Friday Fitness: Making it StickK during the holidays

One of the lectures that I teach here at Hilton Head Health is called Health Tech 101. It provides an overview of technological gadgets, websites and applications for smartphones that can assist you in achieving your health and wellness goals.  There are an amazing amount of resources out there and many of them offer a unique way of motivating you into action. One of my favorite websites is StickK.com. They use principals from the growing field of behavioral economics to encourage people to set goals and stick with them.

One of the main principles utilized is: people will work harder to avoid a negative outcome then they would to achieve a positive one. They use this principle as well as a “commitment contracts” to influence behavior.

You begin by stating your goal. It can be anything from getting to the gym 3 days a week for an hour, to quitting smoking. When stating your goals, make sure that they are SMART goals- Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Time-specific. From there, you recruit a friend to be the referee. They will monitor your behavior and progress as well as provide some added accountability.

Using your SMART goals, you will sign a “commitment contract” stating what you are going to do. You will then set stakes (this is the fun part!). This involves putting a certain amount of money on the line. You get to choose how much and where the money will go. If you do not achieve your set goals, then StickK will send the money to the appointed recipient. You have the ability to choose to send the money to a friend, family member or your favorite charity. If you really want to use the behavioral economics principal, then you can choose to have the money go to an “anti-charity” or a cause that you do not like—this can provide the extra hit of motivation to achieving the goals that you have set.  Recruit people to be in your “cheering section”. Share your goals and ask people to keep you accountable. They can send you inspiring or motivational messages to keep you going.

StickK.com offers a fun new perspective on goal setting and finding the motivation to achieve your dreams. If you find that the holidays can be a challenging time of year, take advantage of resources such as stickK.com to keep you excited about your goals.

Friday Fitness: Fitness Gadgets - The Pedometer

If you are looking for the most inexpensive and one of the most effective gadgets to improve your activity level and help you reach your fitness goals…look no further then the pedometer! It is one of the simplest gadgets but can have a HUGE impact on overall activity during your day.

The pedometer is a step counter that is worn on the waistline, halfway between the hip and belly button. As you walk and your weight shifts, a pendulum swings back and forth, registering your step.

A meta analysis of over 26 studies found that those participants who wore a pedometer throughout the day logged an average of 2,000 to 2,500 more steps a day than those following the same programs but did not use a pedometer!

The general recommendation for the amount of steps to accumulate each day is 10,000. Everyone’s stride is different but it works out to about 2,000 steps to a mile. This is a great goal to aim for as you are getting started. Log your steps each day and try to see where you can improve and get more steps. Try setting goals for total daily or weekly steps then celebrate your success. Below you will find some suggestions for getting more steps throughout the day. What are some other ideas you can come up with? Get creative, then get out there and walk it out!

• Walking all the aisles at the grocery store before you begin shopping


• Parking in the furthest out spaces in the parking lot and walking in


• Return your shopping cart all the way to the building


• When running multiple errands, park in one central location and walk


• Thermal walks!


• Walking meetings at work


• Get off the bus a few stops early and walking the rest of the way in


• Don’t stand around and wait for the bus or elevator...pace around!


• Use restroom, copy machine etc. on furthest side of office


• Take the stairs


• Instead of emailing, walk over to the person’s desk


• Hide the remote control


• Walk into the restaurant instead of using the drive thru (gives you more time to think about healthy choices)


• Take your pet for an extra long walk- they will love it!


• Sign up for a local charity walk


• Instead of happy hour, walk for an hour along the track with your friends

And remember fitness must be fun; otherwise we won’t keep it up! Check out this video of how a Metro station encouraged riders to use the stairs instead of the escalator!

2011’s Smokin’ Hot Fitness Gadgets – Straight from the CES (Consumer Electronics Show) in Las Vegas

The Fitness TechZone has been included for the first time in the 44 year history of CES.  Here are some of the gadgets I am really excited about:

IDEAL LIFE Step Manager - A wireless pedometer with remote interactive communications, allows you to send your stats, personalized messages, and even graphics to friends or social networking sites in real time. Set to be released spring 2011, the device will sell for under $85.



Nike+ SportWatch GPS - Debuting at CES is the Nike+ SportWatch GPS, which will launch on April 1. The new GPS sports watch, powered by TomTom, tracks pace, distance, calories burned, and heart rate, and just won two CES Innovation Awards.



BodyMedia FIT  and BodyBuggSP - BodyMedia FIT and BodyBuggSP use a series of sensors to accurately measure calorie output in real-time and display that data on your cellular phone.  The updated 2011 versions link via Bluetooth to your iPhone or Android enabled device.  These devices automatically track the calories burned during your daily activities — from pumping iron to using an iron — and monitors the quality of your sleep, an important factor in weight loss. The information tracked can easily be managed with their online Activity Manager. Add in the easy-to-use food logs and you have the information you need to improve your weight loss.



UWaterG2 – This has been dubbed the “smallest waterproof MP3 player”.  It can very easily clip onto your bathing suit and even has a flotation device in case it comes loose.