“Competing with myself really inspires me. It motivates me when I try something today and I am OK at it, but then tomorrow, I might be a little bit better. Over time, I might be amazing at it,” says Otilia Mirambeaux, a 35-year-old development policy professional, travel enthusiast and UP2™ wearer.
According to Otilia, her passion for fitness came as a bit of a surprise. “I didn’t work out at all until my mid-to-late 20s” she explains. “I hadn’t done any sports as a kid, and I kind of came to exercise later than many of my friends.” Once Otilia got moving, she found that an active life with measurable milestones suited her. “Having personal goals inspires and motivates me. I like trying workouts and activities where I can see how I could get better at it over time—and where there is room for growth.”
As she ramped up her personal fitness, Otilia began using a calendar to record and track her workouts, but ultimately felt there was still more she could be tracking each week. “Using the calendar system, I’d just write down, ‘I had a workout. I ran three miles.’ But, that didn’t really provide me with deeper insight,” she explains.
Otilia began looking for other tools to assist her with tracking small improvements over time. She got her first UP24™ activity tracker in 2014, but ultimately upgraded to an UP2™ band a year later. “I loved my UP24 band, but I like that my UP2 looks like jewelry. I enjoy accessorizing with it and almost wore it to my wedding,” she says while happily showing the UP2™ in Sand Twist on her wrist. “My UP2 has helped me with managing my workouts, fitness and health,” continues Otilia. “I love having a place where I can look at how active I was and how I was sleeping, during a time when I was doing well or really happy with my fitness. UP helps me to recreate those conditions so I can keep that level of happiness and movement.”
Like most working professionals, Otilia’s biggest obstacle is incorporating fitness into an already full life. “Sometimes I struggle with motivation,” she confesses. “You know that you should work out, and you feel great when you do, but it’s really hard to actually get yourself together to do something active after work. The biggest impact that UP has had on my life is making me very conscious of the time I spend walking every day. Early on, I thought if I sat around all day and then went to a yoga class in the evening, that was OK. UP has made me more aware of how important it is to get up and move around. I really enjoy the Idle Alert feature that buzzes me every 20 minutes when I’m at the office. It’s a good reminder to get up and get some water, or just walk around.”
When she’s in need of extra motivation. Otilia looks to her friends for inspiration. “I have some friends who are super active on UP and record everything they do; they keep me motivated,” she explains. “I also celebrate my wins by telling everyone who’s close to me. I’ll usually text people in my close circle and tell them what I accomplished. Sometimes I like to ride the high of my last big win and plan something to celebrate—for example, a trip to a new destination.”
Both Otilia and her husband enjoy vacationing to far-off new places. Otilia, who loves exploring neighborhoods of cities she visits, has found a way to combine her natural wanderlust with her commitment to fitness. “One way that I like to travel is by running through a city I visit,” she says, smiling brightly. “Whenever I’m traveling with friends or family, there’s always a bit of downtime when one person wants to relax, sleep, or do something I’m not interested in, like a sports event. So, I’ll track my route on a map and visit a neighborhood, a bakery, museum or something I want to see that no one else is interested in doing. It’s an easy way to stay active while enjoying some out–of-the-box sightseeing.”
The interview is coming to a close, but Otilia has a bit of advice for those just getting started with UP. “Be mindful of your usage with the UP App for the first few weeks to see what about it gets you the most excited, and tailor your experience to that. I remember being very excited when UP told me that month or that week I was in the top 10% of fittest users on UP. Also, being able to scroll back a month or so to see my data, like when I hit my sleep goal 95% of the time. That’s pretty exciting, too,” she says with a big smile.
