Happy Saturday, all! Today’s post comes to you courtesy of the lovely Sara Upton, who is a recent college graduate with a degree in journalism. She contacted me with a request to guest post, and wrote up a great article about the pros and cons of fitness trackers! Being an avid iPhone app user myself, I got a lot out of reading it :). Thanks, Sara!
As you may have noticed in browsing through the app stores on your smartphone, there are numerous apps out there that can serve as fitness aids. How (and how often) you choose to use them, however, can be of concern. Personally, I find it difficult to keep up with some of the apps that require you to, say, input every single thing you eat as a means of tracking calories. While it certainly can be useful, there’s also the almost-nagging element of it all. “If I really want to exercise, why don’t I just do it?” I often think to myself, scrolling through the apps that promise to help me stay motivated. It can clearly work for some people and for some companies.
In referencing both, there are studies that show fitness apps definitely have a market—and a growing one at that. To that end, it’s not terribly surprising to see that new smartphones are taking advantage of the health-centric craze.
In particular, there’s Samsung’s upcoming Galaxy S5, which comes with a built-in heart rate monitor and activity tracker. That’s the word according to Verizon Wireless, which makes note of how the tracker will follow your steps, keep up with calories burned, and allow for the gamification of exercising. For those unfamiliar, gamification refers to how certain apps have introduced video game- like qualities to something far removed from that context. In this case, you’ll earn “badges” on the GS5 app based on your exercise routine. For those who have used activity tracker RunKeeper, it sounds like it’ll be similar in its approach in that you’ll get a virtual pat on the back for your longest run, most calories burned, and the like.
But does this approach work? To that end, I ask, “What about those of us just wanting to exercise every day without worrying about anything else?” It’s a question I’ve been pondering lately, and one that I’ve decided to finally answer today after doing some research and trying out many of the available apps myself.
In my opinion, here are the pros and cons of fitness trackers:
Pros
1. They take care of any possible guess work – This probably seems obvious, but it needs to be mentioned. Unless you have come up with your own formula to track how many calories you’ve burned, distance you’ve traveled, etc… you’re going to need one of these apps.
2. They keep you motivated – Going beyond mere fitness trackers that, well, simply track your movements, there are some that really make sure you’re exercising. Take GymPact, for example. It’s an app that you can actually earn money (albeit in nominal amounts) from working out. Your bank account can also take a hit if you don’t exercise.
3. They’re intuitive – Again, there are definitely more complicated apps out there that can be a pain in the rear end. But something like the aforementioned RunKeeper app, which tracks more than just running, keeps up with your activity and the calories you’ve burned with just the touch of a few buttons. It’s not exactly rocket science.
Cons
1. They can feel like work – Getting back to the comment from Adam mentioned earlier, this is where apps really fall flat for some people. Again, if you’re just trying to exercise without adding anything to it, chances are you’ll give up on an activity tracker.
2. They drain your battery – Another common gripe with these apps is that they can suck the battery life out of your phone. This is particularly true if you exercise for a long period of time and have music playing through your phone.
3. They can cost money for the best options – A majority of fitness apps, especially the best ones, can be yours for free. However, if you want to get the most out of them, you may need to throw down some cash. There are those that cost money upfront, too.
If you haven’t caught on by now, this whole debate really boils down to whether or not you feel like you need to monitor any portion of your activity. If you are the type to run and/or bike the same route every day, you probably already have a good idea of how far you travel and maybe even the calories
Question of the Day: What is your favorite fitness app? Do you think the pros outweigh the cons?
What an interesting topic for a guest post! I do use runtastic to track my running progress and I have to say that I love it and the pro’s definitely outweigh the con’s for me. Of course I could buy a GPS heart rate monitor watch to track my running without my phone, but this would cost a lot of money and so far runtastic did the trick for me.
I use RunKeeper to track my runs since I don’t feel like I can justify a Garmin yet! For me as well, the pros outweigh the cons!
I use the free Seconds app for Tabata workouts. It’s simple and definitely my favorite for helping me track all the reps and times
Ohh I should look in to that! It would be so helpful to have something that automatically records your times and tells you when to move on to the next exercise
I use run tracker for my runs outside. I think its really helpful to know how far I have traveled as planning a long run out before leaving the house never seems appealing. I haven’t tried any of the other fitness apps, but I have seen quite a few of them. I don’t think the GPS on my phone is the best and it doesn’t get heart rate but it was free and does a great job for what it is.
My biggest problem with fitness trackers was that I got obsessive with the calorie counting aspect. They’re so helpful, but I took it to an extreme and would track calories religiously. The trackers for running/biking/walking I LOVE! I love to see how far I’ve gone or if I’ve gotten faster. I’ve just started ignoring the calorie counting part and enjoy counting my reps and seeing if I’ve gotten strong! This was such an interesting guest post!
I definitely agree with you on the calorie counters. I think the thought behind them is good, but it just doesn’t translate for most people since it leads so easily into being an extreme habit.
Love trackers that show your fitness improvement like you, though!
I don’t have a smart phone… so I don’t use a fitness tracker… that being said, I do love to keep a good old fashion food journal!! I love journaling and writing down what I eat is nice because then I can look back and see what I’ve been eating!!
Awesome post!
Awesome post idea! For me, the biggest “con” of a fitness tracker is that implies that fitness should be systematically ‘tracked’, which could so many ways put pressure on people, or lead them into a state of comparison. I think exercise should be more about how you feel afterward, not about how far you went, how much you burned, etc. That said, I have never actually had one, so my opinion is kindof… a moot point.
My opinions kind of contradict the classic one that they’re awesome, reading the other comments, haha. I think it is awesome that they benefit you all so much. I guess, for me, I like to use my own internal tracker? But the only thing it displays is:
“Level of workout enjoyment”
and “Level of post work out happiness”
Love your viewpoint on this! Such valid points that I’ve never spent too much time thinking about. Fitness is about seeing improvement, but not needing to quantify it with numbers! It’s about your health!
I’m really going to try to follow your lead and rely on an internal tracker rather than focusing on numbers. Thanks for this comment! Love it!
Ooh great post. I have the Runkeeper app on my iPod but very rarely use it on the go, yes a total battery drainer. I do however have a Nintendo Wii Activity meter, which is like a cute Tamagotchi size and clips onto your waistband, you sync it to the WiiU fitness game and it tells you how many steps and calories, altitude & distance.
I had surgery in February so I’m still only allowed to walk, so the activity meter is helping me up my steps everyday. I just ordered a FitBit Flex which I’m hoping will motivate me a bit more.