As you are no doubt aware, I am a bit of a techno geek. I like toys, I like new tech and I like reading about startups in the tech space.
A new mission of mine is to get fit and healthy. My current goal is to get fit and healthy – and I am using technology to help me do it. I am combining wearable technology with a particular Smartphone App. Here’s what I am doing.
A while back I bought a Fitbit Flex. Briefly, here are some of the benefits of the Fitbit Flex. It:
- Monitors how many steps you’ve taken throughout the day, tracks calories burned and active minutes. From steps travelled it calculates the distance you have travelled throughout the day.
- It monitors sleep patterns – how long you’ve slept for and whether it was good sleep
- It has a LED display so you can get a general view about how you are tracking against your goals without having to log into the web or connect to an App on your phone (you should do this to get more detailed results though.
- As a nice benefit it has a silent wake alarm (that doe work) so you can keep your significant other happy (especially when you wake up at an ungodly hour like me.)
I set my goals pretty highly with my Fitbit Flex and use the LED display to track results. I also monitor my sleep fairly regularly. I am currently trying to hack my sleep with a mid afternoon nap so I can be up earlier. The reason for this is an ambition to further expand my business across continents so I can spend more of my day being awake during other time zones – specifically the USA and Germany. By following my sleeping patterns and working out ways to improve my sleep and I can achieve better results.
The other piece of technology i use is the App Runkeeper. RunKeeper was founded in 2008. It allows users such as myself to track fitness activities (in my case walking and running) using GPS. Because of it’s integration with a website and other services I can also see detailed statistics around my pace, distance, and time. RunKeeper tracks statistics, progress, and applies coaching, which allows the user to advance in their progress through their headphones with built-in audio cues; listen and control music while working out; measure their heart rate and take pictures to share and save while engaged in an activity. I can set goals and measure my improvement.
This app is great for me as it easily allows me to see what improvements I am making and helps with goal setting. The great thing about Runkeeper is there is a free version to start with but as you get to know and like the App there is a paid version with extra features that can and will help you improve your results.
I have committed to Runkeeper elite in my effort to go from fat bastard to 10km run in October. I’ll let you know how my training goes with regular updates here and through social media. I recommend you check out these apps or some other ones today.