There are features I still really like. The sleep tracker has helped me with my sleep habits. Even though I was spending 8 hours in bed, I was not getting enough sleep because it took me so long to fall asleep and then I was so restless. So now I get in bed earlier and I've tried to improve my sleep hygiene.
However, I feel like the focus on steps seems very one sided and is pushing me towards one type of physical activity. Let's look a sample couple days from this week.
Wednesday, I was over my goal of 15,000 steps for the day, Thursday I was not. So according to Fitbit, it seems like Thursday was a less health day.
Wednesday I went for a 7 mile run, and then pretty much sat down for the whole rest of the day. Thursday, I did a 45 minute spin class and 45 minutes of weights in the morning, walked the dog at lunch, and then did an hour and half yoga class at night.
Really Thursday was a better day for my overall fitness, but because those activities don't involve a lot of "steps," they don't matter in Fitbit land. I didn't make my step goal, and at the end of the day, that makes me feel like I failed.
I already tend to be a bit of a cardio queen and I feel like my Fitbit is pushing me more in that direction.
Do you wear a fitness tracker? Do you feel like it influences your activity?
I can totally see how a Fitbit or tracker would push people toward cardio! I saw an article about another tracker that tracks heart rate as well and gives you a count for that with steps - so you get credit for cycling and strength workouts, etc. Seems like a good idea! My garmin tracks that stuff but I don't use it.
ReplyDelete