Getting fit with the Milestone Gravitate Activity Tracker: The 10,000 steps a day challenge

For the past 10 months, fitness has been the last thing on my mind. I tired my best to stay fit during my pregnancy but it really wasn’t easy when I was constantly exhausted and felt like a heffalump.

Now that George is a month old I’m getting back into the swing of things with a fitness regime and after so long away from the gym, I’m actually pretty excited (I know, sad right?)

10,000 steps challenge

As I had a c-section I still need to take things pretty easy so I’m taking up the 10,000 steps a day challenge before I hit the gym. The 10,000 steps a day challenge is a walking challenge to make sure you stay active and get a good amount of exercise a day. 10,000 steps is around 5 miles a day so it’s a bit of a challenge but it’s definitely achievable and something most people can incorporate into their everyday life.

It’s also something you can do while you’re travelling. Walking is something I do a lot when I’m visiting somewhere new as it’s such a great way to see a new destination, so hopefully I’ll be able to keep this up no matter where I am.

I’m managing to get in my 10,000 steps with a short run in the morning and a long walk in the evening.

If anyone wants to join in with the 10,000 steps challenge, please please please do! Seriously, I need all the motivation I can get so other people joining in will make it way easier. I’m using the #10000steps hashtag on Twitter and Instagram.

My new activity tracker

So today I want to tell you about the Milestone Gravitate Activity Tracker. It’s a wristband you wear constantly and it tracks the amount of steps you take. It’s basically a fancy pedometer.

There’s then an app you use to connect the activity tracker to your mobile and it tells you how far you’ve walked, how many steps you took and how many calories you’ve burned.

You can set yourself daily goals (10,000 steps per day in my case) and also set reminders. The reminders are to keep you active and an alarm goes off to remind you to get up and move around.

The wristband looks plain black until you press the small button and LED lights display either the time, your distance for the day, your calories or the amount of steps you’ve taken.

Here’s what I thought about the Milestone Gravitate Activity Tracker. I’ve split it into sections because this got pretty long!

 

Using the app

My main problem with devices like this is always connecting them to the mobile app – why is it always so difficult?

Thankfully, connecting the Milestone Gravitate Activity Tracker to the app was REALLY simple.

• Download the app from the app store – it’s available on Android and iOS
• Go into the app and press the icon in the top left corner
• A notification pops up saying ‘Bluetooth Connecting’
• If you don’t have bluetooth turned on on your phone, it automatically directs you to your settings to turn it on
• You then press the button on the activity tracker and hold it down for a few seconds
• Another notification pops up saying your app and the tracker are connected
• The tracker and the app automatically sync and the app displays your stats for the day
• The first time you use the app you need to input your age, weight and height. It will automatically sync the time and date and your personal settings with the tracker when you connect them

It’s that easy. I didn’t even use the instruction manual and it took me less than 5 minutes to do all of that.

 

Tracking your sleep

You can also wear the activity tracker through the night and it will track your sleep patterns. It tracks your sleep cycles and tells you when you’re in a light or heavy sleep. It can also be set to wake you up at the best point in your sleep cycle to avoid having a noisy alarm wake you when you’re in a deep sleep.

A lot of people may find this function useful and interesting but I find it pretty pointless. I know when I sleep well or sleep badly and having an app tell me I slept badly doesn’t change anything.

 

Accuracy

The main thing the Milestone Gravitate Activity Tracker needs to be is accurate and it seems to be pretty much spot on.

I’ve tried using apps on my phone to track my activity but they’re often completely inaccurate and can get confused. My phone, for example, gets mixed up between slow moving traffic and running. It also doesn’t track a slow walk if the phone it’s in the baby’s pram, it has to be jiggling around to track movement.

 

Wearability

I have to be honest; this isn’t the most stylish accessory. It’s a bit clunky so I wouldn’t wear it during a meeting or on a night out. I would wear it during the day and I’d definitely wear it while exercising.

It’s a little uncomfortable to wear at night, but like I said, I’m not too keen on using it to track my sleep anyway.

Battery life

The battery lasts around 3 days. This isn’t as long as some of its competitors and for such a simple gadget intended to be worn 24/7 I expected it to last longer.

It’s not a problem for me because I’m not using it to track my sleep so I just charge it at night alongside my phone. It may be disappointing if you plan to wear it 24/7.

 

Reminders

Reminders are a great feature if you work at a desk or you’re guilty of lazing around. I work from home and sometimes I get so absorbed in what I’m doing that hours can go by without me moving. If I’ve got a busy workload I don’t even leave the house so it’s easy to go all day without doing any form of exercise at all.

You can set a reminder to go off up to every hour and it will give you a gentle nudge to get up and walk around.

 

Why use a tracker?

This is the kind of question I know my dad would ask; why bother buying a tracker, why not just go for a walk?

For me, it’s about staying motivated. Having a device to tell me how far I’ve walked and how many calories I’ve burned encourages me to keep going or go further. It also holds you accountable when you have lazy days. It’s easy to pretend lazy days never happened and promise yourself you’ll start again tomorrow but when I have a great big gap in my app I almost feel guilty.

Price

The main selling point for the Milestone Gravitate Activity Tracker is the price. It’s an absolute bargain at just £15.75 (that’s the cheapest I found it on Amazon – other places it’s around £50!)

The main competitor is, of course, the Fitbit which seems to do exactly the same thing but costs £64.

 

Final thoughts

I’ve wanted a FitBit since I first discovered them a few years ago but there was no way I could justify spending that amount. I’m so pleased there is now a cheaper alternative.

It’s a great little device if you want some motivation to exercise more and you like being able to see exactly how many calories you’ve burned and how far you’ve run or walked.

I’ve read mixed reviews for Milestone Gravitate Activity Tracker but I can honestly say that it’s brilliant for just £15. If you’re starting a fitness regime in time for summer, this is an awesome little accessory to help!

 

Activity Tracker Giveaway!

If you fancy getting your hands on the Milestone Gravitate Activity Tracker, I'm giving one away. Just pop over to the giveaway page to enter.

Disclaimer: I was provided with this product for the purpose of the review but I was not obligated to write about it. This is not a paid or sponsored feature and, as always, all thoughts and opinions are my own.