Well, it is the new year and it is time for New Year’s resolution..I decided to be more active this year so I joined the fitness watch bandwagon. So, I got my self the Fitbit Charge 2. I chose fitbit because a lot of my co-workers are using it and they have these challenges going on like who will have the most steps in a week. This is the cool thing about it. It is not the gadget itself but it is how you can join challenges with other fitbit users or you can setup a challenge with your friends and co-workers.
Inside the box you will see some documentation..warranty info..and a card showing you the url to download and setup the app.
You will also see a charger and the the watch itself.. it looks like a band more than looking like a watch. I bet there a few people that wants this more to look like a watch. It has a standard belt type fastener. The watch face is glass and shiny and I can already see that it is finger print and smudge magnet.
Going to the link on the card will redirect you to the app store or google play.. so that you can download the app.
After downloading you can click on the app..follow and answer the questions to setup your Fitbit charge 2. You also have to put in your height, gender, weight and date of birth..lastly you have to register to have an account with fitbit…
Now, the app is going to search and sync with your watch using bluetooth. Put in the number from your watch to your phone so that they will pair up. Then it will update which takes a couple of minutes.
Now, it will show you the basic functions of the watch. You can push the side button or tap to turn the screen on. The app will tell you the functions of the watch and will continue setting up your watch to sync and connect to your phone.
Let’s go over and check out the functions of the watch. To turn on the screen your can either push the side button or double tap the watch. In here, you can tap to flip through your other daily stat information. On the main screen/ or clock face, push the side button to flip through the other menus like your HR — in the exercise menu, you can tap to flip through the exercises. Run -weights – treadmill – workout – elliptical – ride a bike – interval workout. Then it goes back to running..so if you want to run, just push and hold the side button to start, then it will sync to your phone to use the GPS, it will show the distance in miles and the timer, tap it and it will show your HR and time, next tap will be the pace and time; next will be average pace, calories burned, the number of steps. When you are finished, just hold the side button again to stop. Then it will show you the review of the stats like total time, miles, average pace and HR, maximum HR and calories burned, number of steps and it will show you also change in elevation in feet.
On the weights, same thing hold the side button to start..it will show the HR, time, calories burned..click and hold to stop it and you are done. It will show the summary of your workout. So the same thing with the other exercise options you have, like the treadmill, elliptical, bike, interval training it will track your HR, steps, calories, distance, pace or speed, if applicable. The charge 2 also has a Smart Track feature in which it will automatically detect continuous movement which are at least 15 mins. in length and it will count it as exercise and you can always modify it on the app.
Going through the menus again will be the stop watch option..hold the button down to start the time and push again to stop, push once to restart again or push and hold to restart back to zero.
The next menu is to help you relax…you have an option to relax for 2 minutes or 5 minutes…hold to start..stay still take slow deep breaths..
hold to stop..
Next is the battery level. BTW you need to pick this option to show on the app. because it is not selected by default. Battery usually last 4-5 days with everything like Bluetooth and real time syncing selected. The app will notify you and also an email is generated reminding you to charge your watch if the battery level is low.
The last thing in the menu is the notification option (on or off). Also this is not on by default and you need to turn it on the app and also to turn it on your watch if you want to be notified if you have a text or phone call. It will show who the text or phone call came from and an excerpt of the message or the number on the phone. Please note that this is for notification only and you are not able to reply back or answer from your watch..as compared to the Iwatch or other smart watches.
So lets check out the app… on the bottom of the screen are the main menu..you have the account, friends, guidance, challenges and dashboard.
On the dashboard you will see an overview on what you have done today and also you can check out your stats from the other days. It will show how many steps you have done, calories burnt, exercise. You will see your current HR, how many hours of sleep you had, tapping it you will see a graph of your sleeping pattern the last week. On the track exercise option, you will see the history of exercises that you have done…as you can see these were the exercises I clicked earlier on the watch.
You can also setup goals and reminders to get you moving every hour during daytime…the watch will alert you to start moving if you haven’t.
You can also add your water intake if you want to track that…and also your meals..you can add what food you ate..they have a database of different types of food and meals. You just have to search first and if it is not there, you can easily make a custom one… lets say MacDonalds.. and it will show the MacDonalds menu… and you can just easily add it..choose if you are eating it for breakfast, lunch, snack or dinner.
Now, for the challenges menu, you can pick different online challenges that will help you motivate to get moving. On top are the adventures, if you want to do it solo and when you achieve goals everyday and when you finish one, you will unlock the other for the next day. Like this one, you need to start the Vernal Falls challenge and finish it so as to unlock the New York City 3.1.
On the bottom are challenges that you can do with your family, friends and co-workers. You can start one and invite your friends that have fitbit also to join. I think this is the biggest motivator for me to move around and be more active just for bragging rights.
If you want to push yourself more, you can go to the guidance menu and choose exercises that you can do.
On the friends tab, you will see the list of your friends that have fitbit. You can easily add them via your contacts, Facebook friends, or send an invite via email.
On the account tab, you can select the charge 2 watch to change the settings. In here you will see options for handedness, which wrist your are going to wear the watch, clock faces where you can change the main clock setting and you have more than several to choose from. I want the clock face that shows my steps and my hear rate also so that I dont have to tap to check that stat.
You can setup alarms…show notifications options
Main goal..here you can change which do you want as a goal
You have the menu items where you can turn on or off or change the order that will be show on your watch..as you can see here that notification and battery is not selected by default so I have to check those.
You can customize the display, heart rate, exercises shortcuts where you can change some options like connecting to the GPS on Running and Bike riding. On the interval workout, you can change the move and rest time and the repetitions, plus you can turn on GPS if you want.
There is greeting, all day sync and you have the guide if you want to read up on all the features of the charge 2 or if you need help in one or any of the settings and setup.
As you can see in the video I got a notification that one of my friends just invited me to a challenge..She invited me to a Workweek hustle challenge which I think whoever has the most steps by the end of the week wins… When you check it in the app you will see a notification in the challenge menu.. I have 2 days left to join…so, I have to join the challenge…this is the reason why I bought this fitbit and started on this fitness tracking. Whenever your friends challenges you, then you will almost be forced to be more active so as not to get into the last place. This is an excellent motivator plus I’m pretty competitive in the first place…so let’s see who is going to win next week.
Ok, finally i’ll show you the little green lights that monitors my heart rate…the only gripe I have is that the screen easily get smudges..so every time I tap on it..my fingerprints are left behind..
The bands themselves are easily replaced by just pushing down the lock like so…plus putting them back in is pretty quick and effortless too.