Being aware that I have a tendency towards the sedentary, and am a sucker for technical solutions, it occurred to me that some form of activity tracker might offer sufficient motivation to spend more time away from the keyboard.
Any good experiences out there?
Chris
None of the current fitness wristband, smartphone step counters, etc seem to interest me. About 9 years ago when I last had a prolonged go at getting some exercise, I bought one of them trip computers for the bike, it helped by allowing you to attempt the "impossible" of keeping your speed above your average speed, or graphing your weekly distance vs weight lost etc.
I'm sure the current devices mean you don't need to keep your own spreadsheets etc, but into the bargain they probably expect to tweet your mates to say Chris has just done this or that, and sell you blister treatments ...
If you're in the right frame of mind, such "toys" can help ...
In message , Chris J Dixon writes
Chris, this does not answer your question, but the biggest change to my life was after Wifey persuaded me we needed a dog. At the time, my daily exercise was almost zero. My business was attached to the house so no walking to the station, spent all day behind a shop counter then flopped. Really came home to me when I walked a couple of miles to a dinner (to avoid driving), and realised just how unfit I really was.
I'm not saying a dog is the answer to all evils, but I now walk the dog every morning for an hour or so, which was fairly hard going at first, but is now easy (five years later). Still the only real exercise I get, and my body appreciates it. Far more disciplined, too. Easy to put off a walk when the weather is crap, but with a dog, I go out every morning, rain or shine, Christmas or whatever.
There is a halfway house to that if somebody cannot for various good reasons keep their own dog but it does depend on how well they get on with other people and of course dogs and that is to walk somebody else's or accompany them. We do not own a dog but some near neighbours do and the lady of the house enjoys some company on a long walk , occasionally her husband takes the dog but he is fairly infirm so can only go a little way so we take it further. Other times we take it solo which when you think about it is quite a trusting thing for an owner to do with their pet. In a county 200 miles away a neighbour is doing the same for my octogenerian mother who cannot do the 3 mile walks anymore. I admit that we fortunately live in area of deep countryside with miles of footpaths available which helps, I wouldn't be so keen to frequently walk every day along suburban pavements.
G.Harman
I understand an outfit called NSA are quite renowned in this field.
I take it you mean some form of "Smart" device rather than a simple pedometer?
A pedometer is all you need provided you set a target number of steps per day and are disciplined enough to reach the target everyday. If you don't have the discipline I can't see how a set "Smart" targets missed is any different to a numbers of steps target missed.
Yes. If u have a smartphone then install Strava to record bike stats and Pacer to count your steps.
Depends how much you want to pay really. If you have a smartphone there are several free apps which will turn it into a basic pedometer. And if you don't have a job that keeps you on your feet all day then you will be amazed at how difficult it is to do the "recommended" 10000 steps a day.
If you want a bit more motivation (at a higher price) make sure that you get a wristband with Heart rate monitoring (most of the others are just glorified pedometers) - I have friend with a Fitbit charge HR and that give great results and has motivated him to considerable weight-loss.
Combined with My-fitness pal recording of calories in and calories out is very straightforward.
but of course all of these need a smartphone.
I wanted to track my sleep when it seemed to me I was having a lot of wakeful periods in the night, so I got a Sony SWR10.
I found that quite effective for tracking both sleep and walking. The Android app is very good on both phones and tablets. I wouldn't make great claims for the "steps" accuracy, but it seems OK for timing.
As someone else suggested, a dog or two provides great motivation (I already have four).
I've subsequently tried a Motorola smart watch, but I don't like it much. I lost the Sony band but might get around to getting a replacement.
Not a problem.
That is a useful recommendation, it certainly seems to be reviewed quite well for a product at that price. I don't need to lose weight, but I need motivating to sit here much less.
Chris
Well it doesn't remind you to get up off your ar*se but you do get motivating messages when you have climbed 10 flights of stairs/walked
10000 paces had so many "active minutes" etc etc. My friend found themselves going up and down stairs a couple of times in the evening "just to get to 10 for the day" and you even get e-mails when you have cumulatively covered a marathon, climbed a mountain etc etc. All very frivolous but quite fun and motivating in its own way.HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.