Nike FuelBand Review | Motivation for an Active Lifestyle

For the past couple of weeks, I’ve (Nik) been wearing a Nike FuelBand. Religiously. The time it’s spent off my arm can probably be counted in minutes, rather than hours - and that includes recharging, which is ludicrously fast. There it’s sat, a sleek black band on my wrist, as discreet as any watch, measuring the intensity of my movement and recording this as NikeFuel points. The idea being to set a target of intensity each day and beat this target. I’m currently aiming for 3,000 points, and have achieved that in five of the last seven days.

The key to the FuelBand is simplicity, not just in design, but in function and use. A single button allows you to toggle through NikeFuel points, time, and hours ‘won’, with the LED display merging seamlessly with the black of the band when not lit. Using BlueTooth, the band transmits data to a very slick smartphone app. The app can be used to alter the settings of the band, but it’s primary function is to display a whole range of stats relating to your intensity (including calories spent and steps taken) over time, vs the general population, and vs your friends. The app also allows you to tag sessions so that your performance at certain activities (e.g. running, gym, or football) can be compared independently from the rest of your daily movement. 

I’m not a serious athlete, attending the gym and running three or four times a week, but even so I quickly noticed some failings with the FuelBand. Certain activities - rowing and cycling, for instance - don’t seem to register many Fuel points, presumably as my arm is fairly stable during these exercises. You can easily cheat, with ten minutes in the pub racking up a large number of points once a couple of people had taken turns to throw the FuelBand in the air. 

And, then there is the ‘black box’ nature of Fuel points: as Nike won’t explain how they are calculated, the seemingly arbitrary nature of the points make it difficult to use as a scientific tool for serious training. 
 

I think these criticisms are slightly unfair, however. The Nike FuelBand is really an everyday motivational tool for measuring how active your lifestyle is and encouraging you to move more, rather than a serious training tool. And it really does work. Within a day of wearing the band I found myself changing my mindset, jogging up the escalator (or better yet, the stairs) on the way to the office, walking further to buy my lunch, and attempting to run for a couple more minutes, all to clock up just a few more Fuel points. In just a week, I’ve increased my target, increased the number of Fuel points I score each day, and therefore increased my activity levels. 

The app is a really good way of keeping track of various exercises you do and how much effort you’re putting in each time - it’s surprising just how many times I don’t run quite as hard as I think I do. Also, the social element of seeing others activity levels and competing against or with each other would be brilliant, if I had more friends with FuelBands. 

Unfortunately, given that my only friend with one is a marathon runner, I tend not to look at her score very often. If anyone out there has a FuelBand, look me up! Here's a short video which shows how the FuelBand works. Have any of you tried the Fuelband, if so has it managed to keep you motivated?

p.s Rumours about that Nike might be pulling back on production of the FuelBand itself; however, strong ties between Nike and Apple suggest Apple's new wearable devices could include a Fuel element. Exciting stuff! - Nik

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