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Pedonome

Keep the pace while you stride
  (+8, -2)
(+8, -2)
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I've just started a walking regimen for my health, and I bought a little pedometer to tell me how far I've gone. What I'd really like to have is a pedometer/metronome device so that I can keep a nice brisk pace all the way around. Either a 1/2 or 4/4 time signature would work great, and a simple, mono earplug so that other walkers aren't distracted by the "beep beep beep beep".

I see it as being setup like a pedometer. You input your stride length first, then when you hit your stride you find the right time signature and tempo and away you go.

For extra bonus fun: 3/4 and 6/8 time could be added.

Noexit, Jun 26 2006

Robic Pedometer with Personal Cadence Tone http://www.swimoutl...e=2831&Click=205146
Audible pacer tone can be set to your personal cadence. Also tunes into your favorite FM stations when you tire of marching to your own drummer. [jurist, Jun 28 2006, last modified Jun 29 2006]

[link]






       This may actually be baked, but I can't find an example anywhere. I've found metronomes for walkers, but none of them combine the functionality of a pedometer.   

       If this is just an improvement, and not an actual idea, then please mark for deletion.
Noexit, Jun 26 2006
  

       I like it, but I won't willingly buy anything that goes "beep, beep". Give me an option for a snare drum, harmonica toot, bird song, or panting female.
normzone, Jun 26 2006
  

       What is meant by 1/2, 4/4, 3/4 and 6/8?
Texticle, Jun 26 2006
  

       >What is meant by 1/2, 4/4, 3/4 and 6/8? [ Time signatures, I think they're right. It's been a long time since I did anything musical.   

       Normzone, Good idea, a nice variety of sounds would be great. I would prefer a "squeak squick squeak squick sound".
Noexit, Jun 26 2006
  

       Apple and Nike could incorporate this into their trainer/iPod collaboration.
moomintroll, Jun 27 2006
  

       Wear tap shoes, and courdoroy shorts...   

       wiff TAP wiff TAP...
ConsulFlaminicus, Jun 27 2006
  

       Combining the pedometer with a personal music player for a tracks that play "tick tock" as well as such rhythms as "I don't know but I've been told..."
Jinbish, Jun 27 2006
  

       Bun from me. By almost any measure, a far more useful piece of information is your heart rate, and measuring that and giving you the rate is pretty well baked.   

       If you're trying to standardise your workouts, get yourself a cheap heartrate monitor ($20-$30) and just concentrate on keeping your heart rate within specific range for a certain time. The nice thing about working with heartrate zones is that they constantly adjust with your fitness.   

       The problem with a metronome is that you're going to have to constantly adjust it, depending on the terrain. For things like steps, uphills and downhills, you *should* change your cadence, or risk damaging yourself (stressed knees, etc). You're able to move at different speeds for good reason.
danpat, Jun 27 2006
  

       And for a small upgrade fee you could buy the pedoGnome, which would walk next to you, beeping and occasionaly stopping to sit on a toadstool.
monojohnny, Jun 27 2006
  

       >The problem with a metronome is that you're going to have to constantly adjust it, depending on the terrain.   

       I currently walk on a flat track. While varying terrain would be probably more beneficial to me, it's what I have available.
Noexit, Jun 27 2006
  

       Ah, so this isn't something to do with dwarves with socially unacceptable paraphilia?
BunsenHoneydew, Jun 27 2006
  

       //I currently walk on a flat track. While varying terrain would be probably more beneficial to me, it's what I have available.//   

       I take it you are in the US then. I never understood this walking on a track thing when I was over there. Why not walk down the street, or walk in the countryside? It's far more interesting and satisfying looking at different scenery.   

       I have a feeling that my non-understanding of the walking track phenomena is shared by most here in the UK, we just walk as a matter of course, we don't have walking tracks and seemingly do not need to go somewhere special to do it.
webfishrune, Jun 28 2006
  

       Metronomes do not do time signatures. Only beats per minute. A time signature refers to beats per measure and 3/4 and 6/8 is really the same thing.   

       Unless the thing went BEEP beep beep BEEP beep beep, then I guess you could say its a time signature.
daseva, Jun 28 2006
  

       A professor of mine at college was unfortunately suffering from degradation in the part of his brain responsible for initiating large motor activities like walking. He could go okay after he got started, but when he was trying to set off he might just rock back and forth with a look of concentration on his face.   

       He got something like this from his doctor, and apparently it helped.
GutPunchLullabies, Jun 28 2006
  

       What [Gumbob] said. 5/4 I would like to hear as it is the time signature of UK telephones.
gnomethang, Jun 28 2006
  

       Some metronomes do time signatures. I've even seen a mechanical one that did: Ding, click, click, ding, ...   

       If you like listening to music while walking, you could adjust the beat rate of the music in software, and add a click track if desired. Or omit the music. Not the same as your Idea, as you would have to carry a personal audio device in addition to the pedometer.
spidermother, Jun 30 2006
  
      
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