The free fitness app Map My Walk motivates me to walk more

MapMyWalk

I used to wear a Fitbit clipped to my waistband every day to track my steps, but lately I use the free app Map My Walk on my phone to track my longer walks.  I love it.  It tracks my steps, calories burned, pace, elevation, duration of walk, and charts my walk on a map.  Workouts can be saved or posted on Facebook.  I am sure my friends like to see me hiking in Rocky Mountain National Park while they are at work!  It definitely motivates me to walk more.

 

Do Fitness Trackers Really Improve Your Health?

The devices aren’t terribly accurate, but that may be beside the point: getting you out and about

by Kaitlin Pitsker from Kiplinger’s Personal Finance

October, 2016

“Millions of Americans now wear fitness bands on their wrists to count their steps daily. Some employers are using fitness trackers to set goals—and rewards—for employees. Health and life insurers are offering premium discounts for wearing one. School systems are even using them to enable self-directed physical education programs.

How accurate are they? Fitness bands contain an accelerometer, which tracks movement in every direction to calculate the number of steps you’ve taken. But studies show that over the course of a day, many trackers have error rates of 10% to 20%. Tufts University’s Health & Nutrition Letter suggests you verify that your stride-length setting is correct by going to a track with the exact distance marked and counting your steps as you walk it. If you walk, say, 100 feet in 40 steps, divide 100 by 40. You have a stride length of about 2.5 feet.

fitness trackers
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Most fitness bands are on track when it comes to counting steps when you’re walking, running or climbing stairs—usually coming within 1% to 4% of your actual step count, says Alex Montoye, an assistant professor at Alma College who studies wearables. The devices are also good at not awarding credit for stationary activities with a lot of wrist movement, such as typing or shuffling papers.”  Read more

Those who wore fitness trackers significantly increased the time they spent doing moderate to vigorous activity.

I just joined SilverSneakers!

SilverSneakers

“Did you know… 1 out of 5 people 65 or older is eligible for a SilverSneakers membership!

If you’re a group retiree, or part of a Medicare Advantage or Medicare Supplement Health plan, you may already have a SilverSneakers membership. This active adult wellness program is offered to many Medicare plans across the nation. To find out if your health plan offers the SilverSneakers® Fitness program, visit their health plan locator.

Can’t find your health plan? Call your health plan’s customer service number and ask when it will add this valuable benefit.

Looking for more information on well-being? Visit Healthways FIT to seek expert advice on nutrition, fitness and stress management; watch exercise videos; and much more!

The program is at no cost to members!

See if you are eligible for SilverSneakers to get started today.”

Check Eligibility

SilverSneakers

I checked my eligibility and now I’m a member!  All I had to do was print out a card and take it to my community recreation center to register with them.  I can now access many of their fitness classes for FREE and I’m not even 65!  It was an easy process and only took a couple of minutes.

For more information check the www.silversneakers.com website.