How to Measure Your Activity

Steps to a Healthier Cleveland recommends two ways to set a goal for your daily physical activity:

  1. Track your minutes—try for 30 minutes a day.
    The Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) outlines these recommendations for how active you should be:
  2. Track your steps—try for 10,000 steps a day.
    We believe that walking is one of the easiest forms of physical activity you can do. Counting the number of steps you take each day is also an easy way to measure how active you are. People who walk 10,000 steps on most days of the week enjoy the benefits of regular physical activity. If you are using this method of tracking your activity, you can also convert other activities like cleaning your house or playing volleyball into steps—use this step converter.

Keeping track of your activity
Keeping track of your activity can be as easy as just writing it down every day. There are lots of other tools to help you measure your progress:

  • Activity Diary—this is an example from the American Heart Association that you can print off and write on.
  • Pedometer—this is a simple piece of equipment that attaches to your belt or waistband and measures the number of steps you take. You can buy an inexpensive pedometer from your local sports equipment store.
  • MyPyramid Tracker—this online dietary and physical activity assessment tool provides information on your diet quality, physical activity status, related nutrition messages and links to nutrient and physical activity information.
  • President’s Challenge Active Lifestyle Program—this challenge for people who need to increase their daily activity includes an online tracking tool.
  • Small Step Activity Tracker—this online tool allows you to set physical activity goals and enter and save physical activities on a calendar.

Measuring the intensity of your activity
Measuring the intensity of your physical activity means measuring how hard your body is working. Physical activity is usually categorized as light intensity, moderate intensity or vigorous intensity, depending on the amount of energy the person uses in performing the activity.

The simplest way to measure intensity is the “Talk Test”—or how much you are able to talk while doing an activity.

  • Light intensity—you can sing while doing the activity
  • Moderate intensity—you can carry on a conversation pretty comfortably while engaging in the activity
  • Vigorous intensity—you find it difficult to carry on a conversation