Fitbits! They’re all the rage at the moment. But do they really work to get you motivated? And are they really worth the high price tag? Aside from some of their other functions, essentially, they’re just pedometers that track your steps. So why fork out between $70 to $130 when you could get a pedometer for $10 that does the same thing?
The key to their effectiveness is in the ability to be able to connect to a group of friends through the app and website. We all know how being part of a group, with similar goals, can make us more accountable and motivated. When you can see what other friends are clocking up and hence they can see what you are clocking up it brings out a bit of healthy competitiveness. Being able to cheer, or send a friendly little taunt is a great way to motivate each other. The support, encouragement and accountability aspects make it superior to doing it on your own with a standard pedometer.
Over the past week I purchased my own Fitbit and have observed over 30 personal training clients that have also purchased and starting using a Fitbit. From this, a few main things have stood out very clearly in favor of why these devices DO WORK!! And pretty much WORK IMMEDIATELY from when you strap them on!
MOVEMENT BECOMES AN OPPORTUNITY TO SCORE POINTS
You start to view exercise, walking and any extra incidental movement as an opportunity to score points. It’s amazing how your mindset changes immediately once you strap one of these things on. You no longer try and get the closest car park to the shops, you actually try and find one that is far enough away to score extra points.
IT MAKES YOU FOCUS ON A DAILY TARGET
You have a daily target and a goal to work towards that is easily achieved with a little forward thinking, and slight modifications to your day. It encourages you to incorporate extra activity into your normal daily routine. I.e., walking short distances rather than driving, taking the stairs rather than lift, even walking around when you are on the phone rather than sitting at a desk or seat.
IT KEEPS YOU ACCOUNTABLE
On days when you are busy and active and exercising it’s easy to achieve your daily goals. It’s on the days when you are more sedentary that it motivates you to find ways to stay active and keep your score up.
In my opinion it’s a HUGE thumbs up and definitely worth the expense. In all my years as a PT I haven’t seen any device or apparatus motivate this many people to make an immediate change to their daily activity levels!