It’s a lifestyle with the Garmin Instinct
When the world locked down, everyone seemed to pick something up. Friends were learning to cook, and colleagues turned to the gym. There were biking groups forming all around me, and others were learning some real life skills…and I just didn’t have the energy to do any of that. I didn’t feel the need to get out of my pandemic-normal bubble. But things change; the world is opening up, and I'm really feeling my age these days.
I had the opportunity to try out the Garmin Instinct 2S recently, and—it’s weird to say, but—it finally got me conscious about what I was doing (and not doing, if you know what I mean).
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The set up
Setting up the device is pretty painless. You just need the Garmin Connect app on your phone, and to activate the Bluetooth connection. After that and a few presses of the buttons on the device, you’re good to go. You can even personalize the face of the watch to your liking, based on what you prefer to see instantly and what you can do without at a quick glance.
What it does
Much like you would expect, the Garmin Instinct 2S series keeps track of your fitness, whether that’s sleep, stress levels and activity monitoring (and even then, it specifies activities like running, walking, hiking, biking and whatever have you). All of this is viewable on the device itself, but you can get more details on the Connect app, should you feel the need for it.
But more than that, it provides you with your notifications, which are easily accessible on the smartwatch itself. Whether a call, a message on whatever messaging app you have lined up, you’ll know without delay.
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But here’s the real deal
More than anything, this is what I’ve taken for my time with the Garmin Instinct 2S: it serves as an effective reminder that we need to take care of ourselves. It’s an odd sort of feeling when your data isn’t up to snuff; you suddenly realize how badly you’ve been treating yourself, and that you do need to do something.
The first time my stress levels were at a constant red zone, I decided to take a few minutes from my desk and just calm myself down. When I realized that I was taking less than half the recommended number of steps per day, I walked around the house more. (And I was oddly proud of myself the first day that I finally went over the recommendation.) I started to watch what I did right before I went to sleep, because my sleeping patterns leaned a little too much on the light side of things.
So the Garmin Instinct 2S isn’t just for the fanatically active, not just for those people I’ve never envied for their need to go to the gym or go up a mountain or hop on a bike. This series is for the rest of us, too.
Learn more about the Garmin Instinct 2S series here, and find out where you can get your hands on one here.
Art Pis Trinidad
