At a young age, my parents instilled the importance of cultivating a healthy lifestyle. Our collective hobbies consist of cycling at East Coast Park and swimming in the nearby community pool. I do not mean to brag! You see, my mother works in the field of fitness. On the other hand, my father has prior experience in making workout programs for diverse body types.
My parents taught me that staying fit is not an easy task. This is why many Singaporeans seek motivation by hiring a professional trainer or by purchasing a fitness accessory. Fitness accessories include trackers, watches, bands, and so on. The goal of these accessories is to make your routine more exciting and more effective. During my exposure to these products, it made me wonder if investing one’s hard-earned money on fitness accessories is worth it.
To make a solid decision, you will have to consider various factors that interact in this situation. Start by determining what you need. When it comes to fitness accessories, a particular size does not fit all! Health-conscious individuals gravitate to either the smartphone apps and the wearable tech. Some wearable fitness accessories are created to capture the intricate details such as the heart rate, foot-ground contact time, and runner’s cadence. These details may not be accurately captured by a smartphone app alone. If you are placing more value on the functions then, you may consider purchasing a wearable tech.
Second, you must determine what you can realistically afford. A nice trick is to visualize the act of replacing your accessory every month or two. As you visualize this, think of an amount that you can easily work with if you are going through the constant replacement. Please do not spend more money than you can afford in a short-term basis.
Shelling out hundreds of dollars on wearable fitness accessories do not necessarily mean that you will get the best results. In a study published recently in the Journal of American Medical Association, researchers found that “smartphone apps could prove to be a more widely accessible and affordable way of tracking health behaviors”.
Image Credits: pixabay.com
I suggest that you test the waters first! Commit to a quality (yet free) smartphone app such as Moves, before you purchase an expensive activity tracker or a fitness band.
