Checking out the latest Fitbits: Charge 2 and Flex 2

By Sonya Davidson

Fitbit started just over 9 years ago and their mission has always been to help people live healthier and more active lives by offering guidance and inspiration to reach personal goals. The fitness trackers have been popular for marathon runners and other athletes with training goals in mind as well as people like me who just want to add more to my everyday activities. 

In combination with the Fitbit App, people can manage not only personal goals of their chosen activities but also eat smarter, sleep better, and pay attention to weight goals. Fitbit has become the number one fitness tracker globally out of all the wearables on the market now. There are several Fitbit styles available depending on your needs and this fall we've been introduced to new models: Fitbit Charge 2 and the Fitbit Flex 2. 

The original Fitbit Charge HR first came out in 2014. It was the first continuous wrist-based heart rate monitor that revolutionized the category and has been the number one selling tracker for Fitbit to date. This fall Fitbit Charge 2 launched that will phase out the sale of the original model. 

The new Charge 2  includes automatic exercise and sleep tracking. The sleep tracking was really interesting for me personally to adjust my night routine for a better sleep. Each morning I could see not only the duration of sleep I get but also how many times I get restless or wake up. I've now given up caffeine past 5 pm for a better more restful sleep and it's working. I'm averaging out 7 hours of decent sleep after testing out the device for a month now. 

While I was concerned about when I needed to charge the device, I realized it has about a 5-day battery life so the best time for me to recharge it is times like now when I'm sitting idle at a computer and not doing any exercise...or sleeping.

The tracker also now has multi-sport tracking capability so you can customize and  fine tune your information in run, yoga, work out, bike modes, spinning and others on the app. There are actually 19 different modes that you can select and prioritize (and include up to 7 on your device at once). 

However, it also comes with a smart track automatic exercise recognition so it tracks your progress for you if you forget to put the device in general modes like walking and biking. Two other new features on the Charge 2 that are powered by the heart rate technology are cardio fitness and guided breathing sessions. Cardio fitness offers guided suggestions to help improve or reach your goals based on information collected on your age, weight, intensity of your heart rate and how your body uses oxygen. 

Guided breathing sessions works towards managing stress.For two or five minutes. Using optical light sensors, the Charge 2 will first take 20 seconds to calibrate and monitor your heart rate measuring the variables of beat to beat changes. It will then guide you through a personalized breathing session with a display prompting you to inhale and exhale while giving you real time feedback by showing your actual heart rate. The goal of this feature is to stabilize your heart rate. 

The Charge 2 also comes with text, call and calendar notifications as well as reminders to move every 50 minutes (can be customized). I noticed that many times it will prompt me to get up and take 250 steps. I discovered that this magic number is a manageable number for most people to take a quick break to work this into their daily routines to keep your metabolism at a good range. If your metabolism is up it helps your body be more efficient.

The device is also has connected GPS which was also launched on the Fitbit Blaze model earlier. It uses the Bluetooth on your phone to give you real time distance, pace and heart rate while you're working out. The newer edition has a 4 times larger display than the previous model. The band can be interchangeable including sport, leather and special edition bands.

The Charge 2 also has a workout interval mode. Great for those who are into high intensity training, cross fit and run training. At the gym for example, you want to do a variety of exercises like weights, push ups, sit ups, lunges you can customize it to include rests periods. Once programmed in, the tracker will actually buzz and help you stay focus. 

I've also been testing out the new Fitbit Flex 2 as it's water-resistent for my swimming. However out of all the Fitbit models this is the simplest in terms of look and what it can do. Good for those who don't want another time-piece looking device on their wrist. Like the Charge 2 it will automatically track your fitness activity and sync to your phone. Speaking of syncing to your phone, I currently have both Fitbits active on one account on my phone since only the Flex 2 is water-resistent. However, the Flex 2 does not track your heart rate nor does it have a screen to give your real time data. You need to sync to get all the information. The Flex 2 does offer notifications by tapping you and with light up dots. But honestly I can't recall what the dots mean. I just know when it buzzes, it's alerting me to do something so I'll simply pull out my phone to see what's up. 

The Flex 2 is more versatile in wearability. New options include pendants and bangles where you simply pop in the core device. I've also just tossed it in my pocket or handbag and it seems to be able to capture my activity when I don't want to be wearing the device. 

What else? I've inputted what I consume each day into the app and have found that it's been helpful in giving me a better understanding of how many calories I burn vs along side how many calories I injest. Common foods are stored in there but you can also customize by adding foods not found on the list. You'll just need to know how many calories to include. Sometimes I'll break down a complete meal right down to the smear of butter on my toast or number of teaspoons of soy sauce used in my noodles. It's time consuming but helpful once you've inputed the data when necessary. The good thing is the app saves each food item to the list for future reference. It will also save your favourites. 

I've been having fun with the challenges with my friends near and far -- great incentive for us to all get up and move. We've been tracking each other's progress with cheers and jabs on our "Workweek Hustles" and now on weekends we've all jumped on becoming "Weekend Warriors". The movitation between us caught me by surprised. There are daily showdowns and personal goal days to participate in as well. I didn't think I was so competitive but now I'm stepping up my game. Literally. 

I've also discovered the app's "Adventure" trails that offer virtual destinations like trails through Yosemite or New York City. When you reach certain number of steps you're rewarded with a beautiful vista point.