Nowadays you can’t go online without seeing the next best gadget which will supposedly solve all of your fitness needs/goals, but how much of this is actually true?
As time goes on the world of technology is expanding, in what seems like such a short period we have now seen things such as, step counters, heart rate monitors, fitness watches, smart socks, fitness apps and many more!
The question on our minds is “Are they really that necessary?”
I personally own an Apple Watch; this is something I use to keep myself accountable for day-to-day training and making sure I am moving around as much as possible in my day. This watch features closable rings which will cover time standing, active calories and active minutes, I would be lying if I told you that I didn’t get a little buzz every time I close a ring. Along with this, like most other smart watches you can select a specific exercise which the watch will then monitor time, calories burnt, heart rate and distance depending on the option you have picked.
The main exercise use for my watch is running, I like to measure my heart rate and my times so I know where I am and if I need to implement my nutrition. For example, from timing my runs in both the morning and evening I have seen that I struggled with keeping up with my distances more in the morning than in the evening. I put this down to running fasted which didn’t work for me! Since then, I have implemented BPN G.1.M Sport, this high carb and electrolyte supplement kept my energy levels high and kept me hydrated beyond believe. Just one scoop before a run and I feel like a new person in the mornings, you can check it out here: G.1.M Sport . As you will see from the positive reviews, it’s not just me that it has helped!
I do believe that the watch itself helped me recognise the above due to the effectiveness of the timing and the distance tracker, without this I would probably be facing the same problem!
By this point you are probably thinking ‘well it has helped you, so it can’t be all bad?’. Unfortunately, with all things, there are some cons, the biggest for us is:
Not Entirely Accurate
The trackers themselves are only able to gather so much information about yourself, this can very much depend on their placement. They will do an adequate job of estimating your steps and calories burnt, but they will not be 100% accurate. We would advise to not take the numbers as gospel and use the results as a baseline.
Can Cause Fixation
Where my Apple Watch does keep me accountable, I have had times where I would really push myself past my limit just for the sake of closing a ring. Doing this can lead to bad habits and your body will pay the price for this, not closing a ring one day will not harm your progress! Enjoy your day and workout sessions, that is the most important thing!
A closing thought on this… These types of technology advances into the fitness space will be unavoidable and will continue to happen. So, if a bit of equipment catches your eye, do some research on it first, figure out if this is something that will positively benefit your current goals.
Hopefully this helps with any questions you had on fitness-based technology. However, if you have any further questions please contact us info@alistnutrition.com.
Have a great day!
Team A-List
