9 tips every Fitness tracker owner should know

From big names like Barack Obama, Serena Williams, Robert Pattinson and Gwyneth Paltrow to the man on the street, fitness trackers are all the rage, but apart from being a fashion accessory, these Fitbits or Fitbands as we like to call them can really help you get your fitness game back on track. 

But what makes this gadget such a hot commodity?

- You can track your water intake, what you eat, your workouts, sleep, heart rate, weight, distance traveled, and more. Instead of going between apps to stay on top of your fitness regime, it's all in one place. 

- Nothing feels better than reaching your step goal.

- You'll sleep more when you use it to track your sleep behaviour.

- The fact you can challenge your friends on who gets the most steps is the best and worst thing to happen, especially if you're competitive. 

- It keeps you focused. Seeing stats of how many calories you're burning, how much activity you're getting, your quality of sleep, how much activity your friends are getting, etc. forces you to change your lifestyle. 

- The heart rate monitor allows you to see if your heart rate was in fat burn, cardio or peak mode, so you can see if you're pushing yourself hard enough, or if you need to change it up.

So how do you get the most out of your fitness tracker?

1. Stay motivated

Just because you've strapped a tracker to your wrist doesn't mean you're going to get fit. Stats suggest many who buy a fitness tracker stop using it within six months! What you've got is a tool, and if used correctly, it can be a brilliant aid for motivation. Use the tracker for a week and see how you compare and then change the targets to be more demanding.

2. Challenge your friends

According to www.cnet.com, if you sign up for Matchup, you can compete with people who have a Fitbit, Apple Watch, iPhone, Garmin, Jawbone, Withings, Misfit, Pebble or any other tracker that integrates with the Apple Health app.

3. Create your own dashboard

Fitness trackers gather all sorts of information, some of which you may not care about. You decide what you want to see on the dashboard.

4. Don't obsess about the calorie count

Labelling laws allow a 20% margin of error on the nutrition facts panel. That means that 500 calorie takeout could be nearly 600 calories or that healthy meal you think you are eating is actually over your calorie allowance for the day. So follow it but don't let it control how you eat. As Dr. Ludwig, obesity researcher says: "The quality of the calories going in can affect the number of calories being burned off."

5. Monitor your heart rate

Reduce injuries from excessive exercise with fast heart rate reminding. Your goal is to stay fit and healthy, not have a heart attack before your next birthday.

6. Reward yourself

Keep the stats relevant by rewarding yourself every time you hit your daily or weekly goals.

7. Keep chatting while being active

Don’t stop being active because you need to take a call. Most fitness trackers allow you to answer / end phone calls and view messages without even taking out your smartphone. 

8. Stretch on time

Make sure you have your stand reminder activated. Sometimes we sit behind the desk for hours and a little notification to get moving will be great. 

9. Sync your fitness tracker with your favourite apps

If you're used to using a different app for your runs, for keeping track of weight loss and food, you can continue to use those applications and have them sync with the fitness tracker app.

Fitness fanatic or fitness enthusiast, when it comes to reaching your fitness goals, steps are just the beginning! If you are looking to get your fitness game on we suggest the Huawei Honor Band, it tracks every part of your day including activity, exercise, food, weight, and sleep. Get yours today from #ECRShop for just R399.