What is the difference between step length and stride length

Average stride length depends on many factors, including gender. The average step or stride length for women is smaller than for men. According to the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center , a woman's average step length is approximately 26 inches and her average stride length is 52 inches.

A man's average step length is approximately 31 inches and his average stride length is 62 inches. For walking programs, women are encouraged to use an average step length of 26 inches and men are encouraged to use an average step length of 30 inches for calculation purposes. Rather than using average stride lengths, if you want to convert your pedometer steps into distance, calculate your actual stride length.

Make a mark on the ground and place your toes at the mark. The first step you take is step one. Fitbit recommends walking a total of 20 steps on a track where you know the distance you're walking; alternatively, you can mark the toe point of your twentieth step. Measure the distance between the two marks in feet and divide by 20 to get your stride length. To get a more accurate stride length average, repeat the above exercise two to three times and average the recorded stride lengths.

Fitness Training Walking. Then take the answer 8 and divide it into the distance. In this case, you took 8 strides in 20 feet, so your stride length would be 2. For even more accuracy, do the longer distance three or four times, and then average the results.

There are 5, feet in a mile. To determine the number of steps it will take you to walk a mile, divide 5, by your step length. To determine the number of strides it will take you to walk a mile, divide 5, by your stride length. Stride length and step length can be important numbers for a doctor to diagnose a problem with your gait or a condition that could be causing a problem with your gait. These numbers can also be useful for a doctor or physical therapist to evaluate your progress, and thus the effectiveness of treatment prescribed for the condition causing gait irregularities.

This information is also interesting for you to have in evaluating your personal fitness. If you get a new pedometer or fitness tracker — such as a Fitbit, Garmin, Xiaomi, Misfit, or Polar — you may need to enter your step length during the initial set up. Do you know how many steps you average each day? Thanks in part…. The number of calories you burn while walking depends on different factors, including your weight, pace, terrain, and more. Walking is a great form of physical activity that's free, low risk and easy to do.

Importantly, it can also help you lose weight and belly fat. Many people wonder whether it's OK to work out while they're sick. How do you spot a friend lifting weights? Here's the basic spotting technique for common exercises, as well as tips to keep your workout safe and…. Here's how to understand and measure this. The step length is the distance from the heel print of one foot to the heel print of the other foot during a walking stride.

This is the distance traveled forward by a single leg. An average that you will see listed in many places is 2. Fitbit allows you to change the step length which they call the stride length using the Edit Profile function in the online Dashboard, or in the app under Account, Advanced Settings. Stride length can mean the same thing as step length, or it can mean the distance traveled by the heel of one foot to the next time that same foot strikes down.

In other words, that would be two steps since in that time the other foot has also touched down once. If you set your pedometer for your step length and discover it seems to be halving your distance, read the instructions again. It may want the stride length, which is two steps. Also, in the reverse case, if you at first thought the pedometer needed the stride length but you seem to be getting double the distance, read again as they may have really wanted the step length.

Rob Sweetgall of Creative Walking, Inc. You can use this method in a hallway, gym, or large room. If you use your step count over a longer known walking distance, it should give a more accurate average stride length measurement than the short walk method. Here are two suggestions. Use a football field, which is feet from goal line to goal line. Use a regulation track at the local high school. Others are meters, which equals 1, feet.

You may have to locate and ask the coach which is correct for the track. Use an online mapping app to draw and measure your walking route. Then check this against your pedometer reading. When you use your height to determine your stride length, you get a rough estimate that isn't personalized.

However, it can be useful to check your results by the other methods. It is the method used in the automatic settings of many pedometers and activity trackers:. Smartphones have built-in accelerometer chips, and their health apps record a step count. You cannot adjust stride length directly with Apple Health and Google Fit.

However, if you change your height it will change your stride length, which is used in determining the distance you walk. Dedicated pedometer apps may allow you to set your stride length for better accuracy.