(no subject)

[elainegrey]

Is anyone using a fitbit?

http://www.amazon.com/Fitbit-Wireless-Activity-Sleep-Tracker/dp/B005PUONIK/ref=sr_1_15?ie=UTF8&qid=1327344464&sr=8-15

I "need" to record pedometer output for $50 discount off health insurance this quarter (grumble). I'm looking at a $20 pedometer on Amazon that appears sufficient and easy to use (ie: does not need to be clipped at waist), but i'm wondering if there's a cooler toy out there. I bought a heart rate monitor watch ages ago and found it hard to use, so i'm interested in gadgets that can be managed externally. (However, a simple pedometer should have minimal twiddling, right?)

Fitbit looks fascinating: bit pedometer & sleep sensor with wireless data upload. At $100 it's definitely overspending my need.

I looked at phone pedometers: it's not clear how well they work for all day recording.

I saw the polar+ transmitter for heart rate measurement: not particularly a goal of mine, and it's not a pedometer. Apparently the android heart rate ap doesn't suck.

http://lifehacker.com/5823363/turn-your-android-phone-into-a-personal-trainer
http://www.brighthub.com/mobile/google-android/articles/105748.aspx

Comments

[snippy]

I haven't used it yet, but the new iPod Nano I got to replace my recalled first-gen iPod has the ability to track footsteps. Maybe you could dig up one of the recalled iPods?

[elainegrey]

I was able to download an app to track steps on my phone, too.

Your first gen iPod lasted that long?? I've bricked too many iPods. I'm not sure why i was such a curse on them....

[piemancer]

I'm not at FitBit, but I'm on Fitocracy, as Piemancer. Ya know. :)

[elainegrey]

You seem to have a passion that brings in built in fitness, so what does Fitocracy do for you?

[piemancer]

I think I get a three-part benefit.

First, I'm very, very shy about exercise (I recently bought my first workout video, and I lock myself in my bedroom to do it because I don't even want my closest companion to see me), so it's a semi-anonymous community for me to share my successes with. With whom to share my successes. Anyhow, folks can share my excitement when I have a really great time on a run, or do the most number of push ups I've ever done.
There are people I'm close to in my life for whom discussion of exercise is a trigger for bad feelings, so It's also a good place for me to express that part of myself, and keep it in a safe place for all my friends.

Second, it's embarrassing for me to admit, but it provides motivation. I usually dislike the concept of "points," but you get points for the exercises you've done, and when you get so many, you get to go up a level! Yes, I am a level six Piemancer! ;) Also, the game gives you little quests, like "lift weights like this" or "Tour de Neighborhood." I really like them, because I've been fat all my life, and I'm still learning ways to go out'n'play. Some times, when I'm in the mood, I'll go through my quests to see if there's one I can knock out real quick ("Hello, Abs" just has you do some sit-ups), or one that will shake up my routine (inviting me to, say, go out dancing, or go climb a tree).

Thirdly, it's a place where I can check out other peoples' exercise routines to see if they'd work for me, too. We get to talking about gear- anything that'll make bike commuting in Alberta through the winter doable has to to be top-notch stuff. So I also get information. :)

[elainegrey]

Thanks for sharing all this. If i joined fitocracy, would you be OK being my friend? (or following or what ever metaphor they use for making a connection?)

I'm fitness focused, not size focused, so your swimming has always impressed me! And i'm mostly motivated by *seeing* things, so going on a hike to see a new bit of landscape or revisit a familiar landscape appeals to me -- and i think that's why i delight in your dive reports.

[piemancer]

I would be absolutely delighted to be your friend/metaphor! I'm Piemancer there, too. I know being internet-friends is kind of a funny thing that our culture doesn't have a name for, but I think of you as that. :) Fitocracy is in the stage where it asks you for an invite code to join, but they're to be had if you have the google-fu (and I know you have it).

I'm also fitness-not-sized focused. It's a little rough for me, because my partner is size focused, and every so often, I have to defend somebody from his stereotypes. He never knew me when I was fat, so I think he forgets that attacking someone obese still feels like a personal attack on me. He'd never want to hurt me, and he's open to education, so I know there's still hope for him. He's ahead of me on other stereotypes. Slow and steady, for both of us.

Wait, what was my point? Oh, yes. On Fitocracy, I'm a member of both a group called something like "Health at Any Size" and one called "Fathletes" (all peeps I know from the Fathletes group on Livejournal). I could make a whole post on how grateful I am to be a member of Fathletes... Did I mention the double of vodka tonic I just had? Please excuse my extra words. Anyhow, I agree with you (and am flattered by the fact you enjoy my dive reports) that there's a lot of life to see out there, and a lot of landscape to enjoy. I like to read on the treadmill, but I love to get out there and see the world on my bicycle. There's nothing like deeply living in an environment to make you appreciate it, wether it's a pretty country road or a downtown street where your life is at risk with every left turn.

[emceeaich]

I think the answer to an insurer saying "we want you to wear a pedometer" is "go fuck yourselves."

[elainegrey]

Well i certainly have been thinking of telling my employer essentially that, but not just for this intrusion.

I gather from other folks who work for larger companies that the incentive to engage in a "wellness program" is spreading. The pedometer is the least of the intrusions: letting random folks look at a survey and bloodwork and assess whether one "needs" "coaching" felt far more invasive than this fitness option to record pedometer entries three times a week.

I'm pretty sure i would have thrown my hands up and blown it off if i hadn't had such a good experience with my mental health when i was walking with Christine regularly. Getting in regular walking-ish exercise is a personal goal, so it's a match for what i want, anyhow.

[piemancer]

Yes, my company has that, too. :( Funny how I'll jump through a hoop for $300 more a year.

Luckily, when I submitted to the BetterYou test, I had the option to decline coaching. I have pretty freakin' strong reasons for living the lifestyle I do, and I wouldn't be able to put up with someone "coaching" me wot I didn't pick my own self.

[firecat]

badgerbag has been using one.

[arlie]

And here I thought _my_ health insurance program was annoying. Yours clearly sucks. What part of "invasion of privacy" don't they understand?

[elainegrey]

First, there was the email in which this change was announced. It was all warm fuzzy fitness program and WAAAYYYY buried in the message was the fact that the voluntary incentive would be to keep your health care benefit from going up.

My indignation has slowly declined, but i've staff who are still steamed and complaining to HR. Yay!