While sheltering at home or holiday feasting may have gotten in the way of your fitness goals, getting back on track does not have to feel daunting. Starting January 12th^[2], Galaxy users can simply create a challenge in the ‘Together’ section of the Samsung Health app to see either who can take the most number of steps in a set amount of time; or who can be the first to reach a certain number of steps. Once a challenge is created, you can then invite up to 9 friends to join, even if they are not existing Samsung Health users.

Go to ‘Together’ Tab and click ‘Challenge’ Button in Samsung Health app. You can select between ‘Get the first’ and ‘Go the farthest’ types.

Find Your Fitness Motivation

On average, those who use the Challenge features in the Samsung Health app walk over 22 percent more than the average Samsung Health users. This demonstrates that motivation and competition can be key factors in achieving your health goals, which is why Samsung continues to add new features and capabilities to help you have fun while staying healthy.

Group Challenge is the latest expansion of the Samsung Health Challenge features, which you can access via the Together tab on the bottom of the Samsung Health app. There is Global Challenge, the most popular type of Challenge, which enables you to enter monthly step count competitions against all Samsung Health users around the world. Samsung also introduced 1:1 Challenge, allowing you to invite one of your close friends or family members to work with you to achieve your step count goals. And now, 1:1 Challenge has evolved into Group Challenge. While you still have the option to create a one-on-one competition, you can now invite anywhere between 1 to 9 of your friends so you can work out and keep each other motivated to achieve your fitness goals, even when you’re apart. You can even create multiple Group Challenges so you can simultaneously compete with family, friends and co-workers.

Improve Your Overall Wellbeing

Since its launch in 2012 as a simple fitness tracker, Samsung Health has grown into a comprehensive health, wellness and fitness platform, with a wide variety of features, ranging from virtual exercises and mindfulness videos to the ability to track sleep patterns, heart rate and blood pressure.

As the capabilities grew, so did the number of Samsung Health user – more than 200 million people around the world used Samsung Health in 2020. And in the past year alone, Samsung Health users burned around 3 billion calories and took around 78 trillion steps combined – the equivalent of walking from the earth to the sun and back 200 times.

“In our fast-paced world – particularly in these times – achieving a healthy lifestyle isn’t always easy,” said Kagiso Khaole, Head of E-Commerce and Services at Samsung South Africa. “That’s why we are continuously improving Samsung Health and adding more capabilities to give the users even more ways to stay healthy, wherever, whenever.”

[1] Available on Galaxy smartphones and tablets running Android M OS or above, and Galaxy smartwatches and fitness trackers. Availability may vary by market and device.
[2] Requires the latest version of the Samsung Health app, which will be released on a rolling basis via the Samsung Galaxy Store and Google Play Store, starting from January 12.

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, 09 May, 2018 – While the maxim ‘sitting is the new smoking’ has been making its rounds for a while now, new research indicates that sitting all day at a desk isn’t quite as bad as previously indicated. Initially, researchers said that sitting for eight hours a day increases risk of diabetes, heart disease, cancer and depression, even if people exercise regularly.^[i] Although the new research says it’s not quite as dramatic as that, it doesn’t mean that sitting in front of a desk for eight hours a day doesn’t have a negative impact.^[ii]

While people can avoid sitting slouched in front of the television for extended periods, most office jobs require people to sit down in front of a computer. Even people who aren’t desk-bound, like salespeople or entrepreneurs, need to be aware of the impact that sitting for prolonged periods can have.

Justin Hume, Chief Marketing Officer for Samsung South Africa, says, “Health is such a critical issue, but modern working environments haven’t quite managed to adequately address the need for sitting all day. Making use of Samsung Health and integrating Samsung DeX into a working environment can assist in tracking and encouraging movement, as well as giving people the opportunity to be more mobile while still working. Being able to work for a while at a coffee shop without compromising the quality of your output, which is one of the advantages of using DeX, will go a long way to getting people out of their seats and moving around.”

Whether you’re sitting at a desk, on a couch or in the driver’s seat all day, you can stave off back pain and other possible health implications by following these guidelines.

The chair you sit on is important, as well as how you sit. Push your hips as far back as they can go on the seat of the chair and adjust the height, so your feet are flat on the floor and your knees are horizontal or slightly lower than your hips. Recline the back of your chair to just off 90 degrees and ensure your upper and lower back are supported. If you have armrests, adjust them so your shoulders are relaxed.

Where your keyboard is in relation to your body is also important. First, determine which section of the keyboard you use most frequently and adjust its position so that the relevant section is directly in front of you. Adjust the keyboard height (the height of your desk will impact this – if you need to raise the height of your chair to accommodate the desk height, use a foot stool so your feet don’t dangle) so that your shoulders are relaxed, elbows are in a slightly open position and your wrists and hands are straight. Use a keyboard tray to tilt it to ensure your wrists remain straight. Ensure your arms are supported all the time. If they aren’t, you’ll begin to experience neck and shoulder muscle strain.

The position of your screen is also vital – ensure the monitor is about 5cm above your seated eye-level. Sit an arms-length away from the monitor and then adjust according to your vision. Keep your head position balanced and don’t crane your neck forward. Ensuring there is no glare on your screen is of utmost importance because eye strain can cause headaches, nausea and exhaustion.

“Samsung’s monitors offer Eye Saver Mode, which reduces the blue light emissions that stimulate the retina more than other colours, thereby reducing eye fatigue. Additionally, Samsung’s Flicker Free technology minimises distracting screen flicker to let you work for longer in greater comfort,” concludes Hume.

Take a break. Even if your desk set up is ergonomically correct, you still need to take a break. Stand up, stretch and look into the distance every 20 minutes. If you can, take a brisk walk to the coffee station or even outside. If you’re a Samsung user, you can get Bixby to remind you to stand up, stretch and walk around every 20 minutes. Log on to the Samsung Health App to track how many steps you manage to take in a day, as well as how many calories you’ve consumed and burned.

^{[i] https://edition.cnn.com/2017/09/11/health/sitting-increases-risk-of-death-study/index.html}

^{[ii] http://bjsm.bmj.com/content/early/2017/01/24/bjsports-2016-096723}