Active Zone Minutes is one of the main features of Fitbit smartwatches that’s greatly advertised. What this feature literally does is help/motivate you to stay active. It does this by gifting you points for every minute spent in a specific heart rate zone. According to the American Heart Association, it is recommended to Get at least 150 minutes per week of moderate-intensity aerobic activity or 75 minutes per week of vigorous aerobic activity, or a combination of both, preferably spread throughout the week. This post talks about Active Zone Minutes review, the features, and benefits.
What Fitbit does is to track your heart rate in different zones; Fat Burn, Cardio, and Peak Zones. So, for every minute your heart rate spends in the Fat Burn zone you earn 1 Active Zone Minutes, while for every minute your heart rate remains in the Cardio or Peak zones you earn 2 Active Zone Minutes.
Your maximum heart rate can be gotten by subtracting 220 from your age. In my case, my maximum heart rate is 220-33yrs = 187BPM. It, therefore, means that the older you get the lower your maximum heart rate. Fitbit personalizes your heart rate zones based on your fitness level and age.
In few words, you earn Active Zone Minutes or Active Minutes is based on your device with a heart rate pumping activity.
Which Fitbit Device Has Active Zone Minutes?
Only the Fitbit Ionic, Sense, Charge 4, Inspire 2 and all Versa series have Active Zone Minutes, the rest of the Fitbit tracking device feature Active Minutes.
How Do You Earn Active Zone Minutes?
You earn Active Zone Minutes for each minute your heart rate spends in the Fat Burn, Cardio, or Peak zones. You earn 1 Active Zone Minute for each minute your heart rate spends in the Fat Burn zone, and you’ll earn 2 Active Zone Minutes for each minute your heart rate spends in the Cardio or Peak zone. Your heart rate for each zone is personalized based on your fitness level and your age.
What is Your Active Zone Minutes Goal?
Like mentioned earlier, according to the American Heart Association, it’s recommended to get 150 minutes of moderate-intense activity or 75 minutes of vigorous activity. Fitbit takes 150 AZM by default. So, if you can get 22 Active Zone Minutes in a day, that will be 150 Active Zone Minutes in a week. You can always adjust this based on your preference from the Fitbit App, however, the recommendation is very significant.
In all, I have found the Active Zone Minutes to be very helpful in helping me stay fit and reach more fitness goals. It makes it way easy for you to monitor the progress of your fitness goals weekly which can be a source of motivation to help you stay active. Moreover, with heart rate pumping activities, you can improve your cardiovascular health, improve your sleep, memory, cognition, reduce weight, overall health and more.
