Millions of people wear fitness trackers, and there is value in data on how they can be used to motivate people toward a healthier lifestyle. Fitbit has its own formula for what they call Active Zone Minutes. It’s described as time spent in any heart-pumping activity. They also measure active minutes, which relates to lower-intensity work. The two terms together give us a good measure of how energetic we’ve been during a workout or during the day.
These features can be really helpful in encouraging people to develop healthy lifestyles and be more active. Our Step / Activity Challenge focuses on regular walking or rolling at a normal pace. It’s considered a great exercise option for most people due to its accessibility, low impact, and wide range of health benefits. We continue to promote and incentivize this activity, so don’t worry, the Step /Activity Challenge remains, and you can join at any time.
This additional challenge, featuring Active Zone Minutes, incentivizes people to move with greater intensity! We want you to be intentional in your movement and plan dedicated time to increase your physical activity. The default goal is based on the widely accepted recommendation of 150 minutes of moderate activity or 75 minutes of vigorous activity per week. Fitness trackers make calculating and tracking this pretty easy. They personalize your target heart rate zone based on your age and resting heart rate, giving you a greater understanding of how to optimize your effort.
We’re not here to split hairs and analyze the math behind the way your fitness tracker calculates Active Zone Minutes. Generally, the harder you work, the more Active Zone Minutes you earn, indicating how hard your heart is working to pump your blood and keep up with the demands of what you’re doing.
Remember, the baseline goal to maintain a healthy heart and reap the cardiovascular benefits is 150 minutes of moderate activity or 75 minutes of vigorous activity.
Organizations like the American Heart Association, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Clevland Clinic, Health and Human Services, and the World Health Organization support 150 minutes of moderate activity or 75 minutes of vigorous activity per week!
As always, consult your physician before you engage in any new physical activity, and make sure you keep yourself in a safe space.
Visit GoGarrettCountyPlus.com to enter your Active Zone Minutes. You must have a free account on GoGarrettCountyPlus.com. We will begin the Challenge on Feb 24th and finish on May 11th. Those people who hit the 150 zone minutes per week goal consistently for 12 weeks will be entered into a random drawing to win a Maryland Park Service passport, a $75.00 value for Maryland residents.
The annual pass offers unlimited day-use admission for everyone in the vehicle (up to 10 people) to Maryland’s state parks and facilities, unlimited boat launching at all applicable state park facilities, and a ten percent discount on state-operated concession items and boat rentals. For parks with honor box systems, the pass covers entry service charges.
If you would like to participate in the Active Zone Minutes Challenge but do not have a fitness tracker and are 13 years or older, you can sign up to receive one free, while supplies last. We are unable to provide you with a fitness tracker if you have received one from the Population Health, Innovation, & Informatics Unit in the past. The free Fitbit order form will be available later this week on Go! Garrett County Plus (https://gogarrettcountyplus.com/).
The Active Zone Minute Challenge can be previewed at https://gogarrettcountyplus.com/active-zone-minutes-challenge/. Additional details will be available as we get closer to the challenge launch date!
Sponsored by the Healthy Together Grant!
Supported by the Maryland Community Health Resources Commission. The views presented here are those of the grantee organization and not necessarily those of the Commission, its Executive Director, or its staff.
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Thank you for this additional challenge!
Awesome
Thank you for this.
This is great!
Great challenge to keep us moving
Great motivation!
Sounds good!
Woohoo! I am in need of a new challenge!
Sounds good
Rev your engines!!