FitBit Flex Review

Hello Everyone!

With tons of activity trackers on the market, I wanted to provide an in depth review of the FitBit Flex for today’s post.  I mentioned yesterday that I had worked in Corporate Fitness and am a Certified Personal Trainer, but it was not until my current job that I jumped on the FitBit bandwagon.  I receive points through a work incentive program for taking 10,000 steps a day.  Many different pedometers and activity trackers are compatible with the program and because of this I did some research and decided on the FitBit Flex.  Here’s why!

What the Flex tracks:

·         Steps taken

·         Distance traveled

·         Calories burned

·         Active minutes

·         Hours slept

·         Quality of sleep

All of the above are tracked on Fitbit.com which you can access on the web or via their mobile app.  As you can see in the photos below, FitBit does a great job at showing your individual stats in a format that is aesthetically pleasing and easy to comprehend.

Fitbit.com Dashboard view

I mentioned before that my daily goal is 10,000 steps which is the minimum amount needed for me to receive points, but you can customize your goal to best fit your needs: steps, calories or distance.  During the day if you cannot access the web or mobile app, you can double tap your Flex band and it will show a series of dots.  Each dot represents 20% of your goal completed.  Once you have achieved your goal, the FitBit has a little party on your wrist and vibrates for a few seconds signifying that you are indeed amazing and a “goal” getter!

Sleep Tracker Snapshot

 Another fun feature of the Flex is the sleep tracker.  Some people get a bit freaked out by this and scream, “Big Brother!”  No need to worry, since this feature is completely voluntary.  In the evening, or whenever you plan to go to sleep, you tap the band a few times and it will go into sleep mode.  When your Flex is in sleep mode, tapping it will show two dots on the ends of the display, opposed to a row of dots showing your progress (as mentioned above).  While in sleep mode the Flex tracks how long and how well you slept along with how many times you were awake during the night.  You can also use the Flex as a silent alarm to wake you up without bothering your partner!  When you wake up simply tap the band just as you did before bed to remove from sleep mode.  This alerts the tracker to upload how efficient your sleep was, exactly when you awoke and if you were restless throughout your slumber.

My Flex

Some other neat features to the FitBit Flex are:

·         Waterproof

·         8 color options in Small/Large sizes

·         Battery life = 5 days

·         Manual food, weight and activity tracking

·         Compete against other FitBit users

·         Message and cheer on friends

Hope you all enjoyed this review of the FitBit Flex!  I should also mention that FitBit has partnered with designer Tory Burch and any day now will be releasing stylish bracelets and pendants to hold your Flex.  I promise to update immediately when they are available!  A few coworkers and I are praying for a silver band, so we can get our steps over the weekend, too.  I tend not to always wear my Flex on weekends as it is a bit too sporty for weekend attire, so this new band will be a HOT commodity :)

Purchase a FitBit Flex: www.fitbit.com/store $99.95

- Courtney