Who would have thought my inspiration to movewould arrive at my doorstep in a small box?

I was recently sent a digital fitness pedometer called Striiv, which I had heard about while at a BlogHer event hosted by my friends in the Blogging Angels a few months earlier, and I supposed I offered to be a early reviewer.  Now maybe now I wouldn’t just think about walking to my kids to school or taking the steps instead of the elevator into my doctor’s office. Now I would realize that even walking from one room to another burns calories, and that seeing the results in my hand on a device would actually inspire me, all with the help of a gadget you can git into the palm of your hand.  Using TruMotion technology based on an accelerometer and gyroscope, the gadget figures out whether you’re jogging, climbing stairs, dancing or doing some other type of exercise.  If you want to see what I’m talking about, watch this:

Striiv is challenging.  It inspires me to get up and move.  There are personal challenges, games and even donation opportunities based on how much exercise I get.  The more I move, the more I achieve.  I can play games and spend my points on trophies or badges (you have to see these to understand what I mean) and they push me to work harder.

But what I really like best about Striiv is that the more you walk or exercise, the device calculates your every move and donates to a charity on your behalf.  It’s very special. and very motivating.  Striiv, with the help of sponsors, has carefully chosen charities to donate to, including GlobalGiving which donates clean water to children in South America or a polio vaccine to children in India.

So, now when I am sitting at my desk, working or blogging, I sometimes still wear my gym clothes that I throw on when I work from home.  Only now, I grab my Striiv and head out the door, even if I have a short time period, feeling motivated to earn points to give back and shed some pounds. All while giving back.  How cool is that?

Striiv retails for $99 on the official Striiv website.

Disclosure: I was provided with a Striiv gadget to facilitate this review, but all opinions are my own.