Fitness badges explained.
Fitness badges are digital rewards given to users by their smartwatches and fitness trackers, based on their various activities. These can be achieved during the day and over the week, month and year.
There are a variety of options for obtaining a badge. For starters, if you’re concerned about being too athletic, you don’t have to be. Smartwatches now provide badges for specific sports to step counts, calorie goals and even standing up.
The majority of these badges may be acquired at any time, and some are repeated. Fitness badges differ between brands. And we’re going to look at the three fitness titans: Fitbit, Garmin and Apple.
Fitbit
Badges are something Fitbit users appreciate. Fitbit has gamified exercises, so users are rewarded for completing certain activities. To keep things fresh, certain badges can only be won once, while others may be gained several times each day. There are two types of badges: everyday badges and lifetime badges.
Badges are awarded for completing step-based activities, climbing floors, and meeting weight-loss objectives. There are over 100 badges to honour a wide range of accomplishments. These virtual medals are intended to recognise and help you celebrate even the tiniest of accomplishments throughout your health journey, from steps walked to floors climbed to weight reduction.
Manually recorded activities do not count toward step badges since they are earned only when wearing your Fitbit device. Weight target badges are awarded for data transmitted automatically from a Fitbit Aria or Fitbit Aria 2 scale, as well as manually logged weights.
Garmin
Garmin Connect Badges are really a delightful way to keep track of your major fitness and health achievements. For example, if you complete your first 5K run or regularly meet your step target throughout a month, you’ll get a badge.
You should be able to get in on the badge fun if you own a Garmin tracker like the Venu 2, Vivosmart 4 or Fenix 6 and utilise Garmin’s Connect software (web or smartphone).
If you’re wondering where you can get these Garmin badges, or if you want to go for the most challenging badges, we’ve got you covered. Do you have any questions? Please share your thoughts in the comments area.
How can you get Garmin badges?
There are a variety of options for obtaining a badge. For one, you don’t need to be an athlete. Garmin awards badges for runs, step counts, activity, health, and other things. Sometimes even just planning a workout.
The majority of badges can be acquired at any time, and some are repeated. So, if you bagged the marathon, a second 26.2 miles should get you some bonus points Garmin has also included badges that are only available for a short period, such as recording an exercise on New Year’s Eve.
You may earn points that will help you unlock new in Garmin Connect by earning these badges. What do you get for those points? Boasting to your fellow Garmin Connect users for one, but they should also serve as a reminder to remain active.
How many are there?
Garmin hasn’t actually told us a specific number, but it’s currently near 100, according to our count. Garmin has been adding additional badges to the list as well, including several for indoor workouts, so don’t be shocked if the number continues to increase.
Apple
Apple has its own accomplishments and badges system. Digital rosettes appear onscreen when you complete a commendable activity and then stay on your iPhone’s Activity app so you can show them to family and friends. (In fact, some of the badges have iMessage stickers to share).
Standard badges can be won at any moment by burning a given number of calories, exercising for a certain period of time, and so on. Badges for social sharing and contests are available. There are also ‘Limited Edition’ tasks that must be completed on a particular date.
Most of them will be shown on the Achievements page (open the Activity app on your iPhone connected to your Apple Watch, then select Achievements at the bottom of the screen) even before you achieve them; touch one to read the criteria. Some, though, will only show once you have earned them.
You’ll find them for things like completing a new sport for the first time, over-achieving your activity goal for a given number of days. In fact, there’s not a lot you can’t do at first that won’t earn you a new badge.
Do fitness badges work?
Badges offer a visual representation of your activity accomplishments. People are inherently motivated by an innate drive to succeed and acquire. When someone completes a goal and is rewarded, a badge reward system provides positive reinforcement.
Users are motivated by challenges because they are triggered by their motivational motivator of growth and achievement. People are motivated to achieve a goal by a feeling of progress. This is known as Win-State, a situation in which users must overcome a difficulty. Users will not be rewarded if there is no challenge.
In short – yes – they work!
