7 Reasons to Wear a Fitness Tracker.

Over the years, fitness trackers have become almost as popular as Nutella and talking about how millenials are entitled (I may or may not be throwing shade). Why? Because these trackers provide in-depth information about your physical fitness journey and are a major upgrade from the pedometers of the past. Fitness trackers like the Misfit Ray featured in this post now give super detailed information about how many calories you’ve burned, the distance you've covered in a day, how long you’ve been sitting like a lump in front of the television and even whether or not you've been getting your beauty rest. It’s safe to say that fitness trackers are a game changer in keeping people fit and healthy.

Here are seven reasons why you should invest in a fitness tracker:

1. Fitness trackers provide a baseline.

Use the fitness tracker to go about your usual routine (e.g. work, exercise, running errands, etc.) and you’ll have a steady baseline of where your physical activity level is at. From there, you'll be able to note what your typical amount of physical activity is, how long you sit for, how many calories you burn in a typical day, and even whether you’re getting quality sleep.

Through a fitness tracker, you can see how much activity you typically do over the day or weeks and use this data to set realistic goals for your fitness journey.

2. Fitness trackers help you to hold yourself accountable.

Of course, wearing a tracker on your wrist doesn’t mean you’re automatically going to get fit without any hard work and effort. You need to be intentional and proactive about using your fitness tracker to help you with your physical health. What they will do is give you all the stats about your fitness right at your finger tips. There's no cheating a fitness tracker so you really have to get those steps in.

Fitness trackers can be synced to different devices which gives you the opportunity to access your daily progress and performance analysis on your phone or computer. My Misfit Ray features a smart button that is enabled to control connected household devices to record all of my movements for the day. One of my favorite things about my fitness tracker is that it tells me at any time in the day how much activity I need to do in order to meet my goal. For example, if I've reached 24 out of 600 points for the day, the tracker tells me that I need to complete one of the following in order to meet my goals: one hour of walking, 20 minutes or running or 30 minutes of swimming.

3. Fitness trackers keep you motivated.

Let’s be real, seeing your fitness stats improve in even the slightest way can feel like an accomplishment. While it's not the same as seeing chiseled abs, it means you're one step closest to accomplishing your goals. Whenever I meet a new goal on my Misfit, a new badge pops up on the app and it's that much more motivation to keep crushing my workouts or physical activity.

Over time, you’ll see more and more progress, and you’ll wonder why you didn’t get a fitness tracker sooner.

4. Fitness trackers help you to set your daily goals.

One of the most effective ways to use a fitness tracker is to leverage it to create realistic goals for yourself. The tracker will show you if you are meeting your goals, surpassing them, or coming up just a little short. For example, my daily goal is 600 points and 10,000 daily steps. If I haven't met that goal near the end of the day, I make sure to head out for a run or have a little dance party in my living room until I hit those numbers (yes, really). 

If training for a specific event is your primary goal, consider using a fitness tracker to help you achieve that. Whether it’s a 5K or a marathon, a fitness tracker will keep you on track and let you know if you’re reaching your goals or not. I personally have vibration alerts set up for for call and text notifications and movement reminders when I've been idle for more than an hour. 

You can even create micro-challenges for yourself to reach each day. For example, if you typically walk around 2,000 steps a day (about 1 mile), challenge yourself to increase your daily activity to 4,000 steps a day, and so forth. Every step really makes a difference and you'll see that it gets easier over time. 

5. Fitness trackers help you to share your experience with others.

Some people really enjoy working out on their own; for others, they prefer working out with friends or in a group setting. If you fall into that latter group, grab your closest friends or start up a challenge in the workplace about who can walk the most or have the most steps. There’s nothing as inspiring as being around people who share the same goals and aspirations as you. You can check in on each other to motivate one another as well. Make it about building a healthy community and atmosphere and you'll be shocked by how much you can all accomplish together!

6. Fitness trackers help you to optimize your workout.

If you notice that your routine isn’t giving you the results that you’re looking for, you’ll know that you need to intensify your workouts or make a change. Adapt your exercise rigor to increase your fitness level, and watch as the numbers on your fitness tracker start to increase as well!

7. Fitness trackers help to monitor your sleep.

Your initial intention with a fitness tracker might be to keep track of your physical activity, but you’ll find that some fitness trackers can even monitor restful sleep. Fitness trackers can record how long you've slept for as well as track sleep patterns throughout the night. If you’ve ever felt groggy in the morning, try checking your tracker to see if you've actually received a full night of sleep.

Are you planning on purchasing a fitness tracker soon? What fitness goals have you set for yourself?