Living Outside The Lines: Fitness Watches – Fad Or Forever?

The thrill of getting back from a morning run and seeing the notification, “Becky, you’ve achieved your work out goal for the day” before I am even showered and dressed for work is invigorating!!

Becky J Miller | Exclusive to Corridor News

Fitbit, Apple Watch and Garmin are three of the most recognized brands in fitness watches. The Fitbit Ultra was introduced in October 2011 with the Jawbone UP hitting the market shortly thereafter in November of the same year. Hoping for their own slice of the pie other companies such as Nike, Sony, Pebble, Google, Samsung, Motorola, LG and Apple all introduced their versions of the personal fitness tracker.

In 2011, Fitbit sold 208,000 devices. By 2019, the entire global wearables market is expected to reach 148 million units shipped annually, up from 33 million units in 2015. While Apple watch showed up somewhat late to the party, it is credited with kick-starting the overall market growth.

Generally speaking, manufacturers of fitness trackers have a target audience; those individuals interested in health and exercise, and this is where the train begins to derail. Seven years after the craze began, I’ve officially joined, but back in 2011, I honestly didn’t understand the hype.

As a young teenager I made a conscious decision to take care of myself via diet and exercise. Although you won’t find me on the cover of Fitness Magazine, at 50 years old and still able to shop in the junior’s clothing section, I’d say I accomplished my goal.

My running career began in 2009 and gasp! I did it without a fitness watch. I remember when the madness began, and everyone was talking about how many steps they’d taken that day. My first thought was, “Where is the baseline; how do you know when you’ve actually made an improvement.” To go from not knowing the number of steps in a day to, “Yay, I hit 2000 steps” means what exactly?

Improvements in my running were marked by how much time it took me to complete the same distance. If time elapsed diminished, that equaled progress. A friend bought me a digital watch with a timer to use for running. It served me well until I graduated to a Garmin.

The Garmin was only used for running. Unlike the digital watch, my Garmin recorded pace per minute, also a great tool for progress measurement. As the Garmin neared retirement age, I began to contemplate an upgrade. Apple watch’s price tag was a definite deterrent. I liked the idea of being able to monitor my fitness 24/7, but not at the Apple cost.

When my every day watch died, the decision was made. I could purchase two watches; a new Garmin for running along with a regular watch for daily wear, or for about the same cost upgrade to an Apple watch. #bestdecisionever

As a fussy firstborn with competitive tendencies, the Apple watch pushes me to exercise even more. The thrill of getting back from a morning run and seeing the notification, “Becky, you’ve achieved your work out goal for the day” before I am even showered and dressed for work is invigorating!!

I find myself volunteering for just about anything that includes additional movement simply so I can surpass the daily goals on my fitness tracker, even when I’ve already completed my formal exercise for the day. Need me to swing by the mailroom? No problem. Forgot something upstairs? I’ve got it! Bathroom closed for cleaning? No worries, I can walk to a different building.

For individuals serious about exercise, fitness trackers are a great source of information, but for those with no formal workout routine, I predict them a temporary fad or little more than an expensive timepiece. #Imayhaveacrystalball

Until Next Time,
Becky J Miller
“Warrior Princess”

Becky J Miller is a contributor and is exclusive to SM Corridor News. You can read more of Becky’s columns in Lifestyle.