With great resistance, my husband dragged me into the Nike Store one Friday evening in February, determined to sell me on the idea of purchasing the Nike FuelBand.
Truthfully, it looked very cool, and was offered in black, white, and clear, but I was still not too interested in having my activity levels on my wrist day and night, a glaring reminder of my failure to exercise and get fit.
However, a week later, a FuelBand arrived at my doorstep, thanks to my dear husband. He did all the setup, and then presented it to me to try on. Once it was on my wrist, I was hooked, and have not looked back to this day.
Why do I love my Nike FuelBand?
1. Motivation: I have been motivated WAY beyond my expectation. It is my daily personal challenge to meet and surpass my initial set up of 3,000 Fuel points. The first week I met my goal only 4 out of 7 days, and I haven’t had such a low week since. My activity levels have continued to increase in the last month that I’ve owned it, this recent week my highest yet. I am pleasantly surprised that it has challenged me to compete with myself, trying to surpass my highest Fuel days!
2. Tracking: The FuelBand does all the tracking for me…it tracks my fuel level, calories burned, and steps taken within a day. Then I press the button to sync it to my I Phone, and, voila, it is converted into graph format by day, week, and month. This can also be done on the computer as well. The data is all there for me in pretty colors…no more notebooks or input of data on my part. The little Nike guy even does a dance for me when I reach certain levels of achievement.
3. Usability: It’s easy to use. I only take it off to shower and to charge it. Every few days I charge it for an hour or two, but I do this at night so I don’t lose any fuel points. It clips on and off easily. And it’s even a watch, so all my bases are covered.
There are arguments for and against the FuelBand, and surely there are fitness gurus out there that desire something more intricate, but for someone like myself who is simply trying to move more and make activity a way of life, this works perfectly for me.
What tools or apps do you find helpful to track exercise or activity?