I realize fitness trackers are not exactly breaking news at this point. I see people post their results on Facebook, showing off their run mileage in an attempt to remind us all how fit and healthy they are. I’ve always stayed active, worked out pretty regularly, and maintain a fairly healthy lifestyle, but I never understood the hype behind fitness trackers. That is, until I took my health and fitness to the next level. In the last few months, I’ve seriously gotten myself in gear, working out daily in one capacity or another and closely monitoring my diet.
Sure, I still splurge – deprivation is not a system that works for me, or for most people for that matter. But now when I splurge, it’s deliberate and has been factored in to that day’s eating routine. Plus, rather than scarfing down a bag of chips because I’m too lazy to whip up something a bit healthier, I make my splurges really count – saving them for tasty restaurants and socially stuffing my face with friends and family. And as for the working out, I just find that doing it everyday works for me – it keeps me in the routine, where skipping one day can quickly turn into a slippery slope of slothfulness.
So, as I said, I’d never really cared about fitness trackers or really even understood their worthwhileness. But then one of my friends showed me her Apply Watch, the Sport version. Suddenly, I was intrigued by the ability to seriously track your workouts – not just count steps. Because I was late to the game, I hadn’t realized how far they’d come – I thought they were still essentially step counters and to be honest, knowing I take 500 steps a day around my apartment doesn’t really tell me anything about my fitness level. After seeing this Apple watch, I began perusing the internet, shocked to discover that the Apple Sport Watch really isn’t a fitness tracker – it’s just a watch with fitness tracking app available.
And that’s when I found the FitBit Blaze. I got mine off Amazon, mainly because I’m a Prime member and have become far too reliant on free two-day shipping. FitBit makes numerous styles and varieties spanning a wide range of prices and capabilities. The primary reason I chose the Blaze was because it looked most like a normal watch. I wanted something I could wear 99% of the time without broadcasting to the world that I’ve gone over the edge and fallen into fitness obsession. I also considered the FitBit Surge but decided I’d forego built-in GPS to save some money. The Blaze has connected GPS capabilities but just doesn’t have it built into the device itself. For avid runners, you may prefer the Surge for this reason.
As I said, I realize FitBits are nothing new, so this article is mainly for those of you out there like me; those of you who don’t fully understand the point of fitness trackers, those of you who don’t think you’d really use it, and those of you who don’t think they’re worth the money. I was once like you – until I got one. And now I’m hooked, wondering how I ever truly lived without it.
First off, it was super easy to set up, download the app, and connect it to my phone. It pretty much did everything on its own once I installed the app on my phone. The Blaze tracks any and every aspect of my daily routine I could want. Those silly steps it counts, that I once thought irrelevant, have become a daily competition against myself as I work towards my daily goal of 10,000. The Blaze also tracks my workouts, factoring in how many minutes I spend in my peak heart rate versus minutes spent in the cardio stage versus minutes spent burning fat.
On the watch face itself, you can enter in what type of workout you’re doing – running, biking, lifting weights, etc. – and it feeds the information directly to your phone. I now can keep track of my sleep, as well; not just how much sleep I get, but also how many times throughout the night I wake up or am restless. I never realized I wanted to know this information – until I got the Blaze. You are also able to log how many calories you eat per day, which is logs against how many calories you’ve burned – something it tracks itself. At any given point, I can hop on my phone and see how many calories I have left to eat that day.
As for the fashion aspect, I personally like the style. I chose the plum wristband, which I think is pretty cute. It’s also very comfortable. However, there are numerous wristbands you can buy separately online to dress it up and give it a different look.
So, if you’re into fitness and like monitoring your daily routine, rest assured the FitBit Blaze will quickly become an obsession for you – even if, at the moment, you see no purpose for it. As I said, I was once like you. But my eyes have been opened and now I need to see how many calories I burned while writing this article.
A Texas native, Lindy Kirk relocated to sunny Southern California nearly three years ago, where she currently lives with her three slightly insane dogs. With an insatiable curiosity for everything from sharks and Judaism to yoga and Ancient Egypt, Lindy enjoys any project that broadens her horizons and teaches her something. When she isn’t writing, reading or tending to her livestock, Lindy can be found at the beach or park, basking in the California sun. You can follow her on Twitter @PennedByPaws.
What do you think?