my fitness tracker: the apple watch |
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Fitness trackers have recently become a popular topic of discussion within the fitness industry. Should we be wearing them? Are they helping with fitness or hindering a healthy relationship with fitness? Are they necessary?
Funnily enough, I thought about writing a post about my relationship with my Apple Watch a few weeks back and I kept changing my mind every few hours as to whether I was actually going to write about it or not, then I saw some discussions going on around fitness trackers on social media- some for, some against and some on the fence- so here I am, about to delve into my thoughts and feelings on the whole thing!
Funnily enough, I thought about writing a post about my relationship with my Apple Watch a few weeks back and I kept changing my mind every few hours as to whether I was actually going to write about it or not, then I saw some discussions going on around fitness trackers on social media- some for, some against and some on the fence- so here I am, about to delve into my thoughts and feelings on the whole thing!
Fitness trackers vary slightly from brand to brand but generally most of us buy them to do one thing- track our fitness and exercise. Most, if not all, trackers work by recording our heart rate to provide us with an indication of how many calories we have burnt over a period of a workout. Some trackers like the Apple Watch and Fitbit can be set to the style of workout you are doing so you can gage and compare how many calories you've burnt from one type of workout to another. For example the Apple Watch has everything from HIIT to American Football in the selection of workouts you can choose from!
A lot of trackers can also do other weird and wonderful things like track your sleep, text and call your friends (Apple Watch) and remind you to 'breathe' (another one from the Apple Watch).
But, do we really need to be told how many calories we've burnt during that leg session or reminded to 'stand up' when we have been sat for too long?
My thoughts...
In all honesty? I've come to the realisation that I really don't want a fitness tracker. I don't need to be told how many calories I've burnt during that HIIT workout and I certainly do not need to be told that I haven't done 30 minutes of exercises every single day or burnt my daily calorie burn 'goal'- sometimes a girl just wants to chill and watch telly all day ok!? So in light of this I'm going to be taking a break from my Apple Watch for the next few weeks. I have started not wearing it on occasions when exercising already and on weekends I don't generally bother wearing it either. I kind of get a sense of freedom when I don't wear it so it's definitely time to step away from it for a while and just enjoy my workouts without having to record them.
Now I am not saying that having a fitness tracker is a bad thing- it's honestly each to their own and personal preference at the end of the day- and I just simply think I've had my time with it. I can definitely say that for the whole time I have owned my Apple Watch I have enjoyed using it. It does have some pretty cool features, my favourite is when it asks me to 'stand up' because I've been sat for too long (like now as I write this). It's a gentle reminder to get up and move around for a few minutes which at the same time gives a nice little break from any work I'm doing. It also has a feature to 'breathe' which just reminds you to switch off from everything and have a moment to yourself- a great little feature for anyone wanting to get into meditation as you can build up the time as you learn to meditate for longer periods of time.
What I'm trying to say here is that if you have a healthy relationship with your fitness tracker then of course use it and enjoy it! If you use it as part of a sport- for example you're a runner and you track how far you run- then that's all good too. I understand when you're training for something like a run or race or you're an athlete that you use fitness trackers for development purposes which is great! All I'm saying is if you feel like it's taking the enjoyment out of your workouts and you feel pressured to workout just to hit your daily 'goals' then it's time to take a break.
Put the enjoyment back into working out, workout because you want to not because your fitness tracker tells you to!
Amie xx
Now I am not saying that having a fitness tracker is a bad thing- it's honestly each to their own and personal preference at the end of the day- and I just simply think I've had my time with it. I can definitely say that for the whole time I have owned my Apple Watch I have enjoyed using it. It does have some pretty cool features, my favourite is when it asks me to 'stand up' because I've been sat for too long (like now as I write this). It's a gentle reminder to get up and move around for a few minutes which at the same time gives a nice little break from any work I'm doing. It also has a feature to 'breathe' which just reminds you to switch off from everything and have a moment to yourself- a great little feature for anyone wanting to get into meditation as you can build up the time as you learn to meditate for longer periods of time.
What I'm trying to say here is that if you have a healthy relationship with your fitness tracker then of course use it and enjoy it! If you use it as part of a sport- for example you're a runner and you track how far you run- then that's all good too. I understand when you're training for something like a run or race or you're an athlete that you use fitness trackers for development purposes which is great! All I'm saying is if you feel like it's taking the enjoyment out of your workouts and you feel pressured to workout just to hit your daily 'goals' then it's time to take a break.
Put the enjoyment back into working out, workout because you want to not because your fitness tracker tells you to!
Amie xx