A year ago my husband gave me the Jawbone UP® personal activity tracker for my birthday. (You can see my Jawbone UP review here.) Except for one day when I accidentally left it at home and one day when I accidentally left it in my gym bag, I pretty much wore it all day, every day. So, what have I learned from a year of living it UP®?
1. I took 4,529,679 steps last year. According to the UP® data, that corresponds to 2321 miles. I think it’s interesting that during five months I covered 170-ish miles, during two months I covered 180-ish miles, and during five months I covered 200-ish miles, but I had no months in the 190s. I also think it’s interesting that without adding the steps from the first few days of this November, my step total was 4,474,744. 🙂
2. I chase after goals. During the two months I took the most steps I was chasing after a goal. In June, I was really focused on taking at least 10,000 steps a day. In August, I was training for Ragnar.
3. Steps are not the whole picture. One thing that frustrates me about the UP® is that it doesn’t give me much credit for spinning or strength training. I can log those activities in the app and it will account for the calories burned, but I wish it had some algorithm to convert x minutes of spinning to y steps, so my spinning days wouldn’t rank so low in the bar graphs! I have to remind myself that strength training is essential to my fitness program even if its not rewarded by high step counts in the UP® app.
4. I still sit too much. The main reason I selected the Jawbone UP® out of all the activity trackers on the market is because it has an “idle alarm” that I could set to go off after an hour of inactivity. When I first got the UP® I made a real effort to move before the alarm went off, or at least shortly thereafter, but as time went by I got used to the little buzz of the vibrating alarm, and ignored it while staying firmly planted in front of my computer for hours at a time. Now I’ve learned that no device will make me move more–I have to be committed to “just do it.”
5. It’s time for a new toy. One thing I don’t like about my UP® is that I have to synch it with my phone in order to see my step count. (Soon after I got the UP®, Jawbone came out with the UP24®, which automatically synchs via a Bluetooth® connection.) I would like to find out if I am better at moving throughout the day and hitting interim step goals if I can see the data right on my wrist. So, this year’s birthday present is going to be the new Vivosmart™ from Garmin.
[Tweet “Lessons Learned From A Year Of Living UP”]
Of course, right after the birthday bunny started hopping my way with a Vivosmart™, Jawbone came out with the new UP3™. I am really excited about its heart rate sensor, advanced activity tracking, and “Smart Coach” feature, but since it doesn’t have a display I am still going to give the Vivosmart™ a try. 😉
Do you set a time limit on your computer sitting time?
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#5 I would haaaaaaate.
which is why I love my loop.
I’ve been through a few trackers over the years and I never found one that did everything I wanted it to do! have a great birthday
Same to you! The trackers keep getting better …. just like us? 😉
My husband has a FITBit but he wasn’t happy with it because it didn’t calculate his work in the weight room or on the bike so he sat idle. He was also tired of having to go on a desktop to log his food. He wanted it to be much easier. I have heard of the VivoSmart. It would be so good to get a side-by-side graphic of all of these trackers and features to see who does what.
I don’t see how anyone could make logging your food easy enough for me to want to do it again. The new UP3 should give credit for activity with the HR monitoring. 😉
I hate that it doesn’t give you spin credit, that drove me nuts!
I hate that it doesn’t give you more credit for things like yoga, strength training and other workouts. I have the UP24, so I can see my progress easily on my phone. I do sort of wish it had a display though.
Ohhh. That Vivo looks sleeek. I’ mnot one for wearing trackers, but I wouldn’t mind having that on my wrist. Enjoy your new toy!
Very cool to see. I got a Fitbit Force last year for Christmas and it was fantastic, you know, until it started trying to eat a hole in my wrist. Held off buying another looking for one to have all the features I loved, which is just starting to happen with the latest rounds from everyone (backlight screen on device, good battery life, vibrate alarm). Very cool to see a whole year view.
Yeah, I heard about that Fitbit problem – yikes! Maybe the Vivosmart will be the one!
That is so cool! So you also wore it while running? Did you wear an additional watch for running to track pace, etc.? The idle alarm is a great idea. I try to get up once every hour and walk for five minutes or stretch, but it’s an effort to remember to do it. I’ve seen ads for the Garmin Vivosmart and am intrigued!
Yes, I wore it while running, but I still wore my Garmin for pacing, etc. They matched up pretty well though.
I used to have a fitbit flex but didn’t really like it. I didn’t like that it didn’t have a display, I ended up returning it.
I’ve been looking at the Vivosmart – curious to see what you think of it. Happy Birthday!!
I can’t wait to see it! You know I will let you know about it.
I wore the Fitbit Force from January -mid September when it broke. Since then I’ve been wearing the Garmin Vivofit – I like it for the most part!!!
I think the Vivofit is pretty similar to the Vivosmart.
It would be so interesting to look back over the year of data, especially since you wore it so consistently! I just was gifted a fitbit flex. The one thing that I really want to know more about is my sleep. I don’t necessarily care as much about steps since we do walk a lot in the city although I know that I still sit too much. It’ll be interesting to see if I actually move as much as I think I do!
My sleep data is so bad. My goal is 6 hours and I don’t usually make it.
I was a loyal FitBit user until I bought one in February, only wore it until June when triathlon season started, stored it, and then put it back on in September after Ironman, and it didn’t work anymore. It wouldn’t charge!
I got a Timex Move20 one instead, which sounds really great on paper, but it also isn’t working properly. I don’t think there is a device that can handle as many steps as I get! 🙂
That sounds like a dare!
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