It seems like everyday I get an email about the new activity tracker and why I need it! I wear my polar loop everyday and my polar FT60. I'm dating myself with the FT60 but hey- it still works so I'm sticking with it until it kicks and I can step up my game to the M400! I find knowing my heart rate during my training really makes me much more aware of my actual exertion vs my perceived exertion. Like that morning when you're super tired and you're dragging through a HIIT session thinking you're giving 100% - till you look down at your watch and see you're barely holding steady at 60% of your max heart rate! Really gives you a reality check to shift your training into beast mode.
There are people on the opposite end of the spectrum who have been incredibly frustrated with their experience using fitness trackers. I read an article the other day some people are even suing manufacturers because their heart rate read was off!
Here are some basic pro's and con's to fitness trackers-
Awareness a definite plus
For a lot of people - my husband included - their fitness tracker gives more motivation to move. My husband works a 9-5 and sits at a desk all day like so many people out there. He always assumed he was hitting a healthy goal with his activity till he started tracking it - reality check big time!
Motivation a major plus
Since wearing his Fitbit my husband now takes the stairs up the 4 floors to his office everyday to help attain his daily goal. Also weather permitting he'll go on a 20 minute brisk walk around his office complex after lunch to break up his day and get his blood flowing. Just the awareness has made a huge impact for him and making little everyday changes that will make a big effect overall on his health over time.
Healthy competition another plus
My husband and I like to compare our activity and see who does more which adds a little fun to the motivation mix. He texted me earlier today I need to "watch out" because he just got a new standing desk at work! So we'll see if this shakes things up a bit for our household - I'm very competitive so our dog might be getting a few more walks through the day! Ha
Inaccurate results for some
Like I mentioned above the accuracy is a huge sticking point for some people. All of the results produced by fitness trackers are based off of general fitness math. If we're off with the weight we have entered into our devices they're going to be off with getting the results EXACT. So it's important for us to update our stats as we gain or hopefully loose weight. Other factors like genetics and hormones can make your metabolism and calorie burn faster or slower than the average - therefor skewing the results.
Elliptical use not tracked
This one is a huge frustration for me when it comes to my activity tracker (although some do track it I think Garnin makes one that does?). My heart rate monitor obviously always gets this but basic fit bits and my polar loop don't track elliptical use! I'll bust my butt for 45 minutes on the elliptical and it'll come off drenched in sweat and have barely any progress towards my daily goal. Lol I heard some trackers track fist pumping while driving as activity towards your daily goal - so this falls back to the accuracy component above being a con.
Overall when used as a tool to for a general assessment of your daily fitness and not taken so literally fitness trackers can be a great motivation! If you're a person that doesn't mind taking the results you get from these devices with a grain of salt to give or take a little then your experience with fitness trackers should be a good one!
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