Representing the West Coast + a Fitbit Charge giveaway
This post is sponsored by Shape/Men’s Fitness Fitbit Charge Challenge through a campaign with Fitfluential. As always, all opinions are my own. I also included a special giveaway at the end for ya, too!
It’s not really a secret that I love fitness trackers. Needless to say, I was really stoked when I received the new Fitbit Charge to participate in the Shape magazine and Men’s Health Fitbit Charge challenge. They divided up bloggers into two teams -east coast vs. west coast- and we’re competing for most active coast. Each week, they post a new challenge up on their site, and you can also check out the blogger scoreboard to see how we’re all doing. I was excited to be included with some of my close blogger friends and enjoy a little friendly competition.
This is the first week, and our first challenge was to reach out 10k daily step goal by taking our workout outside. Having the Charge has been a great way to maintain activity level, and this week I felt especially inspired by the gorgeous weather. While most of my workouts have been indoors through teaching classes, I’ve enjoyed extra outdoor activities, including daily playtime with Liv,
(we love chasing a soccer ball around and playing at the park)
neighborhood walks with Bella,
this past weekend’s 10k,
and enjoying some local sights.
To get in Tuesday’s daily steps, I spent some time walking around Balboa Park. It was my first time checking it out, and I can’t wait to go back with the fam. There are 17 different attractions, and the area is rich in history and natural beauty.
I especially loved the botanical exhibit.
The Fitbit Charge is a like an updated version of the Flex (which I reviewed here).
Some tried and true features:
-Step count
-Insightful sleep data
-Silent alarm (probably my fave feature!)
Some new features:
-Automatic sleep tracking. I don’t have to tell it that I’m going to sleep; IT KNOWS ALL.
-Distance and floors climbed.
-Digital display. It tells you your calories burned, steps, floors climbed, and distance all on the screen.
-No removable pieces. I didn’t like that aspect of the Flex -it felt like it got germy with sweating so much and sweat getting trapped in the band- and I love that this one is easier to clean.
One thing I noticed is that it’s larger, so I try to camouflage the size with extra arm candy or bangles (which probably just draws more attention to it haha).
Overall, I love that the Charge encourages me to be more active during the day. I’m more mindful of my activity levels, and I think a tracker is a great reminder that you can’t out-exercise a sedentary lifestyle. While it is helpful to get in a workout each day (for health and mental benefits!), it’s also important to add bursts of activity (through standing or walking) whenever you can. Also, I think it’s important to note that steps aren’t everything. I’ve actually found that I’ve been low in my group for steps, because many of the activities that I do don’t count for a lot, even though I am indeed moving. For example, I taught BODYPUMP and Spin on Monday (two hours of working out!) and barely made my 10k goal. The same happened last night with my BODYPUMP and Zumba double-teach. Zumba gets a lot of steps, though. 😉
The rest of this post is sponsored by Caroline, who would love to share the Fitbit Charge love with a lucky reader. Just leave a comment below with your favorite outdoor workout and I’ll pick a winner tonight at midnight! I’ll announce it in tomorrow’s Friday Faves post.
Don’t forget to keep up with us on the scoreboard here, and you can also enter to win a Charge each week through the main sites. If you’d like to follow the hashtag. check out #MotivationalMondays @fitbit. I’m excited to see next week’s challenge!
Ready, set, go!
xoxo
Gina
This post is sponsored by the Shape/Men’s Fitness FitBit Charge Challenge.
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Hill sprints! Love the intensity and getting to enjoy the weather and the atmosphere at the park I go to. Other than that, walking with friends…I’m trying to incorporate more social interaction that doesn’t just involve eating/drinking (although that’s great too 🙂 ), but walking has been such a great way to get in a little activity while also catching up with friends!
Running!
Good luck with the challenge! I’m an East Coast girl but wishing you all the best. My favorite outdoor workout is my 20 mile runs while I’m marathon training. You learn a lot about the kind of person you are when you’re out there running for several hours. Call me crazy but I love it!
Going for a trail run is one of my favorite way to enjoy the outdoors! I love soaking in the sunshine and stretching my muscles.
Hiking would be my favorite but I also really enjoy tennis!
I love doing outdoor workouts, especially hikes or runs to explore a new neighborhood.
Running is my favorite, but as the temps drop here on the east coast, it definitely takes some motivation to get out there!
I love my Fitbit! I have the Flex and I agree with you 100%; it’s one of the best ways to monitor how much you move in a day. And the motivation to reach my daily goal is sometime the only push I need.
I love going for walks when the weather is nice.
I love to run outside, but unfortunately with two kiddos under two and A town with no sidewalks, it doesn’t happen much these days.
My favorite outdoor workout is by far campfire yoga. A friend of mine taught a weekly class during the Summer…pure bliss. 🙂
My favorite outdoor workout is hiking somewhere beautiful.
My favorite outdoor workout is paddle-boarding.
Those Eucalyptus trees & palms look GLORIOUS. I miss the West Coast 🙁
Hiking!
hiking, definitely!
definitely running. Way better outside than on a treadmill!
I love hiking, but don’t do much of it in Chicago (unless you count walking from floor 14 to the gym on floor 9 in my highrise haha). I try and visit Colorado a few times a year, and try to hike everyday!
My favorite outdoor workout is running or hiking!
Favorite outdoor workout: Playing with my pup! We’re lucky to have a fabulous yard, so we love to play tag and run and just altogether romp around in the yard!
Road biking!
my fav outdoor workout is running by the charles river in boston!
Any workout outside is always fun especially with beautiful weather. But my favorite has to be park yoga!
hiking or running!
Running is my favorite!!
I just love walking. It’s great for the whole family! I take the dog and the baby stroller and just walk for miles.
Right now I’m pregnant and in my third trimester so just about the only outdoor activity I can do comfortably is walk, and I really enjoy getting out for some fresh air!
Favorite outdoor workout is running!
I’m currently six months pregnant, so the only outdoor activity I am up for lately is.a walk 🙂
Outdoor yoga!!!
Running! I run through the city I live (Madrid) sidewalks and parks.
I love to go hiking!
My Favorite outdoor workout is going to the dog park with my doggies.
My favs are a run outside on a sunny not to hot of a day, a walk with friends or my hubby to catch up, and hiking… Love hiking!!
I love taking long walks with my 2 miniature golden doodles 🙂
My favorite outdoor activity is hiking! Especially in the fall when it’s crisp and cool.
I love a good run along the Bay in San Francisco with my husband!
What a fun East vs West challenge! Totally random, but what do people in the middle do? haha
I love running outside!
Anything outdoors is my favorite activity….I love hiking, fishing, biking, anything to get me outdoors is my favorite!
hmmm, in the summer, mountain biking. In the winter, alpine touring (going uphill with downhill skis on in areas without lift-access)
Swimming in the ocean!
Running
Wow this is an amazing giveaway! I love a good outdoor group run. Nothing like feeding off of each other’s energy!
I love to go trail running!
Running and walking with my dog
Road biking!
My favorite outdoor workout is running! I especially love going to a local trail with my dog and running with him!
I love taking my 5 month old on stroller walks!
I love a good outdoor run, super early in the morning. Of course I love those runs more when the weather is nice, but sometimes the cold can be refreshing too!
I love running!