New Zealand Listener – June 08, 2019

16 LISTENER JUNE 8 2019

GYM OWNER LEE

JONES, 55, has

worked in the fitness

industry for nearly

two decades. He has

a degree in exercise

science and has worn a

tracker for about eight

years. “I was an early

adopter, but I do like

technology. It keeps me

accountable and honest

about what I’m doing.

I’m not fixated on it,

but I do look at it as

an indication of where

my health is. I look at

how far I’ve walked,

because it’s very easy

to think you do more

than you actually do.

They’re also becoming

much more accurate for

measuring sleep and I

look at my deep sleep

times as being more

beneficial than my

disrupted sleep. I can

look at when my sleep

was restless, and what

was going on in my life

How we’re using them

Who’s using fitness trackers? Often it’s those who are

highly motivated – yet want to be kept honest.

at that time and say I

was pretty stressed and

that probably accounts

for it.”

ELAINE PARNELL,

42, TEACHES ENG-

LISH AS A SECOND

LANGUAGE TO

ADULTS. Her Fitbit

was a Christmas gift

from her husband.

“The lady in the shop

said, ‘Do you not think

you should ask her

first?’ He thought it

would be something

I’d enjoy. I do enjoy it,

but it doesn’t mean I

take more steps. I have

a goal of 10,000 a day

and I meet it about

twice a week. When I

first got it, if I was on

9000 or so, I’d go out

and walk up and down

some steps until I got

there, but I don’t any

more. My 13-year-old

daughter was given

one a few months

ago. I wasn’t that

happy, because she’s a

competitive gymnast

and there’s enough

pressure on body image

at that age. But she’s

organised a weekly

family step challenge

and our scores go up

on a whiteboard. I

haven’t got the Broken

Laces Award yet for

the lowest number. I

tried logging my food,

but it was hard work.

I’ve noticed it doesn’t

record steps when I

push a trolley around

the supermarket, or

record when I go

cycling or to the gym.”

RETIREE AND

FORMER MARKET-

ING CONSULTANT

JILL THOMAS, 65, got

her Fitbit a few years

ago as an incentive to

keep moving, given she

spent a lot of time at

her computer. “When

it reminded me, I’d

get up and go up and

down stairs or do some

star jumps. I was train-

ing for a half marathon

and I’d do 10,000 steps

a day easily. My step

goal is set at 10,500,

and I typically do that

and more. If I’m hiking,

I do 20,000. The

only time I’ve used it

competitively is when

we had a work step

challenge and we had

competing teams. Then

I’d be still stepping in

front of the TV. The

device doesn’t measure

my heart rate – I didn’t

want all the bells and

whistles, I just wanted

my step count. I’m not

hung up on it; it’s not

a huge part of my life –

not like my phone.”

IT MANAGER DEAN

TEIHO, 53, got his

tracker in 2015 as a

fitness and weight-loss

motivator. “As the

months went on, I

could start to see the

pattern in workouts

and knew if I pushed

myself, I could burn

more calories and have

a little more food. I

was on a fairly strict

diet and I’m sticking

to it. I know what

works, and it’s helped

to keep me in line and

be accountable. I track

my data daily. Steps

aren’t important, it’s

the amount of calorie

burning I do – higher

intensity for less time.

I go to the gym every

day and work out for

45 minutes. If people

understand what they

need to do to reach

their goals, this will

help.”

KITCHEN DESIGNER

SWATI VADGAONKAR,

54 , got her Fitbit as a

Christmas gift from her

Lee Jones Elaine Parnell Jill Thomas Dean Teiho

FITNESS