Hi guys, Kris from Custom Fitness here, your personal trainer in Amarillo. Will technology give you better results with it? Sometimes it seems like maybe we have too much tech and too many pieces of tech equipment then other times it seems like we don’t have enough. Today we are looking at whether you get more results when you use it or when you lose it? If you have questions about today’s blog or you’d like to try a non-tech approach to working out, give us a call: 806-322-3188.
The question of the day is, how much technology do you need and is it really going to help you to get the results you are wanting? When I say technology, I mean things like Fitbit, smart phones, Apple watches, Nike Plus, and pedometers. There are even some advanced pieces of tech equipment that can enhance your physical performance that I am talking about as well.
The answer to how much tech you need is dependent on you and your goals. Some people see tech as a great motivator. Others just buy the equipment just to buy it. The thinking goes like this, “if I buy it, then I’ll do it!” Yeah. How many people do you know that wear yoga pants, but never attend a class? How many people do you know have a fitbit for nothing more than a watch? If the equipment is something that will end up stashed in a door or lost in your closet, then it isn’t serving it’s purpose and it’s not worth your money.
if that’s really going to be what happens to it so let’s figure that out today let’s kind of think through what would be beneficial and what might not be. Remember back in the day, before we had smartphones that were small enough to carry, when you would go for a run strapped in with all sorts of gadgets? Before high tech hit the market, I had a lot of clients who would bring in an iPod or an FM radio to their sessions. If we went out to work on their running form, they would put their cassette pack into their fanny pack, put their phone in there too in case something were to happen, strap on a chest harness to monitor their heart rate, etc. They were running with an extra 10 lbs of technology! It wasn’t even doing them that much good.
Now the technology has shrunk. Fitbits are the size of a bracelet or a small pod you can clip on your pants. Nike Plus is a small tab you put on your shoe that connects to a Bluetooth network. Any wearable technology will change the way your energy is used in your body. When you are doing endurance work you want to hold onto every bit of energy you can. You want it to flow freely in a way that will benefit your body so you can get the best workout possible.
There is an energy flow that comes from all objects. The flow usually flows downward in a smooth line. It will find vacancies within the body to fill and the body will in turn use that energy to support its current effort. When you use wearable technology, that is constantly sending and receiving signals, the energy begins to bounce. It can’t flow into the empty spaces your body has and it will just buck off the body. Limit the time you are wearing these kinds of things. Some people sleep with them on and have sleep that isn’t restful. Sure, it’s good to have that accountability as to whether or not you’re you’re sleeping, but if you’re wearing it every night you may actually be disrupting your own sleep with the tracker.
What do you REALLY need to see success in your life? A pedometer or a fitbit are a great way to help you add more activity into your life. You can track how many steps you are taking. You can see how those equate to miles per day. It gives you a good kick in the pants to realize that sitting on the couch is keeping that number low. FYI, The calorie burn isn’t an accurate measurement on these pieces of technology. The way people burn calories and how much during which activity varies widely. If you’re using it for step counts that is great. If you’re using it to encourage you to work out and compete with your friends and family who are synced up, that is good too. If you’re just going for your own work out, maybe you don’t need to rely on technology after all.
For example, attaching a heart rate monitor isn’t always necessary. You can usually approximate your own heart rate given how hard you are breathing and how fast you are able to go. If you are doing a certain type of training that requires a very strict heart rate threshold, then using a monitor for that would be beneficial. However, most people are not doing that type of intense training. If you are working out, try using the Borg scale of 0 – 5. Zero being the least work you’ve ever done versus five as the most work you’ve ever done.
We have people do cardio workouts here at the studio with a personal trainer in Amarillo. During those sessions we are trying to assess if the client can talk during the exercise? Could they sing during this exercise? What does their breathing look like? The answer to those questions give our personal trainers a better idea of the training zone rather than just a heart rate number. The heart rate is not always going to do the same for everybody. If you’re going to the gym and you’re looking at the graph on the cardio machines to figure out where your heart rate should be, your results will vary. Maybe you are more or less fit than the average test group they used to determine the chart. Finding the training zone for your body is important and often you can do that without the aid of digital equipment.
There is no need to load yourself down with all this technology. Bringing music with you to a workout or a run is great. Some people like to pace themselves off the beat of the music. If you are doing that, be careful that the music isn’t slowing you down where you aren’t pushing yourself. We shouldn’t have to keep upping the beats per minute on our music in order to get a great workout. We should be pushing past the rhythm when necessary to move the body the way it should be moved. If we go too fast, trying to keep up with some crazy techno beat while strength training, it will be very easy to get hurt. Make sure whatever you are listening to will keep the right pace with the workout that you are doing.
If today’s the day you’ve decided to get into shape and reach all of your goals, you don’t have to go out and buy technology to get started. It possibly may help later on if you do your research on a few, key pieces. You don’t want to be the person who jumps on the bandwagon of getting fit by going to buy new shoes, new clothes, and all the advertised technology and newest equipment. Within a few months or weeks that stuff is stashed in a closet long forgotten. Whatever you’re going to purchase, make sure it’s worth your time with your money. Really consider whether or not you will use it. If you don’t feel like it’s something that you absolutely have to have, wait to get it until you figure out if you really do need it.
If you need help wading through the pros and cons of available technology pieces, we’d be glad to help you out. We work with a lot of people on designing their home gyms and figure out which pieces of equipment and technology to take with them when they hit the road. We are here to answer any and all of your questions as well as provide you with assistance with personal training, nutrition and lifestyle modification. If you would like some help in any of these areas, get in touch with us at 806-322-3188 or info@customfitness.biz. We would love to give you a consultation where you come in and see what we are really about and whether or not we are a good fit for each other. At Custom Fitness we are YOUR personal trainers in Amarillo. Don’t buy too much tech between now and the next time we talk! Consider if you’ll really use it and whether it will get you the results you need. Til next time!