One of the perks of living and working in Singapore is that hi-tech toys are always available. We know the true value of technology, and how they can make everything so much easier. And fitness bands are the epitome of truly useful gadgets. I usually employ the use of technology as a tool to help me, a personal trainer to facilitate my clients’ physical activity when I’m not with them 🙂

Fitness bands include Fitbit2, Gear Fit from Samsung, and Jawbone. They are truly comprehensive gadgets, as they keep track of the amount of steps we take and the number of miles we traveled, the calories we burn throughout the day, and even the quality of our sleep. When we use them properly, we are well on our way to becoming healthier so that we are no longer part of the obesity epidemic that’s currently sweeping the entire world.

Deciding to buy fitness bands is the first conscious step. Fitness bands like Jawbone are eminently affordable but they are not that cheap that you won’t notice the purchase. They represent a conscious decision to take health and fitness seriously, and they are an investment.

Once you put them on, you may want to keep them on, so that they serve as a constant reminder of your commitment to better health. You don’t even have to take them off when you take a shower, since Fitbit, Jawbone, and Gear Fit are all water resistant.

You should even wear them when you sleep. Not only do they serve as an alarm clock (they vibrate when they wake you up, which is a nicer way to start the day than an insistent grating alarm), but they even monitor the quality of your sleep. They note how many times you wake up, and how many hours you actually sleep.

They provide accurate records of your physical fitness patterns. It’s one thing to say that you are active, but it’s another matter when you have the records to prove it. With the fitness band, you actually have documentation of how many miles and steps you’ve traveled during the day. You know how many calories you burned.

These records can then provide the baseline for your physical fitness efforts. If you want to lose weight and be healthier, then you need to move around more so you burn off more calories and you use your muscles. The records tell you how much more each day you can improve. You can and should start improving your activity by modest margins such as by 5% or 10%.

With the information regarding the amount of calories you burn, you can then make sure that your diet plan allows you enough energy to burn. At the same time, your body can then start burning off the fat stores you have in you so that you become leaner.

Even your sleep should be improved as well. You need good sleep every night to become and remain healthy. If your fitness band tells you that your sleep is off, you may examination your sleeping patterns more carefully. You should cut down your caffeine and alcohol consumption, and make sure that you don’t have bright lights and noises bothering you.

Fitness band enable you to be part of the fitness community. While in a basic sense just wearing a fitness band already makes you part of the fitness community—others will know that you take your health seriously—with some fitness bands it’s much more than that.

Fitbit, for example, has social features. You can add friends and other Fitbit users to a leaderboard so you know how you rank against them. This can help you become more motivated. At the same time, you can help others and receive help in return. You can send messages that offer encouragement to one another.

You can even be part of online communities where you can associate with people with similar interests and fitness levels. So if you are on the chubby side, you can hang out with people who have the same problems and goals as you do. These people will understand your situation much better because they’re on the same boat.

But it’s more accurate to say that we’re all on the same boat. We all want to be healthier. And with fitness bands, we make the journey more effective and efficient.

Yours in health,

Coach Sharm, Personal Trainer, MSc
sharm@teamfitnessguru.com