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The 30 Day Fitbit Charge 5 Challenge. What is it?

Quite simply, I’ll be wearing the Fitbit Charge 5 for the next 30 days to see if it can help get me back on the road — and eventually running again. But first, a little context on how I got here…

After running high school cross country, I was an on-again, off-again runner for many years. I remember running around Athens, Georgia when we lived there from 1975–1979, along with a couple of 5Ks here and there.

I didn’t run much — if at all — during most of the 1980s. Can you say four kids and a pretty demanding full-time job? Add in part-time work at both a convenience store and Waldenbooks, and running pretty much disappeared.

The Running Reboot

I may have dabbled a bit in the late ’80s, but the real reboot came in the 1990s when my son started running cross country. Before long, I was back out on the track, struggling to run a mile again.

I started training seriously, and from there running became a regular part of my life. For many years — well into my late 60s — I was running about four miles twice a week, with six to eight miles on weekends.

From the Garmin Forerunner to the Fitbit Charge 5 — and Back Again

When I first started running again, I used a plain old watch and measured my routes with the car. Then, in 2003, Garmin introduced the Forerunner 101, one of the first GPS watches aimed at runners.

Here’s what it looked like.

(Yes, it was big and bulky — and heart rate was measured with a chest strap.)

From about November 2015, when Target provided Fitbits to employees, until March 2023, I used various Fitbits to track my workouts and running. I upgraded early on to a Charge HR and used that for several years.

Somewhere along the way, my daughter handed down her Fitbit Versa, which I also used for a few years. When the Charge 5 came out in 2021, I switched back to the Charge line.

Babysitting, Balance, and Reality at 74

In March 2023, my son-in-law handed me his Garmin Epix Gen 2, which is a terrific smartwatch — especially for accurate GPS distance.

The problem wasn’t the watch. Since September 2023, when we started babysitting Emma full-time (until this past April), my running took a serious nose-dive. Add in the reality that I’m now 74, and that probably didn’t help either.

Why I’m Back to the Fitbit Charge 5 (For Now)

Even while babysitting, I kept up a short workout most mornings. But days where I really moved the needle from Recovery to Productive were few and far between.

So, in an effort to ease my way back toward running shape, I decided to return to the Fitbit Charge 5.

Yes, I know Fitbit tends to estimate higher calories burned than Garmin. But I got tired of finishing what felt like a solid workout, only to have the Garmin label it Recovery. And when I did push harder, it often told me I needed 72 hours of recovery — which felt a bit discouraging.

Last night, I used the Charge 5 while working out on my walking pad, which can go over 4 mph. Until last year, I’d never used a treadmill in my life.

I always joke that treadmills are hard for me because when I run, I run and the ground doesn’t. As a 74-year-old with balance issues, I hold onto the bar. I know that’s not ideal form — but it beats falling.

I also discovered that when I use the treadmill with the Garmin, it only tracks steps and distance if my arms are swinging.

A week or so ago, I tried walking slowly and swinging my arms, and the Garmin worked fine. But last night, wearing the Fitbit, I decided: forget steps and distance — I’m holding on and upping the speed. My real goal was to elevate my heart rate and burn calories.

To my surprise, when I finished, Fitbit recorded steps, distance, and calories burned anyway.

Note

After reading the following article TREADMILLS & SENIORS: THE RULES OF ENGAGEMENT I decided that I will go back to what I was doing when I first started reusing the treadmill. I will start at low speeds that I can handle comfortably without holding on. As I get more comfortable I will increase my speed to where I am jogging comfortably without holding on. Wish Me Luck!

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The Actual Goal: Health, Not Numbers

This morning, I did my usual workout — resistance bands, light weights, and calisthenics. The result? More calories burned in the same amount of time.

Sure, it may partly come down to how Fitbit calculates calories, but honestly, I don’t care. I feel motivated, ready to do it again, and maybe even push a little more.

Back when I used Fitbit regularly, I knew that if I hit 3,000 calories burned in a day, I’d lose weight. My hope is to get back to that level again.

So here we go. For the next 30 days, I’ll be using the Fitbit Charge 5 exclusively to see if it can help me rebuild fitness — and lose some weight. Maybe by spring, I’ll be outside again and back to running.

I’m not exactly sure how I’ll keep you posted — probably a few check-in posts here and there — but I’ll figure something out.

One final note: back in November, I started using a CPAP to address my sleep apnea. Over the last 90 days, my apnea events have dropped significantly, and I feel better during the day.

Hopefully, better sleep and renewed movement together can move the needle toward better overall health.

Links for Further Explorations

Mayo Clinic – Sleep Apnea Diagnosis and Treatment

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My Morning Workouts – July 2 and 3 2017

We went to the Jersey shore yesterday for a small family gathering ( no beach) Just the way I like it! Anyway as a result I didn’t get to run. I did get in an abbreviated morning workout though. I did the first twenty two minutes of my 60 minute workout. The routine included  a 4 minutes dance cardio warm up and a tabata routine was made up of….

1 -4 – 20 second sets of jumping jacks (25 per 20 seconds ( 100 total)
2- 1 – 20 second mountain climbers -35 total
3 -1 – 20 second squat thrusts – 10
4 -1 – 20 second push-ups
5 -1 – 20 squats
6 -1 – 20 second squat kicks
7- 1 – 20 second squat steps
8 – 1 – 29 second squat together
9- 1 – 20 second hydrant
10- 1 – 20 second chair kickbacks

11- 1 20 second curls with 15 pound weights
12 -1 20 second overhead press 15 lb weights
13 -1 20 second lunges 15 lb weights

14 – Two rounds of various weights with a kettlle bell
15 – 2:00 minutes per round 4 total

At the end of those exercise I was just shy of burning 200 calories so I add some dance cardio with some jumping jacks included for 3 minutes or so bringing the total routine to 24 minutes burning a whopping 205 calories! Can you read the sarcasm in that statement?

July 3rd Morning Workout 

Anyway this morning I replaced the 15 lb weights with 5 lb weights for 4 minutes. Then resistance bands for four minutes and a closing dance cardio with some kettle bell and jump rope. The routine totalled about 24 minutes and burned
about  that same 200 plus calories. I don’t know precisely because I never stopped the Fitbit! So if you through in my shower and getting dressed the workout lasted 54 minutes and burned 314 calories.

I may be able to get a run in today, but with the hot weather I don’t know. Maybe an after dinner bike ride? That would be something a little different.

Ok  so me today’s workout begins in earnest. Zoe is up! Just kidding!  Watching Zoe is not a hard task and certainly doesn’t burn a lot of calories- now Oliver that’s a different story!  After Zoe got up we spent some time cutting shapes.The featured image shows Zoe cutting the shapes by herself. She will turn three in September!

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