Fitbit is an up and coming fitness company that seems to have taken both athletes and non-athletes by storm. With their constant technological advances, Fitbit has transformed a simple pedometer into a heart rate monitor, step counter, smart watch with cell phone call and text notifications, sleep tracker, alarm clock, all-in-one watch with simple encouragements throughout the day to get movin’. Some people question how much wearing a watch on your wrist really makes a difference in your fitness, but from my own experience I can already see the difference its making, not necessarily in my athletic performance, but in my motivation to reach goals.
The cell phone app that you download to help track and use your Fitbit is one of the coolest apps I’ve had on my iPhone. Through the app you can set a silent alarm that wakes you up with a very gentle buzzing around your wrist, it is so gentle but effective and that’s saying something coming from me considering I sleep like an absolute rock. Speaking of sleep, you can also track your sleep patterns throughout the night as it tracks your hours awake, asleep, and restless. It does this through actigraphy, the tracking of movement that translates into periods of sleep and awake. It is also a means of tracking nutrition goals by logging your weights, goal weight, and calorie intake throughout the day. This helps you to set goals and to have a visual reminder of what you’re working for.
The wristband itself is truly something special. First of all, it is very sleek and aesthetically pleasing. Its slim design makes it hardly noticeable to the wearer and is comfortable for any activity that your day may bring—exercising, working, driving, and even sleeping. Secondly, the band has a customizable display screen and the quick view setting displays the time when you simply turn your wrist towards you as you would to read the face of a typical watch. At a quick glance I am able to read the time, day of the week, and day of the month. It vibrates when I receive texts and phone calls and displays up to 40 characters of a message right there on my wrist. This frees me from having to carry my phone with me 24/7. With a few taps of the touch screen comes the list you have personalized geared just for you. For example, I touch the screen once and the number of steps I have taken that day appear. My goal is always 10,000 steps and at first that may seem daunting, but its totally attainable! To put this into perspective, walking 10,000 steps per day for a week equates to burning roughly 3,500 calories through walking alone. What an easy way to burn some extra calories, huh? One more touch and that number is turned into the mileage that I have walked. Again, and the number of calories I have burned through my activity is displayed. One tap three more times displays how many active minutes I have, the battery life of my band, and any alarms I may have set. With a swift touch I have a daily overview of how I’m doing in achieving goals and being active.
Although many people think that a bracelet may lose its excitement and may quickly be a thing of the past, I invite you to think of all the years pedometers have been used and continue to be used in many different variations. IPhones have them built into their Health app, people clip them to their clothing, and now Fitbit has improved the technology to not only count your steps but to assist and motivate in setting and reaching goals. No, wearing a Fitbit does not transform me into a world-class athlete, but it does help me feel like one.
