While I’ve been a dancer and a fitness professional for many years, my first career was with New York State (NYS). I was lucky that during my time with NYS, I got to do many different jobs. Many of which were what most of you would consider to be very technical. But honestly, I’ve never thought of myself as a teckie.
In my private life, I don’t have to be a tech expert as my guys have my back. And while a lot of my work for Albany Dance & Fitness does rely on computers and software, I’m really more of an analog gal. (I still use a pad and pencil to build my to-do list every day!)
So, when my husband gave me my latest Mother’s Day gift, I wasn’t thinking wearable technology! (I was more thinking diamonds, oh well!) Inside the small package was a Fitbit Flex and my honest to goodness first thought was “why do I need this?” I knew what it was but I didn’t think it would be of any benefit to me or that interesting to use.
But now that I’ve had it and used it, I have to admit that I am having fun with this little gadget. I’m even thinking I would like to accessorize it with some different color wristbands!
It’s fun to see how many steps I’ve taken in a day. Of course an old-fashioned pedometer would accomplish this, but the Fitbit automatically tracks your accomplishments and puts it all together on a easy to use web page. I like that I can set daily goals and when I reach them, it rewards me with badges and smiley faces. All this information is kept in your online account and you can track this information over days or weeks. One drawback is there isn’t any way to download your stats, but online graphs of your daily steps are available.
Another drawback for me is the FitBit is biased towards certain types of activity. Sometimes I feel a bit slighted when I look at the number of steps that I’ve done for the day. It doesn’t really understand the movements in a dance class. Anyone who has taken a ballet class knows that you are working your butt off while balancing in arabesque, turning in passe, and performing grande jete. I’ve noticed that my activity level is higher when walking in a grocery store than when I take a Ballet or Balletone class! No way is that correct.
I am by no means an expert on this new toy, but I keep trying new features that are included. Some are intriguing, but others aren’t for me.
If you like to work out with others, the Fitbit lets you invite your friends to become part of your experience. Once they have been accepted, the Fitbit shows how you compare to their total weekly footsteps. I usually don’t need encouragement to work out, but I’ve found that this feature has made me a little competitive. When my son pointed out that his total was higher than mine, I quickly took care of that!
Another interesting feature is the sleep tracking Fitbit can do for you. Believe it or not, you can use it to track your sleep patterns. I always thought that I was a sound sleeper, and the Fitbit has confirmed this. Every night I put the device in ‘sleep mode’ by tapping the wristband for a few seconds. Then I wake it up in the morning when I get up. I love looking to see how restless my night was. It tracks the hours slept, awake times, and restless sleep. So far I haven’t had a very restless night. I hope that if I do, that I don’t feel worse when I look at the graph.
The Fitbit also lets you compare your calories burned against your caloric intake. Of course this means that you have to input your food intake. I found this to be a chore. I’m sure that it’s a useful tool for those that are trying to change their weight. For me it was tedious. I’d rather enjoy the food I’m eating and not worry about the calories. I’ve always eaten what I want and somehow I eat in moderation. I stop eating when I’m satisfied. Sometimes that means a half of a cookie or a small piece of a chocolate bar. I entered part of my food intake for one day and have not done it since. So, my account shows lots of calories burned and very few calories in.
If you are interested in tracking other things like water intake or blood pressure, you can log them into your account. I haven’t taken the time to try any of that.
The Fitbit is a fun tool, but I’m not sure it’s making me any more fit than before. But then, I already exercise, eat in moderation, and get plenty of sleep. But I think it can be great motivator for those that want to exercise more and improve their fitness levels!
6/25/14 – Here’s an article about how activity trackers work: http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/projects/2014/03/accelerometers.html