If you want to keep track of your health and fitness, there are many products on the market to choose from. Some are big and some are small. And then there are some that just blend into your life such as the alta HR made by fitbit, one of the most well-known manufactures of fitness products. The fitbit alta HR is a compact fitness tracker that can perform a range of activities to help you be active. Let’s find out more.
The fitbit alta HR consists of a fitness module housed in a band. The module itself is made from aluminium and features an OLED display. While the bands are generally made of rubber there are some you can purchase that are made of different materials. The band is made of two parts which connects to the module. I found the build quality to be pretty good. The strap uses a railroad style strap and the clasp closes securely so you don’t have to worry about losing the alta HR. The alta HR is also water resistant so you can take it swimming or to the shower.
A free fitbit app is downloadable for Apple, Android and Windows devices. The app is used to firstly setup your fitbit and enter your personal details. Secondly, the app is where you can see data that is synched via Bluetooth from your fitbit. This data can be seen in different graphs to really give you a good understanding of your fitness level.
Simply tapping on the display or on the side of the module, you can cycle through to get a quick glimpse of your progress for the day. Obviously you will get much more detail using the app but for simple stats such as your heart rate during excise, the OLED display is perfect. While the display is easy to read, I found it does take a hard tap for the display to register a tap.
The alta HR is the slimest fitbit with a built in heart rate monitor. What is great is that it does not require any sort of body strap. The heart rate monitor allows you to keep track of your heart rate before and after different activities. These results are tracked on a graph in the fitbit app so you can see if your heart rate is improving as you exercise more. By measuring your heart rate all the time, you are able to get a much more accurate measure of your calorie burn. Heart rate zones also tell you if you need to work less or harder during workouts.
The alta HR also tracks your resting heart rate, which is a key indicator of cardiovascular health. You can improve your resting heart rate with exercise and the alta HR is the perfect device to help you track this.
Setting a daily fitness goal is a great way to keep yourself motivated and be active. It is far easier to reach smaller daily goals than massive monthly goals. Your daily goal consists of steps, calories and distance. Simply tapping the OLED display shows how close you are to reaching your daily goal.
If you are like me and are lacking in the sleep department, because you are spending all your time working or watching Netflix, then you need a device that can track your non-existent sleep. The alta HR can do just that. It can track your sleep duration and how consistent you are. The heart rate monitor measures how much time you got light, deep and REM sleep to help you get more sleep. There is also an alarm which can wake you up silently with a vibration.
To keep your cardio in check, you are given a cardio fitness score which is a numerical rating that is based on resting heart rate, age, gender, weight and other data. You also get a Cardio fitness level which ranks your fitness score from poor to excellent.
The alta HR also tracks your steps, calories and distance that you have moved.
When getting active, the last thing you want to do is have to tell your fitness tracker what activity you are about to do. With SmartTrack Auto Exercise Recognition, the alta HR can automatically recognize the activity that you are doing and track it. For example walking would count steps while cycling would track distance.
We all get into the habit of spending hours at our desks working or hours in bed watching series or movies. The fitbit alta HR is your best friend that will get you active with reminders to move.
The alta HR is not just a fitness tracker. With the ability to give you call, text and calendar alerts as well as the time, you are getting a smart watch as well.
Getting fit is not something you have to do alone. Stay inspired on your fitness journey by sharing stats and motivate others. Compete with friends and family in fitbit challenges and use your steps to climb the leader board.
You can show off your own style with the alta HR. You have a choice of 6 colour combos as well as 4 special bands. The bands are replaceable so you can change depending on your mood. With customizable clock faces, you can choose a clock face to show the stats that are vital to you.
Charging the alta HR is as simple as plugin in the supplied usb cable into a usb port on your computer or on a power adapter. The battery lasts up to 7 days so you don’t have to worry about charging every night.
In the box you get: One fitness tracker, one strap and a charging cable.
The alta HR sells for around R2299 (Best to Google to get the best price, but also best to buy from reputable stores) If you want extra bands in different colours or textures, these sell for around R350.
Should you get the fitbit alta HR? It does a good job at keeping track of your fitness. The app is really easy to use. It not only has smart watch functionality but also a built in heart rate sensor with a 7 day battery life. The alta HR certainly ticks all the boxes. If you are looking to be active and get fit, the fitbit alta HR is a great device to help you do so!
