Go Gadgets!
Lynne Bell
Μύ Μύ Μύ Μύ Μύ Μύ I don't own a Fitbit (yet?) but I did have to replace my phone recently. And unbeknownst to me, a little app was tracking my steps. Creepy? Yes. But also highly-motivating.
ΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύ The fact that you can now unlock your phone with a touch of your finger (meaning, of course, that our techie overlords have your fingerprints on hand for easy reference) is unsettling to middle-agers like myself. So is the rumour that Apple is currently working on a set of earbuds that will record, relay and retain the wearer's medical information-blood pressure readings, for example.
ΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύ However, the flipside of this technological intrusiveness is that fitness tools and trackers-such as the app on my new phone or the ubiquitous Fitbit-can be fun and useful tools in the quest for better health and fitness, and a welcome development in our increasingly sedentary and (oh, the irony) wired society.
ΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύ But don't take my moderately-fit word for it. To bolster my argument, I called two local experts.
ΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύ I've known my dear friend Karen (Humphries) Stock since her earliest medal-winning days at Carlyle Elementary School ( while I was getting picked last in gym class...). My pal has spent much of her life-personally and professionally-extolling and living out the benefits of a healthy lifestyle and is a living, breathing example of the good parts of getting and staying fit.
ΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύ Karen's career currently involves assisting some high-powered folks in corporate Calgary in their quest for better health. When I asked her about fitness trackers, she said, βThey aren't totally accurate and they don't measure a person's complete fitness level.β
ΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύ βBut what something like a Fitbit does do is make these guys aware of how much they're sitting,β says Karen. βIt motivates them to take those extra steps, or do that workout. Often, they travel a lot and their schedules aren't consistent, so it's a good way for a person to track their own progress. Their wives often have one too. So the couple might be accountable to each other, or make it like a little game.β
ΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύ βWhat Fitbits and other trackers really do is make people aware of the 10,000 steps a day they should ideally be taking. A Fitbit can assist in your quest to move more and be more active.β
ΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύ Another local fitness aficionado, Arcola's Cathy Burton, is an avid marathon runner andΜύ one of the founders of the Moose Mountain Marathon.
ΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύ βThere are so many different things out there-not just devices like the Fitbit, but lots and lots of apps,β she says. βI use one called Runkeeper on my phone. If I'm running, walking or biking, it tracks it all. You can log in and track activities, time, calories...You name it.β
ΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύ βI use a lot of different apps and I have a Garmin watch, which will log everything. I come and go though phases where I'll use something to track every little thing, and then I'll use nothing at all for a while.β
ΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύ βI would definitely encourage a beginning runner to use some kind of device or app to keep track of their progress. It's really motivating and encouraging, and that's the most important thing-to get out there and feel healthy and well.β
ΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύ So the experts have spoken. And I'm off to take a walk now-with my phone...Μύ
Μύ
Μύ
Fitness trackers a growing fad
By Kelly Running
Μύ
ΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύ Becoming more and more popular amongst people in first world countries is technology and using it as a way to be more active.
ΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύ I feel a little strange arguing against this as I recently began wearing a fitness tracker and have been tracking my exercise patterns, sleep habits, calories eaten, and water Iβve drank in a day.
ΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύ But, is it necessary? Probably not. For me itβs just a good way to motivate myself. When I get home after sitting at my computer writing or researching all day, itβs a reminder to go be active because itβs tangible motivation. You can see it and want to beat what youβve done the day before.
ΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύ Wearable fitness trackers actually track your sleep, so you know when you wake up that youβre still tired, but I guess you can confirm this by checking how you slept the night before and seeing you slept for eight hours, but you woke up twice and were restless 24 times throughout the night resulting in 57 minutes of being awake or restless. However, what do you even do with this information?
ΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύ You donβt need a watch to tell you to be active either, just set aside a half an hour each day and be active in it. Record how far you went and challenge yourself to go faster or further next time around.
ΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύ There are actually countless apps out there that allow you to track what youβve eaten in a day or can track you on GPS to see how fast and far youβve run, however, itβs only good if youβre moving somewhere. Otherwise it doesnβt really know what youβve done.
ΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύ Additionally, whether itβs an app on your phone or a wristband it canβt be used during certain activities. For example, if you choose to exercise by swimming laps, it has no way of tracking this, or for a sport that I play a lot of, volleyball, you donβt want anything on your wrists or forearms in general because you donβt want the ball to hit it and ricochet somewhere you donβt want it to be.
ΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύ Sure you can log it in afterwards, but itβs not going to know how hard you were going while you were doing the activity, so it wonβt be accurate.
ΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύ Thereβs been research as well that shows the calorie burn calculation is inaccurate on wearable fitness trackers. The calculation is based on height, weight, and age which is used to calculate basal metabolic rate (BMR) this is then used in another equation regarding how active you were to come up with your daily caloric expenditure. So, this may not be completely accurate and is simply an estimate of what you are burning in a day.
ΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύ As for recording the number of steps taken in a day, if you shake your wrist a bunch, Iβm sure it would register as you running, so youβve got to me aware of this and know that everything itβs telling you is an approximate and not take it to heart as fact.
ΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύ This goes the same for calories eaten, which can be recorded. Sure you can add your own items with how many calories are in it, while thereβs an extensive list of prerecorded food items to choose from. Unless youβve specifically weighed out your items you wonβt actually have an accurate reading of this either. In addition to this calories arenβt everything and there are other things to consider which is attributed to being unhealthy or building fat. This includes how much sugar is in something, the amount of carbohydrates within the food, and other such factors.
ΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύ You could fill up on a bag of cheezies, but thereβs more to what youβre putting in your body than just calories.
ΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύΜύ So, although these items allow you to track different health oriented numbers, theyβre approximates and are not an exact science. It may be a good reference, but for the majority of people is tracking all of this really necessary?
