familiar with the red wine cure but what are the muscle relaxants you use?
Just OTC stuff, nothing prescription. Slippery slope for me, I worry, since I’m sore a lot of the time. 🙂
woohooo 105lbs squat is awesome 🙂
So pleased this lifting is working!! 😀 😀
I just PBd my squats this morning!
awesome week of workouts, I think ambitious Nancy needs to take a break…lifting and 10000+ steps every day and running and unpronounceable things make for plenty of awesome workouts!
actually…I think ambitious Nancy got her way a lot.. just not on the 12000 steps…
Well hello there! I nearly sent out the search party looking for you. No blogging activity and quiet on facebook too. Glad to see/hear from you! 🙂
The lifting may take a slight detour this week as we are full-force into renovating two bathrooms for the upcoming sale of the house. Yesterday’s tearing down tile and wall business was HARD WORK. Lots of slamming of mallets and carrying big pieces of tiled wall down stairs. Never made it to the gym for SL program.
WOOHOO on your PB for squats! That is awesome!
I was in a field!
there was a lack of phone signal and lots and lots of medieval re-enactors!
I was dancing 🙂
renovating stuff is as hard work as strong lifts…harder in fact because it goes on much longer!!
I am going to have to do a lot of that soon as the builders are nearly finished…
I couldn’t believe how much I was sweating when ripping out those tiled walls yesterday. I managed to do an hour of yoga and take a long walk, and that was it.
Can’t wait to hear/read about your field adventures!
an hour of yoga and a long walk, especially by your standards of long walks, is quite a lot without taking into account ripping out tiles!!
I am working on my recap then I will get on with my weekend in a field write up! 😀
Awesome – can’t wait!
😀
Your evening walk was gorgeous!! And let me tell you, ambitious Nancy will certainly raise her step count to 12,000. It’s just a matter of time – for sufficient rehabilitation with red wine.
We’ll see… 🙂
Haha, I am exhausted just reading this post. This is the line that resonated with me: “..popping muscle relaxants and chugging red wine. She told me to piss off.” 😀
Oh and the lovely lake pics!
Ha! Glad I gave you a chuckle! 🙂