If you have been exercising for the past few years, you likely know how fitness technology has expanded its presence and influence in our workouts. From wearable technology that can track our number of steps, to GPS that can map and track our movements on the globe, tech has really taken hold.
While I too enjoy the benefits of adding some technical gadgetry to my workouts, I am seeing how the same fitness technology is slowly changing the way many athletes exercise.
Is this a good thing?
Social Media
The give and take of ideas and tastes on Social Media are well-expressed in our social fabric these days. Strong views are trumpeted by many. Some opinions are even supported by actual evidence. For those who thought we left peer pressure behind in our high school hallways, social media places this “keeping up with the Jones’” on a different level.
Athletics have a strong oral tradition that is passed down through the generations. The amplification that social media provides has broadened the scope of the message well outside of the gymnasium these days. Gym lore (Bro Speak, in today’s parlance) has always been strong on the certainty of the speaker but weak on outcomes. (“Trust me! I know a guy who used this stuff and he got ripped in 10 days!”) Some tales suggest using relatively benign substances, like bee pollen or B vitamins, to enhance athletic performance. Other gym accounts endorse more dangerous substances, like anabolic steroids. Either way, athletes are often encouraged to add things to training that have not passed much scientific review, or common sense, for that matter..
I follow a number of fitness and cycling blogs, as well as some community forums, to keep up with some of this athletic tradition. Reliable information can be found in many of these sources but the articles/claims I find more often in my feed are silly claims. Big on sensation but light on sense.
I don’t think we’ll be able to, nor should we, squelch the flow of stupid ideas on the Internet. Everyone should have the right to spout off, whether they know what they are talking about or not. But what I believe we really need though, is some sound thinking skills by the public. Instead of propagating dumb stuff around the world, flag the dumb stuff as such and allow people to consider it as dumb or otherwise. Don’t just pass things on because they sound really cool.
Stop and think.
Dumb Stuff and Fitness Technology
So we’ve got these really cool gizmos that measure time, distance, heart rate, even power. That’s a lot of numbers but do they really give us useful information.
At an elite level, the difference of a few digits may be quite significant. For the rest of us, it’s time to relax and enjoy the sport. Numbers don’t necessarily make you a stronger competitor. You may have just had a good day.
While we all share in a similar physiology but Mother Nature endows physical gifts that are unevenly distributed amongst all of us. Elite athletes have physical capabilities that the rest of us could never attain, even if we trained all of our lives. So not all of us could end up with our picture on a Wheaties box.
When I see a couple of athletes comparing their numbers online, it reminds me of the old joke about boys comparing measurements of their respective anatomies in order to determine who was the stronger. Anatomy is just anatomy, as mileage is just mileage. Neither fully provides an accurate assessment.
Taking Back
Go for performance quality, not quantity.
When working with the information from your fitness technology, use the data as part of your overall evaluation. Numbers can be useful but look at all factors, including your subjective perceptions. I’ve had a number of times where I swore I was at max effort, only to glance down and see my heart rate showing I wasn’t there yet.
There’s lots of difference between numbers and performance. Let’s bring the technology along on our workouts but use the numbers instead of them using us. It’s all in perspective.
It’s not about numbers; it’s about purpose.”
― Israelmore Ayivor
You must be logged in to post a comment.