A basic pedometer counts how many steps you are taking. They are brilliant for all sorts of reasons. For example, most people are hopeless at accurately judging how much exercise they are getting, we all tend to over estimate our efforts. With a pedometer, there is no guess work – it's there in black and white.

If you're starting an exercise or fitness program, even if it's just going out for a walk each day, a pedometer is the perfect way of tracking your efforts, and just as importantly, your improvement over time.

One of the biggest problems with trying to get fit, lose weight, or burn calories, is keeping yourself motivated. A pedometer will make a big difference here – you'll see exactly how far you have walked and you can compare that against any targets or goals you have.

One of the things you need to do when you first get your pedometer, is calibrate it. That sounds very technical, but all it means is that you need to work out how big your steps are and put that into the pedometer's settings. Once you know how big one of your steps is, you can work out how far you have travelled in total.

Don't think that pedometers are just for people who are taking formal exercise. Any movement is exercise, so even if you are walking (or running) for the bus, spending an hour or so in your local shopping mall, or exercising the dog, you'll probably be surprised just how much exercise you're taking yourself.

This is another one of the benefits of using a pedometer – when you realize how much exercise you are actually getting, you'll feel good about yourself! There's a big difference between thinking you just did some window shopping and knowing for a fact that you did 2 miles worth of exercise.

Some of the more advanced pedometers can also calculate how many calories you are burning. Wouldn't that be great? You could go do some shopping, and then when you get back you could relax knowing you'd done some real exercise and burned off some of those calories? With a bit of luck, you might even turn it into a habit. I mean the exercise, not the shopping!

Well, please take a look around the site. I'll be adding more information on pedometers and how you can sue them to improve your life. I also hope to do some reviews of particular pedometers, so if you have any request, please don't hesitate to leave a comment.