Fitness trackers are the accessory of the moment for the aspirationally active you can see
them hanging from wrists and pinned to belts everywhere.
Fitness: How
Basis Can Help You
Like most fitness
trackers, Basis also gives you standard measurements of calories and steps.
Unlike them, Basis has Body IQ™ which automatically identifies when you are
walking, running, or biking on the road – no buttons to push or modes to set.
This gives you a true picture of how much activity you pack into each day
whether for exercise or just finding moments in your day to lead a more active
life.
Why biking, running or walking?
All three exercises –
running, biking, and walking – are great forms of exercise for your heart,
lungs, and metabolism. You really can’t go wrong. In fact, pretty much every
study out there shows that the cardiovascular benefits of walking, running, and
biking are the same.
This means that
regardless of whether you choose to run, bike, or walk, you will benefit by
decreasing your risk of heart attack, high blood pressure (hypertension),
diabetes, and cholesterol. Still, depending on the person, and depending on
what you are trying to accomplish in your fitness routine, some forms of
exercise may be better than others. Rest assured, whatever you choose, Basis
will be right there tracking your progress no matter what.
Biking
What it’s good for:
Biking is an excellent cardiovascular exercise – it aids in strengthening your
heart so that you can pump more blood at a lower heart rate. More than that,
biking is also a great choice if weight-loss is your goal. Biking at a
moderate, 12-14mph pace burns about 596 calories in a 155lb person, and the
nature of biking actually increases fat burning, which is something running
doesn’t necessarily accomplish. Moreover, biking is an endurance exercise that
increases stamina, while at the same time builds the large muscle of the lower
body – your hamstrings, glutes, quads, and calves. These muscles are
powerhouses for energy, and the stronger they become, the more oxygen they
require, and the more oxygen they use, the more calories you burn.
Biking is also one of the
only high-intensity activities that is also easy on the body. Most other forms
of exercise that offer the same caloric burn are quite jarring on your joints
and muscles; but with biking, you are in a seated position, which makes it low
impact and isolates the lower muscle groups.
What it’s not so great
for: Biking builds muscle, so if you are looking to lose overall mass,
including muscle mass, biking would not be the best way to accomplish this.
Biking, particularly mountain biking, uses a fair amount of fast-twitch muscle
fibers, which are the type of muscle fibers that responsible for muscle bulk.
These types of muscle fibers are required to bike uphill, and this contributes
to muscle strength and growth. The other trade-off with biking is that you aren’t
getting a full-
body workout. Even though
you are burning calories and increasing your endurance, you will want to
incorporate some upper body and core training into your routine. After all, who
wants strong legs but flabby arms and abs?
Running
What it’s good for: If
pure weight loss is your goal, running is the best form of exercise. Running
burns the most calories in the shortest amount of time, giving you the most
efficient aerobic workout. A 155lb person will burn 818 calories in one hour when
running
9-minute miles, and this
number increases as your mile time decreases. Several studies have also shown
that runners are more likely to control their weight and waist circumference
overtime, and that running increases appetite-suppression hormones in your
blood, causing you to eat less after a workout. Running is also a full body
workout. While running, you are engaging your legs, your core, and your arms,
and because it is a weight-bearing activity, running also increases bone growth
and strength. Not to mention that running improves circulation, which reduces
your risk for high blood pressure and stroke, and helps build a stronger immune
system.
What it’s not so great
for: Before you hang up your helmet and put away your walking shoes for good,
realize that running also has its limitations. First of all, running is quite
stressful on your body, particularly your weight-bearing joints (like your
knees and hips). In fact, your knees support 7x your body weight while running,
which can cause any existing arthritis to progress. Both biking and walking
have lower incidences of injury, and may be better options for many people.
Also, long distance
running will not build muscle. If you are looking to decrease your weight,
including your muscle mass, running will accomplish this best. But, also
realize that with muscle breakdown comes metabolism decrease. We’ve all heard
that “muscle burns more
calories than fat,” and
what this means is that when you have more muscle on your body, your body has to
work really hard to maintain it. The more muscle you have, the more calories
you will burn at rest. Therefore, while running may shed some serious poundage,
you should definitely supplement your runs with weight-training at least 2
times a week to keep your results improving.
Walking
What it’s good for:
Compared directly to running and biking, it is hard to imagine that walking
could even be on par in terms of a legitimate, aerobic workout. However, this
could not be further from the truth! Walking is an excellent cardiovascular
exercise, offering the same benefits as running and biking, and in some cases,
even more. So, if walking is your only option for exercise, don’t feel like
you’ll fall behind. Walking is a dynamic and aerobic exercise for your muscles,
and has minimal adverse effects and risks of injury. It is inherently safe, low
impact, and strengthens the legs, pelvis, and bones, while preserving joint
flexibility. Most importantly, studies have shown that regular walking at a
brisk pace improves aerobic fitness, regardless of whether the duration is in
short or long intervals.
What it’s not so great
for: Walking does not burn as many calories as running or biking. A 155lb
person will burn 298 calories in 1 hour when walking 3.5mph (about 17 minutes
per mile). That’s better than nothing, but if walking is your only option, it
may not seem like enough to give you the workout you need. Solution? Try
weighted walking. Several studies have shown that walking with hand and ankle
weights at 4mph burns more calories than running at 5mph without weights.
Weighted walking effectively gets your heart rate into the “training zone,”
allowing you to burn more calories and improve and sustain your physical
fitness and endurance.
It’s All Good
Which exercise you pick
really depends on your goals. Biking, running and walking are all great
cardiovascular exercises, and perhaps the greatest success would come from
participating in a variety of all three, if possible. Variability is an
important part of fitness, because regardless of the exercise you choose, if
you do it over and over, you’re going to see fewer results. So change up the
ways in which you get more active and feel good knowing that Basis is right
there with you.
Stress:
How Basis can help you
a sudden becomes hyper-aware
of his surroundings and is able to forget everything – including injury,
hunger, or thirst –to evade his predator. He suddenly becomes empowered with
energy and strength and can do anything to escape. This is the essence of the
evolved sympathetic nervous system, and from an evolutionary standpoint, this
was needed for survival.
Why is stress a bad thing?
Under normal
circumstances, your sympathetic nervous system is in balance with your
parasympathetic nervous system, which can be thought of as your rest and digest
system. This system is in place to bring you back down to normal after a
stressful event. The issue today is that, because the body handles “escaping
danger” the same way as “stressing about a deadline,” most of us are
overworking our fight or flight system, and this rest and digest system isn’t
taking over, which has lasting consequences on our health. Consider this:
cortisol, adrenaline, and other stress-related hormones are very useful when
you need them, but in excess, can cause increased cholesterol, so called
“spare-tire” weight gain, and high blood pressure. Not to mention negative
effects on your libido and hairline. Excess stress certainly will not help you
perform at your peak.
Because increased heart
rate is an easy indicator of stress, we can combat our stress at a chemical
level by recognizing when our heart rate is elevated, and then working to lower
it. How? One effect of an increased heart rate is an increased breathing rate,
and depending on how you breathe, you can cause stressful situations
to get better or worse.
However, with the help of Basis continuously monitoring your heart rate, you
can use your breath to control your heart rate, and your stress. Controlled
breathing exercises will decrease your heart rate and stress levels by
stabilizing CO2 levels in your blood, maximizing oxygen levels in your blood,
and lowering your blood pressure, all of which will lower the concentration of
stress hormones in your body and activate your rest and digest system.
What can you do?
Next time you’re sitting
at your desk, stressed with a deadline or otherwise, check out your heart rate.
Is it elevated? Controlling your breathing will not only lower
your heart rate, but it
will also actively decrease your stress. Look at your heart rate on your Basis
band, and if it’s elevated, check out this Basis video to see Deepak Chopra, M.D. demonstrate how to use your
Basis band with a breathing exercise to help reduce your stress.
Sleep:
How Basis can help you
Many people grade their
sleep quality on how much they toss and turn, or how many hours of sleep they
get in
a given night – but there
is actually so much more to a good night’s rest. Lucky for you, there’s Basis.
Leveraging our Body IQ™
technology, Basis is the only health tracker that comprehensively captures
every aspect of your sleep: REM Sleep, Deep Sleep, Light Sleep, Toss-and-Turn,
Interruptions and Duration. To help you understand and improve your sleep
quality, Basis provides a personalized sleep dashboard with a summary of these
metrics, an easy-to-understand Sleep Score, your benchmark for sleep quality,
and rolling averages for key metrics so you see your progress over time.
Thursday Night, 2 JAN
Our online and mobile apps help you visualize your sleep data:
REM Sleep, Deep Sleep and Light Sleep - as well as Interruptions and
Toss-and-Turns.
Most Comprehensive Picture of Your Sleep
Basis automatically
detects every phase of sleep that is critical for maximizing your mental and
physical performance. Based on cutting-edge sleep science, your sleep chart or
hypnogram shows the frequency and duration of each phase of your sleep - REM
Sleep, Deep Sleep and Light Sleep - as well as Toss-and-Turn, Interruptions and
Duration.
REM Sleep, or Rapid Eye
Movement sleep, primarily renews the mind by playing a key role in learning and
memory. The more REM sleep you get, the more likely you will wake feeling
refreshed and ready to be the best version of yourself throughout the day.
Deep Sleep is how the
body repairs itself and build up energy for the day ahead. Deep Sleep plays a
major role in maintaining your health, stimulating growth and development,
repairing muscles and tissues, and boosting your immune system.
Light Sleep is typically
what constitutes the majority of your sleep and allows your body to transition
into REM or Deep Sleep.
Toss and Turn and
Interruptions are good indicators of your restlessness or restfulness. Some
people toss and turn more while others turn less. Interruptions, significant
breaks in your sleep, can be caused by many factors - a snoring partner, a late
night bathroom trip or just an inability to stay asleep.
Basis
provides a breakdown of each phase of sleep - what it means and how much you
should be getting.
Personalized Sleep Analysis
Basis provides you with
the tools to easily understand your quality of sleep, make changes and see your
progress over time.
Sleep Score: To help you
easily evaluate your sleep quality, Basis provides a personal daily Sleep Score
built around your individual data.
Benchmarking: The Basis
dashboard displays a rolling average of key metrics - your Sleep Score, Toss
and Turn and Interruptions - to help you benchmark your progress.
Your
personalized sleep benchmarks let you track your progress over time.
Weekly Sleep Report: To
help you chart your progress on a weekly basis, Basis sends you a Sleep
Analysis Report that includes Duration, Toss and Turn, and Interruptions.
Healthy Habits for Sleep:
Our unique Healthy Habits system enables you to take small actions like
sticking to a consistent bedtime to improve your sleep quality over time.
World Class Research
In developing our
Advanced Sleep Analysis, the Basis Science team partnered with researchers at
the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), San Francisco VA Medical
Center and the Northern California Institute of Research and Education (NCIRE).
Basis was benchmarked against consumer devices as well as medical grade devices
to provide the most comprehensive picture of your sleep among health trackers.
Not getting enough quality sleep?
You’ll know it from your
Basis sleep analysis, but you should also be able to feel it during the day.
Lack of sleep, in particular, is what drives us to feel sleepy during the day.
And accordingly, if you change your sleep habits, you’ll also be able to feel a
difference in a positive direction. Because Basis automatically tracks various
aspects of your sleep, you’ll quickly become aware of ‘good’ and
‘bad’ patterns. Some
common changes that people make based on their personal data:
1. Stick to a set
bedtime and wake time. This allows your natural body clock to program your
sleeping to match your needs.
2. Make sure
your room is dark and free of visual stimuli. Turn off your lights, TV, and
close the blinds. Darkness allows a chemical called melatonin to be released,
which is one of the main players in swooning you to slumber.
3. Don’t eat right
before bed. Sure, you’ve heard this advice from your nutritionist in terms of
losing weight, but it’s also important for a good night’s sleep, because sleep
is supposed to be a restorative period for your body. Eating before bed creates
stress on your system, as it is less able to shut down for recuperation.
Time to wake up!
With the advanced
sleep-tracking technology of Basis, you can now understand and monitor all
measures of your sleep. You don’t need to set a special mode or anything, just
drift off to Dreamland. Basis will take care of the rest. From there, simply
listen to your what your Basis
tells you about your sleep quality, and let Basis help you alter
your habits to improve one of the simplest and best therapies for our bodies:
sleep.
More
Than A Fitness Tracker - The World’s Most Advanced Health Tracker
The bottom line is that
the Basis band is the only product on the market that approaches your health
from a holistic, multi-dimensional angle – Basis doesn’t simply focus on
fitness, caloric burn, and weight loss like the other guys; rather, Basis
incorporates those into the larger picture
of your health to help
you form healthy habits to get fit, stress less, sleep better.
Managing high-performance
work, weekend adventures, stress, life chores and family time requires
superhuman abilities. We want to help people do it all - supercharge their life
24/7. That’s why we created the most advanced health tracking system (most
sensors and Body IQ™) to blend the right balance of work, rest and play into
your schedule.
If knowledge about your
body is power, then Basis is all about giving you super powers.
