It seems today if we don’t
have a devise in our hand or on our body that provides loads of data we can’t
function as a human race. While smart
phones and sports watches (they started the data thirsty craze) have been
around for a few years, there is a new partner joining the party.
Interesting this new entrant
is so new; we have not yet crafted a “catch all” name like smart phones. The newbie in today’s fitness technology is
host of wearable tech gadgets that track your every move, the number of steps you
take, the calories you burn, your active minutes and can even track the quality
of your sleep.
While the new gadgets don’t
tell you to put down the donuts, scream at you to run faster or play soft music
when you are not sleeping well (that would be a bit too close to the Twilight
Zone) they do provide a lot of data to those that are keen on using technology
to improve their health.
While most technology is
designed to make us inactive, wearable technology such as Fitbit, Jawbone UP24,
Nike+ Fuel Band and the Garmin Vivofit among others does exactly the
opposite. What estimates to be a $30
billion industry by 2018, these “get off your butt” gadgets are flying off the
shelves with one in 10 Americans now sporting one of these devices.
Being a highly active person,
I was hesitant to see the value in these modern day pedometers. Giving into
peer pressure and never being at a loss to purchase something new, I bought the
Fitbit for May and me. It didn't take long for me to see the value these
devices hold for anyone.
A 2010 study of 123,216
people, published in the American Journal of Epidemiology found that the more
leisure time spent sitting, the higher risk of death! While I’m not sure we had to spend buckets of
money to come to that conclusion, wearable trackers can shine a light on the
inner couch potato you don’t know you had.
The main benefit of these
devices, in my opinion, is the awareness users have regarding their activity
level, calories burned and sleep patterns.
Based on the Hawthorne effect, a sociological phenomenon in which people
behave better when they are being observed, these gadgets provide a constant
stream of data that can be viewed on the device or in an app on your smart
phone.
Fitbit says its users take
43% more steps than they did before the bought one. Add in the social features these devices
offer such as sending friends cheers or taunts or simply receiving an “Atta
Boy” for achieving your goal, the modest costs is well worth the investment to
add a little awareness and self-pressure to improve your fitness.
Ironically we now have
another device to bury our heads into and instead of talking about the ball
game last night; conversations are turning towards “Hey did you hit your step
goal?” While my office is usually as quite
as an abandoned building, I often hear a periodic outburst of “Yes” or “I
Nailed It!” No they are not crazy but I
do know they just hit there step goal for the day and that motivates me to get
up and walk around…after all I have to have the most steps for bragging rights
during our coffee talk the next morning.
HERE’S TO
BEING FIT FOR LIFE!
Chris is a Certified Personal Trainer and
exercise and endurance enthusiast. He
competes yearly in numerous running races, marathons, ultra marathons,
triathlons and other endurance events.
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