Fitness Trackers: Fad or Future?

Get ready to geek out friends. If you love tracking workouts or get motivated by seeing progress on numbers, 2014 is the year it’s all going to grow even more. My major skepticism is this: data for data’s sake is useless.

Until users take action on the information, I believe that they will be interesting for awhile and then put away in a drawer to be dusted of years from now. Are they pagers or smartphones in the technology trends??

“By 2017, there will be 169.5 million wearable health and fitness devices on the market worldwide, up from 21 million in 2011” according to ABI Research.

FITNESS TRACKERS
Fitness trackers abound should be the subtitle for fitness tech this year at CES {checkout my initial report on CES}! Here is a quick run down of some that are new to market so you can see which one’s might appeal to you.

Garmin: Runners who already know Garmin might be surprised to seem them stepping in to this arena with a basic accelerometer called the VivoFit…I’m not impressed. For Garmin this seems like a step backwards. The device measures: steps, calories, sleep and distance. If you having a Garmin HR monitor it will connect to that as well providing more accurate calorie counts. It’s their first in this market, so I’m sure it will improve but the display has no backlight and it requires extra steps to measure sleep. Hold off on this purchase. iFIT: Known previously for their tracking software and training programs inside ProForm equipment, the company is now providing a tool to track all your fitness activities with the iFit Active Band. This now allows athletes to use one platform to track all of their workouts automatically – skipping the need for different trackers based on indoor, outdoor, run or cycling workouts. It pairs with a smart phone to pass steps, sleep, etc. This model switches automatically between awake and asleep. It also allows you to clip it on to a pant leg for more accurate calorie counts with cycling, a problem for other trackers. Great choice for those already using iFit products.
Many more fitness trackers were on the floors from:

• Jaybird measuring heart rate variability
• FitBit partnership with Tory Birch to make them more fashionable
• Wellograph Watch that’s already fashionable
• Kreyos a Indigogo project that is still getting rolling
• LG Lifeband touch will show notifications from your cell phone
• and many…many…more. BUT I want to talk more Sony!

LIFE TRACKER
The Sony Core and SmartBand are designed to be MORE than a fitness tracker. This is truly about encapsulating each and every day – the goal is analysis of activity for a better life. Explore the connection between how you sleep after intense workout days or how mood changes on days where you socialize more, etc. It’s truly focused on your entire wellbeing…ok that and tracking every moment of your life.

The LifeLog App:

• Tracks not just movement, but time in the car, on a train, etc
• Tracks sleep patterns and will wake you at the best time based on your patterns
• See photos you took or music you listened to on a specific day
• Set daily goals to challenge yourself {I like this!}
• 5 days of battery life
• Waterproof
• Connects with smartphone to auto transfer data, if you leave range it will sync when you are back

In a quick poll on Facebook, many of you reported using the FitBit now to monitor your steps and have found that it motivates you to do more. What do you think is this a long term technology? Or a quick passing trend?
—————————————————————-
Gratitude Journal
Jan 10
I am grateful for a dental assistant who worked really hard to overcome the mistakes their team made to help me feel calm.