Is Technology Making Fitness Better or Worse?

In recent years, technology has become an increasingly prevalent part of our daily lives. In the world of fitness, this has also been true with the advent of digital fitness trackers such as Fitbits, increasingly high-tech equipment such as Peloton bikes, and more precise instruments such as digital smart scales. Though technology can provide you with great new tools to manage your fitness needs, it can also have its drawbacks, as we have seen in other areas where technology has expanded.  

The Pros: 

Technology can be a helpful tool for fitness lovers of all levels, allowing them to more accurately track their workouts and progress points. It can be a great way to hold yourself accountable, log workouts, monitor vital markers such as heart rate or weight, and even provide you with virtual resources to enhance your current routine. While some of these things could be done in a diary or journal, having your full records at your fingertips can make it easier than ever to track your progress, make goals, and stick with them.  

The Cons: 

While technology has so many benefits, there are also drawbacks to relying too heavily on it. In some platforms, metrics are added by individual users, which can lead to inaccurate information. Other times, information for values related to some exercises are static, not factoring in a person’s heart rate, weight, height, or muscle mass when giving information. This may make the information inaccurate, leading to frustrating stalls in progress. Additionally, technology often fails to consider any nuance, often allowing for static goals, but missing the advice to help one make goals that are suitable for an individual’s needs. For example, you can decide to set a goal to lose 2 lbs a week in a fitness app. Although this is within the guidelines for healthy weight loss, the app likely won’t advise that many people would be better off starting a bit slower to make their goals more sustainable.  

So, you may be wondering- should I or shouldn’t I use tech in hope of improving my fitness? The answer is that technology can be very helpful to track and manage your goals, but may not be very good at adapting to suit your individual needs. It has come a long way and will likely give you more accurate numbers than you would have come up with using a pen and paper, in a much shorter time.  

That said, it can also be beneficial to work alongside others who can contribute to the human element, helping you adapt your goals and guiding you on how to adjust by seeing aspects that an unfeeling program cannot. For this, we recommend a few sessions with one of our personal trainers, who can help you set tailored goals, correct your form in real-time, and troubleshoot when you’re not seeing the progress you hoped for. To help make your tech work for you, give us a call today at (714) 282-9400.