Having a goal to finally get in shape and having a body that just might look fine when you get to the beach and take off that t-shirt of yours, is not unique. In fact, it’s probably on a lot of people’s minds as the winter and springtime months have passed.

But you know exercise, the right kind of exercise needs to be a part of your new lifestyle now. And hopefully, it will continue to be a part of your life for years to come. After all, staying in shape is a lot easier than working hard to lose those extra pounds and increase your energy levels so that you can do a lot more things easier than you can do now, with all that extra poundage you’re carrying around.

So, what do you do? How to help you help yourself is not rocket science anymore. Here are a few recommendations on what you can do to help you both look fit and have that toned body you’ve thought about for a while now.

Head into the great outdoors. Walking and biking outside are great ways to get fit during the summer. Enjoy the fresh air, the quietude, and the simplicity of communing with nature. Lose yourself on a mountain path or a hiking trail. Visit your local public park for hiking and biking opportunities. Or if you live in a rural area, all the better. Get out and check out those mountain trails and enjoy the venue that “Mother Nature” sculpted for you. It’s an ever-changing view that you won’t ever see, within the walls of a gym!

Go running. Running is a low-cost exercise that can get you fit quickly. All you need is a comfortable, well-fitting pair of running shoes and your legs to take you wherever you want to run. You could run along a natural trail, on a community track, or on a treadmill.

Start by walking for about 5 minutes to stretch and warm up your leg muscles. Start at a time or distance you feel comfortable with. For instance, you might start out by running 10 minutes each day. Add minutes or distance every few days to continue building your running endurance and strength.

When you’re close to finishing your run, sprint hard for about 30 to 60 seconds. If you do this before ending your run every time, you’ll be able to build speed as well as endurance during your runs. When you’re done running, walk around for about 5 minutes to cool down.

Hit the gym. Working out at the gym offers tons of options and possibilities for getting fit. Try a variety of exercises and focus on the ones you like best. We mentioned above about using the great outdoors for your aerobic exercises, but strength training rounds out the whole physical fitness experience for you. Strength training builds muscles and helps with toning your core as well. Creating the right balance between cardio and strength training can help you achieve that body you want, sooner rather than later.

Cardio (or aerobic) workouts involve working the heart in whole-body exercises like biking, running, jumping rope, or walking.

Strength Training can include “Resistance” workouts like bench presses, push-ups, pull-ups, chin-ups, sit-ups, lunges, and squats. These are the best exercises for building muscle. Switchback and forth between cardio and resistance exercises. For instance, run for 30 minutes, then do 30 pushups. If you're unfamiliar with gym equipment or certain exercises, ask the staff for assistance. For an added cost, many gyms also offer personal trainers to help you develop a routine that works for you.

Start small: It’s best to start small when getting fit. For instance, start out by walking or running 2 miles (3.2 km) each day, depending on your current physical fitness level. After you can easily do 2 miles (3.2 km), start doing 2.5 miles (4.0 km). Increase your distance to 3 miles (4.8 km) after another week. Continue adding distance until you feel you’re working out at your maximum capability.

Measuring your new activity is important because the goals you set for yourself need to be tracked. After all, how do you know for sure just how well you’re doing every day, each week, each month? Using an activity monitoring device, such as the Fitbit Inspire HR Fitness Tracker with Heart Rate  activity monitor can be the best way you can hold yourself accountable so that you can not only meet your goals but surpass them!

Inside the device are an accelerometer, optical heart-rate monitor, and vibration motor. The former two sensors allow the device to track steps, distance, calories, activities, and sleep, while the latter is used for smartphone alerts. Notification vibrations are strong enough to alert you to a new message but not so strong that they'll startle you. The heart-rate monitor keeps track of your pulse continuously, taking and storing measurements every five seconds, or every second during exercise tracking.

The Inspire HR is swim-proof up to 50 meters, and it will track swim exercises. Even if you don't swim regularly, the device's water resistance should protect it from accidental drops in the sink or if you forget to take it off before showering.

It's comfortable to wear all day and all night while using the new touchscreen and single side button for navigation, makes it easy to move from screen to screen.

So, how about it? You started off saying you finally are making the commitment to get yourself, your body in better shape, right? Isn’t the Fitbit Inspire,  just the activity tracker you need to help accomplish your goals?

When the time comes and you walk out on that beech, and your shirt comes off, “You” might find it hard to keep that smile off of your face because you know you have nothing to be ashamed of! After all, you’ve worked at it, right? No, well maybe its time you need to.

After all, you’re not getting any older and the longer you wait, the harder it's going to be to try and get that 6-pack look you're trying for, and we both know its not a 6-pack that you pick up at your favorite store.

See you on the beach, your comrades here at HeartRateMonitorsUSA.com!

If you're excited about upping your running game for 2019 then you need to know your pushing yourself to your maximum. In order to do this right, you need a good fitness tracker. The Garmin Forerunner 935  is one tracker that will go the distance for you, and then some! The Garmin 935 is the ultimate tool for dedicated runners everywhere. Whether you are a triathlete or trail runner, you cannot pass up on the Forerunner 935xt. Super concise data is a runner's best friend and with the Forerunner 935, you'll have all of the data you need. Multi-Sport dynamics (running, swimming, and cycling), VO2 Max, wrist-based heart rate, recovery time, race predictor, and more. The 935 also offers you more ways than ever to store and track your data. Use automatic uploads to Garmin Connect, or use “Strava” live segments to turn every run into a virtual race. The 935 is truly the most powerful Forerunner ever.

Thanks to its impressive array of sensors, the watch offers sophisticated insights into your training status, telling you whether it’s a good idea to train or not. When used with a compatible Running Dynamics Pod (or an HRM-Run or HRM-Tri heart-rate monitor), it also delivers advanced metrics such as ground contact time, balance, stride length and vertical ratio that can help you to better understand your running technique.
The Forerunner 935 also does a great job of tracking your everyday activity.

Design and features:
The Forerunner 935 is a sports tracker first and foremost, so its looks are unlikely to wow you. However, its black casing is subtle and inoffensive enough to wear when you’re not training, and it’s compatible with Garmin’s QuickFit 22 bands, so you can swap the plain silicone band for something fancier if you prefer.

The Forerunner 935’s traditional five-button running-watch design works well for navigating its many menus and allows easy control of the watch during activities. Touchscreens and scrolling knobs are fun, but when you’re sweaty nothing beats a physical button for precise control.

One advantage the Forerunner 935 has over rugged watches such as the Fenix 5 Plus is that its plastic design helps it to be lightweight. At 49g, it’s some 37g lighter than its stablemate. And despite this, it packs plenty into its design. There’s GPS, GLONASS, Garmin’s Elevate optical heart-rate monitor, a barometric altimeter, accelerometer, compass, gyroscope, and thermometer.

It’s waterproof (5ATM), and while its 30.5mm display doesn’t dazzle compared to those on smartwatches like the Apple Watch or Fitbit Ionic, it’s always easy to read and only becomes more so in bright sunlight.

Battery life is listed as 24 hours for GPS use, which can be extended to 60 hours with Garmin’s UltraTrac mode. This mode isn’t as accurate because it takes readings less frequently, but it’s a handy feature for ultramarathon fans seeking the ultimate in longevity. In general, I achieved around two weeks of use from the Forerunner 935, even when logging outdoor activities most days, which is terrific. The Forerunner tracks a huge variety of sports, but its running mode is the most feature-rich. I’ve used it through two marathon training cycles and, well, it’s just phenomenal. Hit the Run button and it quickly locks on to GPS plus any sensors you have nearby (including running pods such as Stryd. In my 18 months of using it, the longest I’ve waited for a GPS fix is 60 seconds, and usually, it locks on in less than ten seconds.

Distance and heart-rate tracking are both accurate and I’d say the latter in particular stands out on the Forerunner 935. Wrist-based optical sensors are never totally dependable, but the Forerunner 935’s is reliable enough that you don’t need to use a chest strap, even if you’re following a workout based entirely on heart rate.

You can create such a workout or, indeed, one based on time, distance or pace in Garmin Connect and beam it over to the watch wirelessly. There’s also a simple Intervals mode you can set up on the watch itself. Trainers agree that Garmin is leading the way when it comes to making it easy to create and follow workouts on the wrist, which is a key feature for keen amateurs and pros alike. A host of features kick in after you finish running, starting with an estimate of how many hours of recovery you need. You’ll also be advised on the effect of your session in terms of aerobic and anaerobic benefit, the former marking improvements in your general cardiovascular fitness and the latter your ability to run at speed for longer.

You can also monitor your overall training load and whether a workout is effective in improving your fitness in terms of your VO2 max, which is also measured by the watch. Push too hard too often and you’ll be told you’re “Overreaching” in a counterproductive fashion, risking injury without actually benefiting your fitness.

Ideally, you’re aiming for “Productive” or, if you’re about to race, “Peaking”, which suggests you’ve reduced your training load in a smart way to smash your PB. The Forerunner 935 estimates your times for a 5K, 10K, half marathon and marathon based on your VO2 max.

Activity and other sports tracking
Most of the other sports modes on the Forerunner 935 work in a similar fashion to the running mode, measuring distance, pace/speed, and duration of your workout while adding in a few sport-specific stats such as stroke rate in the case of swimming. They all feed into your overall training load too. This is a triathlon watch, so unlike many GPS wearables, there is an open-water mode, plus a few different multisport options including swim/run and duathlon.
The performance of the Forerunner is impressive across all of these sports, with accurate heart-rate and distance tracking, although it won’t attempt to track heart rate when swimming. Many other trackers try this with mixed results, but if you need these insights you’ll need to link to a swim-specific heart-rate monitor like Garmin’s HRM-Swim.

The Forerunner 935 tracks your everyday activity, recording steps, floors climbed, resting and active calories, active minutes (over the course of a week) and even your stress level, which is based on heart-rate variability. The steps target adjusts automatically based on past activity based on its on-going assessment of the data it accumulates.

Heart rate is tracked 24/7 and you’ll get an estimate of your resting heart rate each day, so you can monitor this over time to see if you’re getting fitter – the number going down is a good sign. Sleep is recorded and the Forerunner 935 has Garmin’s advanced sleep-monitoring features, using heart-rate variability among other info to provide a more detailed picture of your night’s rest. Along with total duration, it will tell you the time spent in light, deep and REM sleep, and also depict your movements through the night.

All this information is engagingly presented in the Garmin Connect app. Small tiles on the home page show key data, and tapping these tiles gives you more in-depth data into trends over recent weeks and months. On the watch itself, you can scroll through widgets that show your everyday stats and also set up alerts to move if you’ve been sedentary for too long. Everyday tracking is not what the Forerunner 935 is primarily designed for, but it does it well.

So the results are in and the verdict is that the Garmin Forerunner 935  is a five-star multisport watch that blows everything else in its price range out of the water. As well as offering in-depth insights into running, swimming and cycling, it’s an everyday activity tracker that’s lightweight and comfortable enough to wear, ALL the time!

Well, it’s happened, that ball has dropped in New York City, the Champaign bottles have opened with a “Pop”! People all over have broken into song singing “Auld Lang Syne”. We say goodbye to 2018 and hello to 2019. Quite a few of us have made those New Year Resolutions, some will be kept, some will be shrugged off as just something they need to work towards and by the end of January, those resolutions are just a faded memory.

But for some of us, and we hope your part of that group, that have made the resolution to get in better shape this year. After all, with every passing December 31st, we are all getting a little older and we are beginning to realize that if we want to act and move as we currently are, and not be sidelined as we get older, then we need to do something about it NOW!

Beginning on January 2, 2019, without a doubt, the local gyms will be packed with people energetically working toward their New Year’s resolutions. But by week two or even three, those energetic people will be absent from those gyms and may be found having a latte or even sleeping in late and forgetting their pledge to be more active.

Big goals fail because everybody comes in gung-ho. They say I’m going to lose 30 pounds in a month. They go hard for the first 2-3 weeks, then they burn out. Why, because those gung-ho participants lose the zeal of continuously adopting an exercise routine that’s realistic because they've spent their enthusiasm on the short goals and have burned out because of it. Those who get into a fitness regimen as a new year's goal, realize that it’s for the long haul if they approach it from a realistic view. Research has found that you need to gradually get into a routine to be successful in your fitness goals. It's a given that it takes about 21 days, (3 weeks) to maintain a “new” habit. If you can make it through that duration, then you have a very good chance of making that new resolution, part of your daily lifestyle.

Sometimes one of the ways those whose goal is to lose weight end up failing, because losing the weight is their primary focus. Those who really pay attention to structured weight loss, and basically what the body’s weight is made up of using the “Tanita scale” One such scale that performs this function is the Fitbit Aria 2 Wi-Fi Smart Scale  By measuring the Bioelectrical impedance analysis, which is the method that Tanita scales utilize to measure body fat. These devices work by measuring the resistance of a small, water-conducted electrical signal that is sent through the body. The more muscle mass an individual has, the more water their body holds and the easier the signal is conducted. If a person has more fat, the signal will face greater resistance and the calculation of body fat percentage will be higher. By tracking the readings these scales provide you can determine body fat percentage, bone mass, muscle mass, and fluid retention to determine each person’s metabolic age.

For example, if you’re 35, you might have a metabolic age of 45. That might be a sticking factor for people and so can cause a problem in allowing them to lose significant amounts of weight. Working to get your body fat in line with your bone mass, muscle mass and your fluid retention will better enable you to have your body be consistent with your overall metabolic age, or at least as close as it can be. Remember, the real reward is taking that first step. You can do all the talking in the world. We can motivate you all day. But the first step is with each person, getting off the couch and beginning!
Knowing what your BMI is important, so you know what you need to work towards. Keep in mind that each person, (YOU) are unique, as such we all have “gray” areas that could skew the predetermined perfect BMI and you need to keep in mind any special body specific characteristics that could make your achieving that perfect BMI for your age difficult, if not impossible to achieve. So please consult with your physician, since he/she will know your case history and can provide you with the correct BMI you should be aiming at.

To calculate your BMI, multiply your height in inches times your height in inches. Then, divide your weight by that number. Finally, multiply that result by 705.

People with a BMI of 25 or above are considered at higher risk for many health issues. Note: There are many good BMI calculators available on the internet, simply do a search for them and you can easily find out what the recommended BMI should be for your weight and height. Again, we strongly recommend you consult with your physician prior to embarking on a well planned out work out regimen in order to reduce your weight, fluid retention and body fat.

There will be more posts on BMI and the best ways to help reduce those numbers in future blog posts from your companions in maintaining a fitter, healthier lifestyle, at HeartRateMonitorsUSA.com.

Nows the time to gear up for 2019 and for future years to come!

Than Your Fitness Watch Should Be ON Your Wrist, NOT Left In A Drawer!

I know, most everyone from time to time has tried to get on the fitness treadmill. But there always seems to be something that takes you off that healthy track and into the “Jungle of Guilt” where you’ve labored for a while, even though your intentions were good, you slipped over to the “Dark Side” of eating those “Fatty Foods” again and seeing yourself entering the movie theater instead of going inside your gym.

Some of us have used incentives to motivate ourselves into getting healthy by purchasing the latest and greatest fitness watch, aka… Activity Monitor. Sure, you made sure it has all the bells and whistles, even has a heart rate monitor too, cause you’re gonna make sure you're working out to your fullest.

But you soon find out that even the best fitness monitors are like gym memberships. In the beginning, their shiny, new and you like showing it off as you work out, especially when you're amongst your fellow “Grunters and Sweaters” at the gym. Then, three months later you find that the novelty wears off and you realize that you haven't developed the body of a chiseled athlete and bit by bit you're visits to the gym are getting less frequent.

Well, you’re not alone, there are stats out there that show that most people, who make the purchase of an activity monitor whether it be a Gamin, or a Fitbit,  or some other popular fitness device, actually stop using them within the first 6 months!

So, how do you fix it so that you’re not one of the fitness wannabe’s out there that has their fitness watch laying alongside their old Timex? The answer is really simple. It’s all about what you want and your commitment to getting there. You need to approach your new fitness tracker, no matter the brand, (Naturally we like the two Brands we’ve spotlighted named above) with the right mindset!

Remember, just because you've strapped a tracker onto your wrist, doesn't mean you're going to get fit. What you've got here is a tool, and if used correctly, it can be a great, even life changing tool to aid you in staying motivated.

But if you asked us for our own personal favorite, we think the Garmin Forerunner 920XT Multisport GPS Watch  fits our purpose, quite nicely. It’s a multi-function activity tracker, so whether you run, bike, walk, jog or even swim laps or take a dive out in the ocean. This activity tracker does just what it says it will do. Track your Activity, period! It also monitors your running dynamics, which includes tracking your cadence, vertical oscillation and ground contact time. Yep, we are talking an advance tool but also one that can easily be worn during your workday, or social outing because it looks great on your wrist!

But this activity watch, like any other tracking device, Is NOT a replacement for your own desire to succeed. You may have been thinking about getting in shape for months or even years but you simply did nothing about it. You may have even made multiple attempts before this to get in shape, even purchasing other exercise devices to help get you there. Just like the rowing machine, set of free weights or that yoga mat you bought, but the reality is, if you don't interact with it and use it, it won't help! If you accept from the outset that the hard work and a lifestyle change is still down to you, you'll have more success.

Most fitness trackers come with preset step goals. Your current lifestyle might mean you can hit these targets with ease. But we all know doing what you've always done isn't going to bring about the change you're looking for. Use the tracker for a week and see how you compare and then change the targets to be more demanding.

At the same time make a list of the times during your day when you realistically have the opportunity to add in more steps. This will help you understand where you might need to make bigger changes for greater impact.

Challenge yourself or Ramp up your daily activities. Once you've made your list, it's time to work out how to change your behavior. One big problem with fitness trackers is that they'll sit there recording what you do all day but won't actually have any effect on your daily habits. One way to change that is to create micro targets during the day. Walk more steps on the way to work or at lunch.
Challenge yourself to walk at least 100 steps per hour. These small targets and goals help you focus during the day rather than just drifting to the an-end-of-day total.
In order to boost fitness and stay healthy, it's important to avoid being sedentary for long periods of time. Worse than that, sitting for long periods of time can actually increase your risk of heart disease, diabetes and certain types of cancer. So if you’re like a lot of us, you spend your days sitting at a desk only getting up for lunch and the occasional coffee or heaven forbid a soda, diet or regular,  please note, both are NOT good for you, so, this is one habit to change.

Moving for five minutes every hour has been proven to aid overall wellbeing and fend off some of the bad habits mentioned above. Many of the latest fitness trackers including those from Garmin and Fitbit come with handy reminders. Make sure these are set to on and don't ignore them. Use your hourly strolls away from your desk as an excuse to go get a drink of water for a healthy double dose of good.

The bottom line on all of this is, the activity monitor of your choice, (we’ve picked our favorite lines above) are meant to make you aware of your progress, or lack thereof, in order for you to improve your health. But you need to accept the fact that you are responsible for YOU.

At HeartRateMonitorsUSA.com, we are here for you to help you achieve a life goal of being healthy. Feel free to send us an email, to let us know we are helping you in changing up your lifestyle habits. We hope WE ARE!

Your friends in attaining good health. The staff here at HeartRateMonitorsUSA.com.

While Monitoring Your Activity And Your Heart Rate With Fitbit

You're into either getting yourself in shape or keeping yourself there. And we congratulate you on the commitment you made to yourself and probably your family as well. After all, they want you around for many years to come right?

In keeping yourself moving and toning your body, if you’re a friend of both our online store, HeartRateMonitorsUSA.com and this blog, then you know we are all about getting America healthy! And we try to offer the latest and greatest in proven health-related products that will help you reach, maintain, and surpass your goals.

When we see a great offer we try to pass it along using as many resources as we can. This is why we are using this blog post to help you save some money while purchasing a great fitness product that can do all that we mentioned above.

It’s a Great deal on the Fitbit Alta Alta HR,  Using the "PurePulse" heart rate feature, in a slim, stylish wristband so you can better track your calorie burn, gauge exercise intensity, and see your resting heart rate trends. Then their’s the Regular Fitbit Alta, 

Both of these Activity Monitors will watch every step you take, all day long! While keeping track of the calories you're burning as you put yourself through your exercise routines and also your day to day lifestyle activities as well. And you know the term: “Big Brother is Watching You”? Well, so is your Alta from Fitbit, because it’s overseeing your sleep as well! All this data is available for you to process and use to fine-tune your daily regimen.

And if you end up sitting too long behind that desk during the day, don’t worry, the Alta will give you a friendly reminder to get up and stretch your legs for a bit. Maybe go and take the long way around to the water cooler, or visit the one on the floor above for a change.

But you can’t beat the technology that is provided by a reputable brand like Fitbit to offer these great products at a great price.

But the KEY point is this price is Only Good For this One Week. So you need to act now and follow the links above to get the product details on these great activity monitors and we will put the links below as well so that you can benefit by this great price offering from HeartRateMonitorsUSA.com

The Fitbit Alta HR: 
https://www.heartratemonitorsusa.com/products/fitbit-alta-with-heart-rate?variant=36880767558

Or

The Regular Fitbit Alta: 
https://www.heartratemonitorsusa.com/products/fitbit-alta?variant=32109479494

Remember, Fitbit is all about getting and keeping you active so why not take advantage of this great price incentive and give yourself a Pre-Holiday Gift, by getting one of the best activity monitors on the market at this price range, BUT, only for this Week!

And thinking of gifts, it’s not a bad idea to get one for your significant other too, and maybe put it away for a great “Stocking-Stuffer” surprise this year, if you can wait that long to give it to them.  

Helping you, help Yourself to stay fit, active and healthy. From the gang here at HeartRateMonitorsUSA.com