Father’s Day is just around the corner – and if you’re looking for a great gift for the outdoorsman, athlete, or any dad with fitness goals, the Vivofit Fitness Tracker is a nice choice. Fitness trackers have been getting a lot of attention lately as a good way to both keep track of your progress and inspire your workouts. Jai and I have both been working our way towards more and more of our fitness goals in the last few years, and one of the things he loves to do is go jogging. There is an Android app that he used in the past for recording his progress running, but now that he has an iPhone, he can’t use it anymore. He’s been looking for a replacement for some time now, so I was curious to see what Vivofit had to offer!
Garmin’s Vivofit Fitness Tracker is worn around the wrist like a watch, and can be used to display time, the number of steps you’ve taken today, how far you’ve walked, and how many calories you’ve burned. Paired with their Garmin Connect website, the Vivofit generates customized fitness goals for you, so you can glance down at any time to see how far away you are from the day’s goals. What’s more, the fitness band detects when you have been inactive for an hour or longer and displays a red bar, which is your reminder to get up and move; the bar grows the longer you sit. As people with desk jobs, this made both Jai and I nervous. 😉
But the Vivofit isn’t just an exercise tool, it’s an all-around health monitor. The Vivofit Bundle comes with a heart rate monitor that you strap around your chest and pair with the band; you can also report your bedtime and wake time on Garmin Connect to keep track of how much sleep you’re getting. “Sleep mode” also ensures that the red bar is turned off during that time! The sleep tracking is purely self-reported; it does not track motion to gauge sleep quality. The Garmin Connect reports show you the number of steps taken, but it does not record information specific to running, such as distance, time, or location.
The Vivofit Fitness Tracker is water-resistant, so Jai was able to wear it with confidence down to the beach for a jog; you can even wear it in the shower. That, coupled with a battery that is meant to last for a year, means that you can effectively wear it all the time for a more accurate picture of how much exercise and rest you’re getting every day.
The fashion-minded can also buy extra Vivofit Bands to jazz up the tracker and coordinate with your outfits!
Yesterday night, I did hear Jai saying, “Oh, I have to walk around the house to meet my step goal for the day!” – so I do think it encourages you to be that much more active! In all, I’d say this is a great starter fitness tracker for any person who wants a way to record their progress as they go through their daily activities.
The Vivofit Fitness Tracker retails for $129.99 by itself and $169.99 when bundled with the heart rate monitor. Get one just in time for Father’s Day by visiting Garmin.com!