Staying motivated when it comes to exercise, can be a tremendous effort. Not everyone sees exercise as a pleasure nor does everybody see exercise as something that they want to do. Many people exercise because they know they should and then it is something they drag their feet, as they go to the gym or their exercise space.
As a personal trainer, I too have days where I do not want to exercise. There are many reasons for this, either I’m not in the mood or it’s too cold or hot. Whatever the case might be, I know that exercise is good for me and that I should do it. So what do I do to keep myself motivated?
Google Fit
I have an entry-level Huawei fitness band which means that there are many features it lacks but it does what I want to most out of a fitness band and that is:
- Counting steps;
- Calories burned;
- Heart rate;
- Phone notifications.
The thing that Huawei watches lack the most, is the features on the Huawei Health App. I do assume that the features on the App are most likely linked to the watch you have but the Huawei health app doesn’t have a lot of features to keep me motivated. After looking into many Apps because the Huawei fitness band doesn’t connect to other Apps, I found Google Fit.
Google Fit is an App that Google designed to keep you moving. You do not need a fitness band or smartwatch to use their App. You install Google Fit onto your phone and when you do a run, bicycle ride, or walk, you take your phone with you and the App will track your activity. You also have the option to log activities manually which is the best option for me because then I can add calories burned, steps and distance as shown on my fitness band or exercise equipment that I have used.
For each minute you move, Google fit award you with a “heart point.” Google Fit collaborates with the World Health Organization (WHO) and they have developed these heart points that you earn with each minute of movement. Your goal is to reach 150 heart points each week, that is 30 minutes of activity for 5 days per week. Both Google Fit and WHO use the heart points to help you hit the recommended 150 minutes per week of physical activity, to reduce the risk of heart disease, improve sleep and increase mental health.
When I see the heart points awarded to me for each minute of physical activity, it is like receiving a medal for what I just did. That instant gratification that we are all so used to these days. “I received a reward, a heart point for each minute of physical activity. Yay!”
This is what keeps me motivated to exercise. To see how the heart points climb towards 150 helps me to keep on moving. It can be any physical activity from an exercise session to a run, walk, swim, row, or cycling session. Whatever you like doing, you record it manually on the App and receive that instant gratification of a heart point or 30.
There’s many other features available in Google Fit, which you can explore yourself. It’s available on the App Store and Google Play. Please note that this isn’t a promotional post for Google Fit in any way.