I have never been a huge fan of things you strap on your wrist such as watches and fitness trackers. As a tech reviewer, I get my fair amount of trackers and smartwatches each year to review. I usually take around 2 weeks to test each of them out before they are either returned or go into my desk drawer.
But even after reviewing umpteen smartwatches and fitness trackers, it has never occurred to me that I should start using wearables on a daily basis. Until I laid my eyes on the Fitbit Ionic. i started reviewing the Fitbit Ionic in the month of December 2017 and I published the review in January 2018.
What I used to dismiss as a high-tech toy is now possibly one of my most valued possessions. It has helped me have a healthy lifestyle, while also working out at my own pace, without having to profusely sweat it out in one go.
Mind you, a Fitbit or any other smartwatch or fitness tracker, won’t magically make you healthy – unless you put your heart and mind into it. What a fitness tracker such as Fitbit can do is completely change the way you think about fitness and give a clearer picture of it.
Fitness trackers help you achieve your workout results by acting as a consistent and reliable coach. It increases your tolerance for exercise, removing that barrier for taking on more strenuous challenges. Here then are the ten things that a fitness tracker such as a Fitbit does in order to boost your morale and make sure you achieve your workout goals:
Positive Feedback Loop
After you hit your first step goal and get that buzz of victory, it’s hard not to be proud of yourself. Each time you hit your goals, it fuels more motivation. No one can take these wins away from you when it comes to personal fitness. This positive, habit-forming behavior is a big part of how Fitbit helps you achieve your workout results.
Competition with Yourself and Others
Another benefit that is often overlooked as to how Fitbit helps you achieve your workout results lies in the competitive scene. For those who used to play sports or likes a little friendly contest every now and then, the Fitbit is perfect. It’s basically a scorekeeper on your wrist. Go toe-to-toe with your steps or completion times, it’s fun to compete at any level of fitness.
Behavioural Changes
Everything that a Fitbit tracks translates into information that can be used to change the way you look at fitness. This includes both sleep patterns and eating habits. Being healthy is a lifestyle, not a status. You have to think fit to become fit, which is what these simple gadgets effectively do by changing your behavioural patterns.
Sleep Monitoring
If you’re not getting a quality night’s rest, then you’re going to feel it. Your energy will be sapped, your personal achievements will be stagnant, and any fitness goals will come up short. The great thing about the Fitbit is that you can use it to track your sleep patterns. By knowing just how many hours of full R.E.M. rest, you can make the necessary adjustments needed to improve your workout results.
Being in Control of Yourself
What we mean by this is never wasting time or effort in life — whether you’re working out for a set time, a set goal, or sleeping at a specific time. Can’t work out because you have low energy? Make some coffee, but don’t skip out. Can’t sleep because you’re wide awake? Do a boring task or listen to melodic sleep aids. Whatever the case may be, with a Fitbit, you are given clear goals and it is up to you to meet them however you can. No excuses.
Rewarding Good Diets
Having quick access to calorie, fat, carbohydrate, sodium, and sugar totals makes for a much better dietary plan. Keeping track of all of these things with your Fitbit helps you achieve your workout results better by not letting you forget. This might sound easy, to just stick to set limits on the things you eat, but how quick are we to eat things we forget are bad? A simple bagel with cream cheese can drastically alter a diet plan, but with a Fitbit, you can reward yourself with one without impacting our daily/weekly totals.
A Sense of Community and Support
The Fitbit community is huge and growing every year. You’ll not only find plenty of wearers at your local gym to befriend and compare notes, you’ll find even more help online. Fitbit forums and blogs share valuable information, like how to fix a Fitbit charge not charging or select recipes or techniques to try out. Your thorough Fitbit data comes in handy when in the hands of experts and nutritionists who can give you professional advice for free. You can’t get that from any of the million cheap pedometers out there.
The Most Accurate Journal Log
Tracking progress is a very important aspect in fitness. Things can start to get fuzzy or discouraging if you’re just guesstimating your numbers or schedule. It is much easier to compromise on things if you convince yourself that you’re doing better than you are in reality. The Fitbit automatically knows your workout needs, charts your progress, and shows you what you need to do to continue making gains. Smart.
Comprehensive App Support
There are a number of fitness apps out there for your smartphone, each offering their own set of pros and cons. The Fitbit app that comes with your device is pretty much an all-in-one powerhouse. You can read all your vitals in detail, water intake, diet, sleep patterns, and workout routine with ease. You can control your entire diet and lifestyle outlook from just one place and on any smartphone or mobile device.
Fine-tune Workouts
What many non-adopters miss about the Fitbit is the fact that everything can be custom-tailored on the fly. If one program isn’t working for you, it can be adjusted to better match your skills or fitness level. You can squeeze more out of your workout sessions by monitoring your heart rate, calorie burn, and more. Post-workout you can do even more fine-tuning to increase gains by reading your charts.
