Check It Out!

Can you exercise and loose weight without spending any money on gadgets, equipment, and supplements...YEP! Is it more fun to have some of those things...YEP!

So here are a few of my favorite gadgets for tracking exercise and personal stats.

Microsoft Band- I wanted something to help track calories burned, running stats, biking stats, and heart rate. There are a lot of options out there and it can be overwhelming. I've had a fitbit before, and folks if you are fitbit freaks, please don't hate me, but they are HUGELY inaccurate. There is actually an open lawsuit right now, because of their inflated step tracking and other inaccurate tracking. I also didn't want something that required a separate heart monitor to be worn in order to track heart rate. So that leaves you a few options and of those the best, in my opinion, is the Microsoft Band. It's capabilities are really amazing. It has all the functions of a smart watch (think Apple Watches) text messaging, phone call, weather, facebook, clocks, calendars ect. In addition, it has amazing exercise tracking capabilities. It has a heart rate monitor built in, pedometer, UV sensor, GPS, sleep tracking that enters sleep mode automatically. It has lots of sport tracking, running, biking, golfing, and a workout routine that you can select a program and the watch will alert you through different sets of exercises. (ie sets of jumping jacks, sit ups, push ups ect.) It has a weight loss tile that tracks BMI and displays rate of loss or gain in a very helpful manner. I could really go on and on about the Microsoft Band. I've had it now for almost 3 months and love it! It ranges between $200-$250 and has a battery life (depending on usage) of about 36 hours.

Biking- If you are doing a lot of miles or getting ready to do a race there are a couple things I would recommend getting for your bike. I really felt intimidated by the clip in pedals and the cleat shoes. My husband has had some pretty bad wrecks when he was first getting used to them and my biking skills are already pretty lacking. So I had some reservations, but finally got talked into getting some. The shoes are pretty comfortable and actually clipping in is just a matter of pressure and sliding your foot into the peddle. The hard part is stopping. You have to remember to clip out, by flicking your heel away from the bike and lifting up. It takes a little practice to get it down. You will see an immediate change in your pace and stamina after using clip in pedals. It uses more muscle groups which helps not fatigue your legs as quickly. You are also apply power on the up stroke instead of just on the down stroke. This really makes a difference in triathlon training. Conserving as much energy on the bike so that you can get through the run is vital and the clip in pedals really help with that.
The other thing that I feel really helps you improve your time and cadence on the bike is a pedal tracker. If you are only riding outside you can get away with a GPS tracker like on the Microsoft Band. However, living in Utah only gives me a few months of outside riding and the rest of the time I'm on a stationary. So I really wanted something that would track my mileage. The tracker is magnetic and just clips to the pedal and the bike fork. Every time the pedal passes by it triggers it and does lots of math really quick to give you stats of mileage, cadence, and speed. Really helpful when you are focusing on training for a race and they can range anywhere from $30 for a basic version to hundreds of dollars for very fancy ones. I have a $30 my husband has an expensive one. I'd say you are fine to go cheap on this. Below on the red bike is my husband's fancy tracker and on the right are my clip in shoes (not a very good pic sorry).

Running- You may be asking yourself how many gadgets could be involved with running. Well, I have a few must haves when it comes to running. When I was training for my half marathon I was running about 25 miles a week. You figure out all the dos and don'ts when you are running that much. Number one on my list isn't a huge surprise... SHOES! Seriously, don't mess around with the shoes. If you didn't spend at least $65 on the shoes they are going to wear out and cause you feet and shin problems. I'm not super brand loyal, although my favorite are Nike, but I have tried to go cheap and always regretted it. I started the $65 rule years ago and haven't ever had a bad pair of shoes since. My Nike's usually last me around 1000+ miles. After that you start to loose support, the side walls start to get thin, and you may even begin to feel pain in your feet or shins after long runs. I don't throw the shoes away, I just don't use them for running anymore. I've had 2 pairs in the last 4 years and I'm getting new ones for my birthday in a couple weeks. Aside from the shoes I recommend a GPS tracker like the Microsoft Band. Most treadmills are calibrated inaccurately and if you are on gym equipment you are going to get really inconsistent stats. When I got my Microsoft Band and started to compare it to my treadmill's stats I was shocked at the differences. The treadmill's distance tracker is really slow and the calorie burn is way too high. I wasn't running a lot further than I thought I was and burning less calories than I thought I was. So don't trust the treadmill stats. Lastly I always run in a tight clothing, tank top, really great sports bra, and high ankle socks. Most of the clothing is preference thing, but I will say buy some running specific socks. You'll be glad you did!