How to Use Your Fitness Tracker to Actually Get Fit – words Alan Woods

So you’ve brought a new fitness tracker, that’s great! It’s your first step towards a healthier lifestyle. However, just buying a fitness tracker doesn’t mean your weight is magically going to disappear.

It’s like a gym membership; all shiny and new, it’s going to change your life and help you get rid of all those chubby areas, right? But unless you put the work in, nothing is going to change and you’re not going to have the body you desire. Here are some tips on how to use your fitness tracker to actually get that supermodel body!

Set Your Own Daily Goals

Keeping track of how much you walk, run or cycle can help motivate you to push yourself harder when working out, as you can see the progress your body’s making when the distance and speed increases. Start setting yourself micro goals to begin with, and build gradually rather than setting impossible goals that you won’t meet. The CDC recommends at least 150 minutes of moderate exercise per week, so set yourself a goal to do at least 30 minutes of exercise per day with the weekend off. When you can do that with ease put the time up to 45 minutes. However, listen to your body. If you don’t think you can do 30 minutes per day cut it down and gradually work your way up!

Work Out with a Friend

Studies have shown that people are more likely to stick to a fitness regime if they do it with a friend. If you and your friend purchase the same fitness tracker, you can take advantage of the tracker’s apps and elements. You will be able to initiate challenges such as who can swim the most lengths, who can lose the most calories when doing the same exercise, and treating your step count as a competitive game.

Keep It On and Wear It On Your Non-Dominant Wrist

This may be easier said than done, you need to charge it every once in a while, so you must take it off. However, if you must do this, do it in the evening when you’re not doing a lot of moving about. Say you’re about to sit down and watch some TV after dinner, you don’t need to wear it then as there’s no fitness to track. Most trackers suggest wearing them on your non-dominant wrist; this is because it moves less. When wearing it on your dominant wrist, you may confuse the tracker as your arm could be moving while your feet are not.

Sync with Other Apps

Sync your tracker with other apps such as food logs and activity performance. This will give you a better all round idea of what you can improve for better fitness.

Reward Your Achievements

Make sure you reward yourself. Not necessarily with cheat days but with small rewards such as allowing yourself a day off, or putting small amounts of money aside for a treat at the end of the month.

Keeping motivated can be a challenge, but just keep pushing and you’ll get to where you want to be. These tips will help you, but remember, in the end, it’s all down to your will power!