Can A Fitness Tracker Help You?

Can a fitness tracker help you become more active? Yes, from my experience it works. I gave myself a Garmin Vivofit 2 as a Christmas present in 2015 and I’ve been using it to track my steps ever since. There is a new version out now and it looks even better and has new functions added. Check out the Garmin Vivofit 3 at Amazon. It’s pretty awesome for just $79.

In 2016, my goal was to average 6,000 steps per day and it worked. I walked almost 2.5 million steps in 2016 and averaged 6,654 steps per day. This year, I increased the goal to 7,000 steps per day and I’ve been doing pretty well again. You can see my history below.

The chart looks great. The spike in Nov. 2016 is due to our 3 week vacation in Thailand. We walked everywhere and I got a ton of steps in. It’s the same story for September 2017. We visited Hawaii and walked a lot more than normal. Maybe we need to go on vacation more often.

I really like the trend line. It shows that my monthly steps are on the rise. These days, I try to walk more often than before I got the Vivofit. I walk to the gym, post office, banks, and more. Having a goal really helps because it gives me something to shoot for. I read that the increase in physical activities last only a short time, but it seems to be working for me. Next year, I’ll increase my goal to 8,000 steps per day. That will be pretty tough, though. I’ll have to figure out a way to add more steps to my day.

Alright, do you use a fitness tracker? Does it help increase your physical activity?

Garmin Vivofit

The Garmin Vivofit is awesome. I haven’t taken it off since I got it 2 years ago. Here are the pros and cons.

Pros

·         The battery last over a year. I’ve been using it for almost 2 years and it is still on the original battery. That’s awesome.

·         It is waterproof. This means I can wear it in the shower, pool, hot tub, sauna, and while washing dishes. This is a great feature.

·         It is light and unobtrusive. I never enjoyed wearing a watch because it is annoying. The Vivofit is small and it rarely gets in my way.

·         You wear it like a watch. The Vivofit is light and comfortable on my wrist. I wouldn’t use it if I had to wear it on my belt or carry it around some other way.  

·         I never have to take it off. All these means I don’t have to take the Vivofit off. That makes life a lot easier for me. If I take it off, I’m sure it’d be misplaced. I’m also pretty sure I’d forget to wear it very often.

·         It reminds me when I have been inactive too long.

·         It tracks sleep.

Cons

·         It sync pretty well most of the time, but occasionally drops data. I’d lose a few days of data every 3-4 months of usage. It’s not a big deal, but annoying nonetheless.

·         Audible alert too quiet. I rarely hear the audible alert. A vibrating alert would be a really nice additional feature.

All in all, the Garmin Vivofit has been great for me. I’ve increased my physical activities since I got it. It’s going to be harder from here to keep increasing my steps, but I’ll keep trying. If you don’t have a fitness tracker, the Vivofit 3 is a good one that doesn’t cost too much. Try it and I’m pretty sure you’ll like it.

How about you? Do you have a fitness tracker and do you think it helps?

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