On some land I’m able to hunt and mess around on during the off-season, it’s about a mile from where I park to one of the stands.
I know because of a little gizmo my wife got me back in September that I take with me in my pants pocket. She got it as part of a fitness program through her job, a program that encourages families to get healthier and exercise.
Both are good ideas, of course. I’d already been doing some walking and light jogging for the past three years. But with the addition of the Fitbit from my wife, I’ve been a bit more resilient in my exercising. (Well, until the holidays. They nailed me again!)
The Fitbit is an activity monitor. You can wear one on your wrist or tote one in your pocket. The latter is small and lightweight. It basically disappears in your pocket because you forget it’s there until you take a gander to see how many steps you’ve walked.
It measures steps, calories, miles and shows the time. On the Fitbit.com “dashboard” you’ll find a litany of options, including upgrading to a different monitor to keep up with sleeping habits and more. I haven’t and won’t go that route; just keeping up with steps is enough for me. The wireless Fitbit connects with your laptop or iPhone 5/6 with a little dongle or downloadable app.
According to my dashboard I’ve walked/jogged 263 miles since mid-September. I take the Fitbit with me when I’m walking, to 5K races, going out for dinner, to shows, hunting or even mowing the yard. You’d be amazed at how much you walk just mowing, weedeating and cleaning the yard.
I try to have it with me at all times. During a recent coon hunting trip with a buddy, we walked about 6,500 steps or so on a short hunt. But that was about three miles. I’m looking forward to one of our longer hunts that lasts three times as long to see what I do. Having the Fitbit is pretty revealing and good motivation. I’ll have it with me for the Archery Trade Association and SHOT Show events, where the walking will be insane.
Now’s a great time to get a Fitbit and start walking. Get in shape. Keep track of your steps, increase some each week and start feeling better. Heck, when you get rolling this summer add your climbing stand or a backpack with a brick or two. By the time the 2015 hunting season rolls around you’ll be glad you did.