People will often use the excuse of not having enough money or time when they are asked why they are not engaging in fitness. True, the explosion of jobs and expertise around the world has also led to less activity and more obesity; and this has been used by fitness companies to create apps and tools that will allow people to have a more active lifestyle no matter how busy they are. One such group of products is Fitbit, which is one of the pioneers in the market. How effective is Fitbit and what advantages can it offer?
App Overview
Fitbit has a line of products that are meant to track fitness and diet, and even sleep. This line of products combines hardware, in the form of wearable bands or a weighing scale; as well as software, in the form of mobile apps that gather data from the Fitbit hardware.
The apps track your fitness over time by providing a graphical representation of trends in the food that you eat, the amount of activity in which you engage, and other parameters of overall fitness.
This graphical representation and the tangible measurement of overall fitness can act as positive reinforcement, by allowing people to see how fit they are and where they can still add some fitness into their lives. The data can be fed into social networks as well, allowing a person some “bragging rights” about their fitness level, and providing numerical parameters that can allow comparison among friends and family.
Products
One Wireless Activity + Sleep Tracker
The most popular among the Fitbit line of products is The One Wireless Activity and Sleep Tracker, an app for smartphones that can track fitness and feed information to social networks. The app tracks how many steps you take, the distance you covered, how many calories you burned, and how many steps you’ve climbed. While you sleep, the app measures sleep cycles and then gives you an appropriate alarm in the morning based on your sleep cycles.
Another product is the Ultra Wireless Activity and Sleep Tracker, which is a gadget similar to The One Wireless Activity and Sleep Tracker, but is clipped to the waistband. The Aria Wi-Fi Smart Scale, on the other hand, is a weighing scale that also provides information on body fat and BMI, and tracks this information over time.
Zip Wireless Activity Tracker
A newer product is the Zip Wireless Activity Tracker, which takes note of how many calories you burn, how much distance you cover, your diet and the water that you drink. All this information is uploaded to a phone or a computer, where it can be used to provide a picture of daily activities and diet.
Creators
Fitbit is based out of San Francisco, California, and is composed of app engineers who hail from various information sharing sites online. Fitbit itself is a tech venture startup, with the goal of improving people’s lives through fitness.
Website
The official website of Fitbit is registered under GoDaddy.com. The domain is set to expire in early 2022.
Pros and Cons
The Fitbit line of products has already gained a good following online, with people attesting to its effectiveness as well as the real positive reinforcement they feel when they use the product. People also feel that the product helps them keep better track of their daily eating and activities, which they believe helps them plug in the holes in their life where nutrition and fitness can still fit. However, some criticize the line of products as inaccurate, especially for target or isolated training, especially for those who are working on specific muscles. Some also criticize the cost of the products.
Social Media
Fitbit is popular online. Its Facebook page has over 34,000 likes. It also has a
Twitter account where it has over 16,000 followers.
Price
The One Wireless Activity and Sleep Tracker retails for $99.95 on the official Fitbit site. The Zip Wireless Activity Tracker is available on the same store for $59.95. The Aria Wi-Fi Smart Scale is also available for $129.95. The products come in different colors and have a 30-day money back guarantee as well as a one-year warranty. Free shipping is also guaranteed for purchases exceeding $50.
