Are you using a fitness tracker? If you’re like me, you can get blown away by the surprising truth.
In the beginning months of acquiring a tracker, I got a little obsessed with the numbers, as did many of my friends. “How many steps did you do today?” we’d ask each other. If one of us forgot to wear our tracker, we were devastated, as if the exercise we were doing didn’t count!
But what’s a little obsession when it comes to exercise, right? Nobody is obsessed by the number of hours they spend watching TV, are they? Maybe they should be.
Here’s the surprising truth: What my tracker has taught me is that the time I spend reading and working on the computer has a huge impact on how I feel. Although cerebral work is good for my brain fitness, my joints, muscles, and metabolism all stiffen up.
Our bodies were built to move, not sit. According to the Mayo Clinic, any extended sitting—behind the wheel, in front of the computer, TV, at a desk—is detrimental to your health on a cellular level. Yikes! With my fitness tracker, I have a record of how much I’m moving around versus sitting. I’ve even taken to enjoying a bit of housework from time to time, as I get “credit” for the steps! Who knew Fitbit would make a better homemaker out of me?
Alternative Fitness Trackers
If you’re looking for an alternative fitness tracker, there’s a plethora of free exercise charts, calorie-counters, and medical, health, and diet applications (apps) you can download to your computer, your iPad, and your smartphone.
Rob likes the fitness apps from FitnessBuilder.com. The site offers a free download of hundreds of exercise routines for your iPhone, iPad, or Android phone. There are visuals with systematic instructions for a various sports and fitness routines. For example, there are exercise routines for:
- Abs and Core
- 10-minute Energy Booster
- Balance and Stability
- Best Butt Exercises
- Cycling Conditioning
- Golf Conditioning
- Hiking Training
- Pilates
- Senior Workout
- Stretching
- Tennis Conditioning
- Travel Conditioning
- Yoga De-stress
I think it’s a huge mistake to think that seniors fear technology and that we’re challenged by computers, cellular phones, social media, and the like. But if you are a “newbie” to tech tools, I humbly suggest you take some classes, or at the very least, seek an expert friend or a grandchild to guide you through some of the techno pitfalls.
What’s interesting is to look at your exercise patterns over a week or month, or even a year. And what’s more, psychologically, the record becomes a reward. For myself, I know that without an activity record, it would be easier to get discouraged on days when I don’t want to do much. What do you think? Are you using a fitness tracker?
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