I got my FitBit on.
I’ve had a FitBit for years. When I first got it, it inspired me to move more, I think. (Maybe there is a previous blog that would reveal the answer.) I haven’t worn it for years, but then my little sister got me back into it by inspiring me with competition. She must know me.
You can now download and app and invite friends to compete in challenges to move more. This is sort of my dream in life. The competition aspect changes the way I operate. I’ve thrown in an extra walk around the block. I’ve even caught myself pacing while chatting to get extra steps.
Most importantly, I’ve learned I’m not as active as I think. I consider myself pretty active. I teach Pilates, after all. I’m up and down off the mat, pulling and adjusting springs. I feel like in my classes I’m always moving. But after teaching three back-to-back classes Ill only earn 600-800 steps. That’s not great. And it’s brought my attention to how much I sit. Since half my job involves running the business, I’m at the computer a lot. While I run, on days I don’t run, I’m not getting that many steps. And while running is great, I have that one burst of activity and then I’m sadly sedentary.
My brother-in-law beats me every day with over 20,000 steps. I’m lucky if I hit 10,000, which I think I should hit every day. So it has helped me make little changes. If I turn on the news, I get up and move while I watch. I pace when I’m talking to someone. I try to throw in another walk. It is a motivator. Will it last forever? Probably not. But then my sister can call me out on it and maybe that will help. One of these days I definitely want to beat my brother-in-law. So I think I’ll be motivated until that happens.
On Sunday, I’d walked over 20,000 steps. I saw I was ahead of him, so late in the day when he wouldn’t have time, I challenged him to see who could get more steps. I’m a sneaky player. He stayed up and walked just to beat me. I could look at that as a loss, but I kind of won because I got him to keep moving. For the overall health of the world that’s a win.
I find it tough to remember to put it on and charge it. Then I need to remind myself to take a chill pill when I think I missed recording something. It’s not totally accurate. I’ll go up and down stairs ten times and it will think I did one set in a whole day. So it’s not perfect.
Still, if you have people to enjoy it with (note I use enjoy where most people would use compete) it’s worth trying. It might make a good gift for you for a group of friends or relatives to exchange with each other. And then you can all share in the gift of a healthier New Year.
