Post date: May 13, 2017 4:17:12 AM

Spring into Fitness with Mobile Devices and Apps

There are signs of spring everywhere: the birds are chirping, flowers are blooming, trees are filling in, and people are hitting the Cedar Valley Nature trails, walking or jogging. Many of those folks are wearing a Fitbit or other device to track their progress, as wearable technology becomes mainstream: these devices come with an astonishing array of features and price points. If you want to track your steps and trade in that old-fashioned pedometer for something fancier, what should you do? Let’s look at some options.

Many of you would head for the store and buy a Fitbit. Fitbit remains the dominant company in wearable technology, according to experts; however, they have lost market share over the past year. They still managed to ship over 6.5 million units in the last quarter of 2016, and if you have been looking at them online or in the stores, there is a wide range of models and prices from $59 to $250 or more. Not surprisingly, there are competitors, including Apple, Garmin and Samsung who offer smart watches and activity trackers. You may not have heard of the Chinese company Xiaomi but their Mi Band 2 sells for around $23, a fraction of the cost of the other brands, and the company sold over 20 million trackers last year.

At the same time, smart phones are changing the way people do everything from communicating with family and friends via text, calls, and social media to managing calendars and finding products or services. Pew Internet reports that as of January 2017, an average of 77 percent of adults have smartphones; however, breaking that down into age categories is more revealing, with 92 percent of those 18 to 29 having a smartphone and 88 percent of those 30 to 49 having a smartphone. In contrast, only 74 percent of those 50 to 64 have smartphones. So, the majority of adults already have a mobile device—do you need another one?

Many people have discovered the simple tools built into our Apple and Android phones that can help us reach our fitness goals. There are hundreds of apps that turn your phone into a fitness device. Check PC magazine’s recent article, which lists health and fitness apps: in addition, www.appannie.com lets you search for apps.

Now there is research to support using your smartphone to get fit! An article from Berkeley Wellness reported on a study that compared activity trackers and smartphone apps. While it was a small study, it has generated a lot of attention. They asked a group of participants to use a treadmill to walk 500 steps and then 1,500 steps multiple times, while wearing a variety of devices, including:

• “On the waistband: one pedometer and two accelerometers

• On the wrists: three fitness trackers

• In one pants pocket: a smartphone (Apple iPhone 5s) simultaneously running three step-tracking applications (Fitbit, Health Mate, and Moves)

• In the other pants pocket: a smartphone (Samsung Galaxy S4) running one step-tracking application (Moves).”

The researchers compared the data from the various devices and noted that the smartphone readings were only “slightly different—either higher or lower—from observed step counts, while fitness trackers differed more from observed counts.” Several experts point out that the position of a device makes a big difference in accuracy, and that the preferred position seems to be on the waistband or in a pocket as opposed to the wrist.

If you already have a smartphone, and don't want to buy another device, here is how my husband Mike and I use our iPhones to monitor our steps. We purchased belt clips when we bought our phones. Otter box makes them: you can find them on Amazon for about $17. The clip snaps over your phone case., letting you attach it to a belt or pocket. Then use the built-in Health app, free Pedometer app, and Map my Walk app.

Pedometer is easy to use: it measures your steps and uses color coded bars, with orange for under 10,000 and green when you reach 10,000 steps. It also tells you how many miles you have walked, and how many floors you have climbed. You can send the results to yourself in email, text, add them to the built-in notes app or post them on social media. So, it lets you see your progress and motivates you to do it again the next day. The icon is green with a stick figure person walking on it.

Map my walk is a great app for measuring miles walked; there is a related app, Map my ride, for bike rides. The icon for Map my walk is purple with a stick figure walking; Map my ride is red with a stick person riding a bike. These apps are free from the app store.

Health is an app built-into the iPhone and shows you your average steps by week, month, or year, as well as other information related to activity, nutrition, mindfulness, and sleep. The app’s icon is a simple heart on a white background

As it turns out, Fitbit also makes an app that does not require a device other than your smartphone: it is a free download. The app is aqua with a collection of white dots that forms a square tilted on an angle. It records your steps for the day, week and reminds you to aim for 10,000 steps a day.

I downloaded the Fitbit app and was curious about the ability of all of the apps to measure my steps: I took a walk, did a workout, went shopping, and for most of the time had my phone on the belt clip on a pocket or inside a pocket at my waist. At the end of the day, the Health app recorded 10,110 steps while the Pedometer app measured 10,399 steps, and Fitbit only recorded 9,811—so I walked around the house until the Fitbit reached 10,000! This morning, it reports that I walked 10,110 steps yesterday. So you may find some variation in your results.

After using your smartphone and these fitness apps, you may still decide to get a Fitbit or other smart watch or device. However, many of you will find your smartphone and apps more than enough great tools to get fit. So, grab your smartphone and get out there and enjoy the trails! And did you know there is now a mobile app that helps you find and enjoy those trails anywhere you go? It is called Trail Link and it searches for nearby trails, telling you the length of the trail as well as identifying its surface (Asphalt, Concrete, Dirt, Gravel). You can find it at the App store or Google Play.

Sidebar

http://www.berkeleywellness.com/fitness/active-lifestyle/article/fitness-trackers-vs-smartphone-apps

Fitness trackers vs smartphone apps.

https://www.androidheadlines.com/2017/03/fitbit-hangs-1-wearables-market-share-q4-2016.html

Fitbit Hangs on to #1 in Wearables Market Share for Q4 2016 by Alexander Maxham. March 2, 2017.

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2485287,00.asp

List of the top fitness apps

https://www.appannie.com/en/apps/ios/top/united-states/health-and-fitness/iphone/

List of health and fitness apps, free and paid

https://www.traillink.com/mobile-apps/

Find Trails Near You (For Apple and Android alike)