Become a Fitter, Healthier You
Credits: http://www.connectedly.com/wearable-fitness-trackers
Is getting fit one of your New Year’s Resolution now left sitting in the dust? Have you resigned yourself to the fact that you’re just ‘not the sporty type’? Wearable fitness trackers are here to save the day! A survey conducted by Pureprofile, a market research company, showed that 70% of their sample size improved their activity levels after acquiring a fitness tracker.
Here are 8 ways how using a wearable fitness tracker can help you achieve that elusive goal of becoming fit.
Credits: http://hereandnow.wbur.org/2013/03/05/data-geeks-fitness
An entry-level wearable fitness tracker provides you with the essential information of your fitness activities. It logs and presents to you records such as the number of steps taken (pedometer), how fast your heart is beating (heart rate monitor) and how many calories you’ve burnt. Some fitness trackers also tracks the quality of your sleep! All these information would help you to track and move your way to a healthier, active lifestyle.
Recommended Entry-Level Fitness Wearables
Fitbit Zip
Mi Band
2. Customize Fitness Goals
Credits: http://tuataranatural.co.nz/exercise/fitness-goals-and-motivation/
Now that you’ve got all this data, what do you do with it? Well, one thing you can do is set specific fitness goals, to motivate yourself to becoming fitter.
Using the data from your fitness tracker, you can keep track of your progress to achieving your fitness goals, such as running 10 kilometres per week, or burning a few hundred calories each training session. These information logs will help you to tweak and optimize your activities towards your fitness goals.
Apps to help you start moving
Workout Logging Apps
Strava (Cycling and running): iOS, Android
MapMyRun (Running): iOS, Android
RunKeeper (Most Activities): iOS, Android
3. Bring Your Wearable Everywhere
Credits: http://www.smartwatch.me/t/the-2014-smartwatch-buyers-guide/623
One great thing about wearable fitness trackers is the fact that they’re well, wearable. Some of these multi-sport trackers are built to be more durable than regular trackers, so you can bring them everywhere you go, including swimming and biking. They are unobtrusive, resting comfortably on your wrist and doubles up as a watch. Outside of the gym, your fitness tracker also follows you around from home to the office.
Multi-sport fitness trackers
Garmin Fenix 3
Garmin Forerunner 920XT
4. Sneak Fitness Into Your Daily Life
Credits: http://www.flowclothing.com/blog/11-lifestyle-changes-that-will-help-make-you-more.html/
Fitness does not have to be a chore or regime penciled into your schedule – they can be integrated into your daily activities. Instead of taking the lift, why not take the stairs? How about walking to that coffee date 4 streets down instead of taking the bus? All these little changes will count towards your fitness goals, helping you stay on track in your fitness journey.
Apps that provides virtual coaching
5. Build Good Fitness Habits Over Time
The biggest challenge of keeping fit is keeping the momentum going. This means always choosing the stairs over the lift. Bike commuting to work instead of taking the train, building the momentum till active choices becomes second nature. When these activities become habits, fitness will no longer be a chore and you will start to enjoy the challenge as your endurance picks up.
Habit tracking apps to help you build momentum
Coach.me (formerly Lift): iOS, Android
GPS-equipped fitness trackers
Soleus GPS Fit 1.0 / 3.0
Garmin Forerunner 15 / 220 / 620
6. Live Up To Your Image
Now, this part gets a bit psychological. As your fitness tracker is with you 24/7, you’ll become more inclined to keep up with your fitness activities and goals. A survey conducted by the creators of the weight loss app Lose It! revealed that 60% of their members who used a fitness tracker on their weight loss journey lost more weight and the majority believed their fitness trackers helped to keep them motivated.
Wearing a fitness tracker also means people would expect you to be an active person, you’ve got an image to maintain!
7. Stay Active With Friends
Most fitness trackers comes bundled with an app that allows you to connect with friends either by connecting with your friends on the fitness tracking app, or posting on your social media. These updates would tell your friends bits of information such as your running distances, or amount of calories burnt.
By sharing your fitness journeys with each other, you can spur each other on to achieve your fitness goals. Talk about positive peer pressure and the power of community support!
Community Fitness Apps
Charity Miles* : iOS, Android
* Pact rewards you for completing your pre-set amount of workouts per week. But beware! They’ll also charge you for any incomplete workouts (min. US$5 per workout) you’ve set the pact to complete.
* You can do good while sweating it out! CharityMiles will donate US$0.10 per mile biked (1.6km) or US$0.25 per mile walked/ran to the charity of your choice.
8. Track results at a touch of your fingertips
After putting in much time and effort into exercising and getting fit, you’ll definitely want to see how far you’ve come. With a wearable fitness tracker, you’ll be able to review the records of your hard work. This would serve as a huge boost to your motivation level and keep you going.
Fitness isn’t a one stop goal, where you just stop exercising once you’ve reached a certain number of steps, or burnt a certain number of calories. It’s a never-ending journey to keep pushing yourself forward. When you see how much you have achieved, you can only imagine how much more you can do.
Quantified self tracking apps
Get the full package for optimal fitness tracking
iHealth AM3 Tracker paired with iHealth HS5 Scale
Fitbit Surge / Fitbit Charge HR paired with Fitbit Aria
Withings Pulse O2 / Withings Activite Pop paired with Withings WS-50
Ready to get right down to working out? Head over to Axtro Sports and get your very own wearable fitness tracker! Say hi to your new daily companion and make small steps to the healthier future you.
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