34
I initially spent over an hour typing up a really clever review of 3 different activity trackers, but I decided to scrap it because it occurred to me that activity trackers may be a waste of money for many because they can and will be inaccurate. What's the point in dropping your coins on something that kinda sorta gives you an idea of what you're doing? If I'm droppin' a band on some electronics, it better give me all the data, the data better be correct and them bands better make the electronics dance.
You see that pink Fitbit she wearing? LOL!
If you really have to look for an external way to get motivated to move, you can try an activity tracker...if you must. Ugh. Anyway, there's usually some sort of goal to reach by the end of the day, but there's a way around that...just shake the doggone thing and BAM!, you got your goal. So, if you're driving on a bumpy road, you might inadvertently hit your goal. If you're a slacker, this may be a dream come true, but if that's the case, you probably aren't that worried about steps per day so why bother getting a tracker?
On the other hand, some of the trackers worn on the wrist won't track you unless you're moving your arm. What does that mean? If you're pushing a stroller or a cart, all of those steps may not be counted.
How much does that suck?!? I went through three, count them 1, 2, 3, grocery stores today and just about NONE of the steps I took registered with the Garmin Vivofit 2 I was wearing. One of those stores was Costco and we all know how big Costco is. I'm certain that two laps around the store would clock in at a mile, but all of the time I was in there, Stater Bros. and Vons didn't count because I was pushing a cart. This gives me a case of the sads. I think the Fitbit Charge HR might have recorded those, but I took that back when I found out that it was giving me more steps than I was actually walking and providing an inaccurate heart rate count.
Truthfully, you don't need an activity tracker unless you are a habitual lazy-ass. And even then, since you ain't about nuthin' and just a shiftless so and so, then what do you need with an activity tracker? Just get up and move. You will know when you're doing something when your face starts leaking fluids (gasp!). If you're at work, just get up once per hour and walk a little.
The one other thing I want to say is that if you can get an activity tracker with a heart rate monitor AND you are active AND want something to help calculate calories expended during a workout, get a tracker with a chest strap monitor. Those types of monitors (ie Garmin, Polar) will track your heart rate in a manner similar to that of an EKG...way more reliable than something that uses light to track your pulse from the the back of your wrist. There are just too many ways that the optical sensor used in wrist-worn monitors can go wrong and give you incorrect data.
Hope this helps. I was busy watching Wildin' Out while typing this up and was pretty distracted.
