A Bit More Fit

Posted November 8, 2014 by Samantha Quiñon

This week I activated my Fitbit Zip, which is like a souped up pedometer that tracks steps, distance, and calories burned. I’m trying to walk 10,000 steps a day, but it’s been more like 8,000, if I’m being honest–which I am. And it’s not like I can lie, because many of my friends have Fitbit too. There is a social feature where we can see how many steps other people in our network have taken, so I’m accountable to other people, not just myself. Everyone’s total number of steps is automatically calculated for the week, and we try to see who can take the most. This has lead to a lot good-natured goading. It’s great motivation, because I’m pretty competitive, and we’re all eager to walk off all the junk food we’ve eaten now that we’re in the second (more intense) half of the Fall term.

So for now 8,000 steps a day is acceptable. After all, it’s only my first week, and school, studying, and archives work are usually sedentary activities. Still, it’s pretty easy to get more steps into my day walking around Boston. For example, using public transportation, I have to walk a lot. It’s half a mile between my apartment and the T stop, so that’s a mile I can do without thinking about it. The bus comes in handy here too, like on Thursday when I alighted a few stops early in the pouring rain. –Now that’s dedication!

Other times, I have to get more creative. On Monday I walked a lap around the office whenever I got up from my desk at my internship. Everyone thought I had been drinking a lot of coffee. Also, I expect to be having a conversation with my downstairs neighbors any day now, because I keep walking back and forth down the hallway above them at odd hours.  

Photo courtesy of Wired.com

Overall, this gadget provides a useful way to get a little healthier, and I’m having fun with it. How else am I going to haul those 40 lb. boxes around the archives without looking like I did wind sprints?