Do you use any fitness trackers?

[jen-cueva]

Great idea, Brittany! I do use My Fitness Pal but I never add in my exercise. Although usually, my exercise is mostly my adaptive yoga videos ( thanks to you ). I started using my tracker mainly to track my food as my doctors wanted me to gain weight and try to eat more. It helped and I did gain 8 pounds over the last year or so. I always use the tracker for fluid intake, especially free water, since I am on fluid restrictions.

After reading your tips, I may need to start adding in my Yoga, etc. I mean my housecleaning times with music is a workout to me, LOL

Thanks for always inspiring myself and others!

[Brittany Foster]

Jen,
Thank you so much for your great message and feedback! I know you help so many people too and will continue to do that through here and through your writing. I’m so glad that we have been able to connect. I am at the hospital now but am online in between my appointments and this just made my day better. I’m glad that you are doing those yoga videos. I know that they were very helpful for me. I even tried some meditation, there was one video that honestly put me RIGHT to sleep and that NEVER happens. It was great. I’ll have to go back and find the link to it so I can share it here. Do you do any meditation at all? And cleaning and doing “chores” around the house is also an exercise and should count as exertion! Sometimes I break a sweat doing the laundry and dishes lol. And the vacuuming too can get some serious step counts in!

[jen-cueva]

Thanks, Brittany! You definitely need to share the meditation link. I have done one with Adrienne and it was so relaxing! Otherwise, I’ve done some guided meditations on YouTube.

I definitely need to start tracking activity.

@colleensteele, that would make a great gift for your son. Does he have a birthday coming up?

[Colleen]

Jen, his birthday is in November but his transplant anniversary is in August. If he expresses and interest I might get it for him then.

[jen-cueva]

Sounds like a great idea, Colleen!

[Colleen]

Jen, I mentioned it to him and he said he doesn’t think he would like wearing one. I’m not surprised, he never liked his medical ID bracelet either. It’s just a comfort issue for him. I asked him to consider wearing one when he is on the treadmill just so he has something to prove to his doctors that he is getting exercise.

[jen-cueva]

Oh, Colleen, well you tried! I think that tracking some type of activity is great for doctors. I’m sure that y’all probably already know this but my friend just told me her iPhone tracks her steps. Maybe he would do that on the treadmill, Colleen? I’m going to try and find out if my phone will. Mine is an older one.

[jen-cueva]

This is what I found from the Apple website. I may try this after I rest and recharge. LOL

[Brittany Foster]

Hi Jen,
I actually looked it up and I was able to find it. It helped me to use my oxygen when I was doing this video too because some is breath focused. I think that it really helped me and the girl’s voice in the video is just so relaxing to listen to. Here is the link from youtube:

[jen-cueva]

Thanks, Brittany, I’m hoping to try this tomorrow. I saved it on my YouTube. I’ll let you know how it goes.

[Colleen]

Oh my gosh, thank you for posting this topic! One thing that my son’s doctors are always after him about is getting more exercise. It’s one of the top questions they ask at each appointment, “What type of exercise are you getting each day?”. I never thought about a fitness tracker! As you mention that is a great way to prove to his doctors that he is exercising and how much he is getting in each day! I’m going to discuss with his dad that we get him one!

[Brittany Foster]

I’m glad I was thinking of this topic! I actually thought of it when my doctors were asking me about what exercise I was getting and how much activity I was able to do. If he is self motivated and is motivated by numbers this would be perfect for him I’m sure! Let me know if you end up finding a good one. I know a lot of people are fans of the apple watch because it is also programmed to the iphone, but personally, I like the ones that are strictly for exercise and I don’t have the distraction from the notifications on my phone. When I exercise I like to shut down everything else and just get in my own “zone”

[jen-cueva]

Hope your appointments are going well, Brittany!

[Judie]

Hi All,
I just purchased a Polar fitness tracker for my birthday present.
I do Les Mills on demand exercise programs which are wonderful and broken down to 4-5 minute rounds alternating muscle groups, body pump my favorite is a barbell strength training workout. I got hooked about 10 years ago when they had a dvd series through beachbody.com. Now they have Les Mills on demand which offers at least a dozen different type of classes from body pump, step, core, kick boxing, barre, cycling, etc a huge variety everyone should check it out.
I get it through my BCBS insurance Global fit program only costing $9.99/month.
It’s addictive, it’s my tribe and I’m glad I found it. It is a good workout one can do on oxygen if need be as the workouts don’t require a lot of space. It’s an Australian company and I love the accents.
Because I do les Mills I was turned on to the Polar 370A tracker which has I think 100 workout options it can track including all of the Les Mills classes.
It tells you your high heart rate during workouts, median heart rate , how many minutes in each stage and calories burned based on you heart rate info. I’m so excited. It has awesome online platforms to track workouts, need for recovery and progress and planning of workouts generating progress reports etc. no other tracker I have seen has these functions. I bought the smart watch type which gives texts, phone alerts and email access. I’m so excited I can’t wait for it to arrive. It should be here by Monday latest and I’m excited to start working out with it.
Check them out, they are fabulous!
Judie

[Brittany Foster]

Hi Judie !
That program sounds amazing and addictive for sure (in a good way!) It is great to find an exercise program that supports your needs and motivates you to work out and feel good. I just went for a walk around my neighborhood after a stressful few hours at appointments in the hospital and it is such a relief to just get out for a bit with the oxygen and take a walk and get the blood pumping! I have a membership for beach body too but haven’t looked at any of the workouts for it because I was recovering from a heart surgery that I had in May. Now that I am getting some stamina back this is something that I would love to try! Did you purchase the fitness tracker through the website and is it able to be connected right to the video that you are doing ? That’s pretty amazing that it has all those functions. Do you have a link you can share with us by any chance that shows the tracker? I would love to look into it especially if it is connected to the videos and program you are doing. I’m sure it is a great way to visually see your improvements and milestones you are hitting!

[Colleen]

Wow Judie, I admire your motivation! Like Brittany I would be interested in a link to the tracker if you have one. I remember from your profile that your doctor believes PH was caught early in you. How is your breathing holding up during exercise? It’s awesome that you have found such a perfect program to fit your needs!

[Brittany Foster]

It’s all about finding a program that will fit your needs. Not everyone is the same when it comes to exercise. I have done barre programs and also pilates programs that are really good. They really work the muscles a lot and it’s not as “cardio” and high intensity.

[jen-cueva]

Awesome, Judie! My daughter did Beach body for a while. It sounds like you have a good variety and for different levels. I know you’ll love your fitness tracker. I may have to check out some of those videos, eventually, too.

[Jimi Mcintosh]

Fitbit and Nike app on smart phone

[Brittany Foster]

Smart phones are great ! Do you also track your nutrition or is this just used for monitoring your fitness and level of activity during the day? I have friends that really liked the Nike app and were pretty motivated by it ! Technology can be great for this and holding us accountable.