# The 2005 Mullinator Step Project **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 22, 2005, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2005-mullinator-step-project/291359 "2005-02-22T16:43:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![lorene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/65b543/32.png) [@lorene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lorene)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2005, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2005-mullinator-step-project/291359/21 "2005-03-01T23:43:20Z")
> [@Mullinator](#): > > And, day 1 is complete with the grand total of steps at 8,892. I’m more than a little surprised because that’s a good bit higher than I would have guessed. Yesterday was exceedingly normal which means with no extra effort I am pretty close to a 10,000 pace through the course of normal activity. And, I know I have the weekend coming up that will pick up a good bit of slack (I assume). It is somewhat amazing how quickly walking to the bathroom, the copier, or someone else’s office can add up. I haven’t gotten myself a pedometer, but I’ve been wondering how I would do on this. I used to have a much more active job, in the sense that I was on the go between clients all day long, not in the sense that I was lifting things or the like. To compensate for being relatively office-bound now, I park further away from the building and walk, I always send my printing to the far printer in the office, and I generally take a few strolls around the cube farm to go to the restroom or to get some water. It soundslike those efforts may be making more of a difference than one would expect. ---
**Author:** ![Mullinator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c2a13f/32.png) [@Mullinator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mullinator)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2005, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2005-mullinator-step-project/291359/22 "2005-03-02T18:12:11Z")
Time’s up! Day 7 is done meaning my little experiment is over. Final stats: Total steps, most recent day: 6,432 Steps, total: 65,983 Distance covered, most recent day: 3.9 miles (est.) Distance covered, total: 40.1 miles Percent of 7 day goal achieved: 94.3% Ahead/(behind) pace by: (5.7%) What did I learn? I walk a lot more than I thought which is a good thing. I would have guessed that I ended up around 50,000 steps. Basically with no extra effort, my normal routine keeps me pretty in-line with 10,000 steps in a day. And, that is definitely hampered by rougher work days. In general, I feel good about the results. ---
**Author:** ![Bean\_Counter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/db5fbb/32.png) [@Bean\_Counter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bean_Counter)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2005, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2005-mullinator-step-project/291359/23 "2005-03-03T16:27:36Z")
Thanks Mullinator! Your experiment has piqued my interest to track my steps as well. Now that you’re done, any advice on pedometers? Which did you use? I think they’re usually pretty inexpensive to begin with but were there any features you would recommend getting or that were a complete waste of money? ---
**Author:** ![World\_Eater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f04885/32.png) [@World\_Eater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/World_Eater)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2005, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2005-mullinator-step-project/291359/24 "2005-03-03T16:53:58Z")
This is why I love this place. Good stuff **Mullinator**. [sub]you too “mully”[/sub] 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Mullinator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c2a13f/32.png) [@Mullinator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mullinator)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2005, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2005-mullinator-step-project/291359/25 "2005-03-03T17:07:31Z")
> [@Bean Counter](#): > > Thanks Mullinator! Your experiment has piqued my interest to track my steps as well. > > Now that you’re done, any advice on pedometers? Which did you use? I think they’re usually pretty inexpensive to begin with but were there any features you would recommend getting or that were a complete waste of money? Which did I use? A really cheap and easy one, namely pen, paper, and head. I kept track of my steps while walking and jotted down a note of how many steps for each portion I just walked. Added them up later and had a daily total. I have a pretty good ability to count along with something even during a conversation so it was fairly easy for me to keep track of. I wouldn’t recommend that for just anyone though. I can see how that might drive someone else batty. ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2005, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2005-mullinator-step-project/291359/26 "2005-03-03T18:05:16Z")
I’m walkin Oh yes indeed I’m counting Just to see and I’m posting to the SDMB for all to see. Maybe you should get a big dog to chase you. ---
**Author:** ![Bean\_Counter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/db5fbb/32.png) [@Bean\_Counter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bean_Counter)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2005, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2005-mullinator-step-project/291359/27 "2005-03-04T05:11:23Z")
> [@Mullinator](#): > > Which did I use? A really cheap and easy one, namely pen, paper, and head. Head? As in addition in your head? No abacus? That’s unheard of! No ten-key adding machine?!? Truly bizarre! No Excel spreadsheets? INCONCEIVABLE! Won’t someone think of the graphing calculators?!? 😃 I think I’ll go the easy route and buy a pedometer. They’re only $15-$20. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2005-mullinator-step-project/291359.md?page=1)