Staying on track and keeping fit

Research shows prolonged periods of inactivity, such as sitting at a desk, decreases your body’s production of fat-burning enzymes. You can reverse that effect by taking frequent, short walk breaks throughout your day.

That’s where the Garmin vívofit and vίvosmart activity trackers can help. You might lose track of time, but they won’t. They display a “move bar” after an hour of inactivity which builds when you’ve been sitting too long. Just walk a couple of minutes to reset.
The Garmin vívofit and vίvosmart activity trackers count your steps and calories, as well as monitoring your sleep. They learn your current activity level then assign an attainable daily goal. As you meet your milestones, your goal is adjusted for the next day, gradually nudging you towards a more active lifestyle. They follow your progress 24/7, can stay on for more than a year without a battery change and are water resistant, so you rarely have to take them off.

If you worry about missing an e-mail or text while you’re out doing something else, the Garmin vίvosmart has smart notifications. It alerts you each time you receive a text, e-mail or call on your Bluetooth smartphone or device by gently vibrating and displaying the information. Simply touch and swipe to read more or to see your activity statistics, such as steps or calories. Garmin vίvosmart also gives you control over your music, with the ability to start and stop your music, go to the next or previous track, and adjust the volume.

Both the Garmin vívofit and Garmin vívosmart sync with Garmin Connect, Garmin’s free on-line fitness community at http://connect.garmin.com/. There you can track your progress, earn virtual badges, join online challenges, and connect, compete and compare with friends and family around the world. For detailed calorie tracking, you can create an account at MyFitnessPal and link it to your Garmin Connect account.

The great thing about wearable technology is that you don’t have to be ‘sporty’ to benefit

For those who already take regular exercise or want to go to the next level, there are additional features to keep people motivated. You can use vívofit and vívosmart with a heart-rate monitor to record your heart rate and zone data, and get more accurate calorie-burn information for any fitness activity, such as a run or a cardio class at the gym. You can also pair vívosmart with other Garmin products, such as bike speed sensors or the VIRB HD action camera (sold separately).

Garmin is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year. We started out in aviation and marine, supplying pilots and sailors across the world with technology they could rely on, even in the most extreme conditions. That same expertise is now used across all our products from sat navs to cycling computers and activity trackers. That’s why elite athletes are among those who train with Garmin devices – the most prominent of these is the pro-cycling team, Team Garmin-Sharp-Barracuda, recently seen in the Tour de France.
The great thing about wearable technology is that you don’t have to be “sporty” to benefit. Garmin’s activity trackers are suitable for complete beginners to professional athletes. They work around your goals and suggest new ones, encouraging anything from a healthier lifestyle to a personal best – or even a world record.