Technology is becoming more and more of an essential tool for fitness programs. Technology is used in monitoring physical activity in remote and physical environments.
Technology affects fitness positively, through working out anywhere, access to fitness on every device, endless workouts, and saving money on gym memberships. Technology influences fitness negatively through distractions, lack of accuracy, interaction, and injuries. Technology improves fitness when it is used correctly.
Here are the good and bad of technology and fitness.
Is Relying on Technology to Improve Fitness Good or Bad?
Even though technology can enhance your workouts, it has the potential to negatively influence you through the disadvantages technology brings when solely relying on technology to work out.
The pros and cons of relying on technology come down to the experience you have when using technology to work out. If you feel that you do not trust technology, or have a lack of trust and training, utilizing technology may negatively influence the way you work out.
On the other hand, technology has a way of being smart. It can track your fitness and health goals even when you are not in the gym or on the go. Technology can track all of the little e things you wouldn’t have had if you didn’t utilize technology.
The best thing to do is to try working out with technology and working out without technology on hand. This way, you will be able to determine whether or not technology should be used regularly when working out. Here are the good reasons to use technology to promote better fitness.
Fully relying on technology can be beneficial to those who find themselves improving from using online resources. Some people find that technology is not as accurate as doing it in person and receiving advice from someone in person. It all depends on personal preference whether or not technology works for you.
There are various pros and cons that technology offers to those who are using technology to work out. There are good and bad about using technology for workouts. Find what works best for you. Here are the pros and cons of using technology for fitness.
Technology Pros
Work out anywhere
With access to technology, you are able to do your workouts anywhere. Since there are fitness apps available for smartphones, tablets, and wearable devices such as an Apple Watch, you can use any kind of fitness app wherever you are. Without access to a gym, you won’t need to worry about that when you use technology.
Technology has made it easy to find exercises that cater to your specific needs, as well as schedule and location. You can try different exercises alone. This is a great option if you feel self-conscious about exercising in front of other people.
Technology is able to remove the many barriers to when and how you can exercise. You can use your fitness at your own pace and level of fitness.
Save money on gym memberships
Gym memberships cost around $31.00-$44.00 a month. This price can significantly add up over time of using a gym membership. Without having a gym membership, you won’t have to worry about paying for expensive memberships when you can use your phone.
There are lots of people who have shifted to completely working out remotely. This shift has increased the reliance on technology for fitness. With such a wide variety of fitness content online, you will be able to find anything that fits your fitness needs without having to go to the gym.
Find endless workouts for personal preference.
There is no need to look for fitness classes in your area with access to technology. Technology enables you to try a variety of different exercises for free. If you choose an unfamiliar exercise, you won’t have to realize you don’t like the exercise after you spend money. The good news is it’s completely free.
You can discover all different kinds of exercises to help you improve your fitness at your own level. Most of the paid online exercise apps offer free trials. This helps you to shop around until you find a workout routine that works for you.
Tracking helps you progress and train effectively.
Consistently using a fitness tracker can improve heart health. Having this connected to you at all times can help you to consistently look at your heart rate. As well as heart rate, it can motivate you to exercise more throughout the day. This motivates you to work out without the dread of physically going to the gym.
Fitbit trackers, smartwatches, and smartphones can offer lots of health and fitness features. You can access these features here.
Choose who you work out with
Technology lets you work out completely alone. Forget about the crowds in the gym and make it your own experience using technology. There are a variety of fitness content out there. With the convenience of using technology, you can do an exercise session alone, or with a roommate or a friend in the privacy of your own home.
Virtual/live coaches
Personal healthcare is important when incorporating fitness into your life. With the lack of support that technology gives in the sense of having supporters around you, there is a way to have virtual coaches who can help you just like a personal fitness trainer can.
People can meet with their trainers virtually to discuss what is happening together. These trainers can make sure you are on track with your workouts and progress. Just using an online program may not be enough, especially if you are looking to get professional advice if you are serious about getting into shape.
Technology Cons
Fitness devices can distract you when exercising outdoors.
Using technology for outdoor activities has become a popular way to exercise. Since this is the case, it can make you less aware of your surroundings when exercising.
The distraction of your surroundings when skipping songs or checking the progress on your screen when walking can cause you to trip, miss traffic signals, or collide with other people outside. This is not only embarrassing, but it also puts you at a higher risk of hurting yourself or others around you.
Fitness content is less trustworthy
The downfall of having access to so much free content is the fact that not all of the content out there is reliable or trustworthy. Some websites offer fitness content, but it may not always be from the best sources. You need to be wary of the sources of health information and workouts. Some of the facts online may not be real.
Following uninformed fitness content leads to an increased risk of injuries or being scammed by someone who claims they are a fitness expert. Go deep into researching exercise content to know what content can be trusted.
Fitness trackers are not always accurate.
Sometimes trackers such as Fitbit don’t adequately track your calorie count or steps. For this reason, the information that is being shown on your watch may not be the same as what you are actually doing.
Inaccurate trackers can be extremely frustrating. You may not only be wasting your money on the device, but the device may be distracting you from the real goal which is improving your fitness. Fixating yourself on the progress of your device rather than seeing the physical benefits of exercise can fail you to meet the goals you have set.
Expensive
There is always a cost to using technology for fitness. Smartwatches, fitness trackers, apps, and other technological devices and programs can cost a ton to use.
There is an initial investment as well as regular subscriptions you may need to pay to have access to more services and subscriptions for the latest versions of everything. If you were not planning on spending a ton of money, you may be disappointed when purchasing a fitness-tracking device.
Lack of interaction
Another potential downside is the lack of social interaction. Even though technology is a great way to connect with others with similar interests and goals, it does not replace the need for a physical trainer or friend to provide any support or feedback.
Increased potential for injuries
There is always the potential risk of getting injured or strained when exercising. However, when exercising alone, this percentage tends to go up. Since there are some people who are not educated on what exercises they should and shouldn’t do can put some in immense pain or extreme injuries.
On the other hand, technology can cause you to push yourself harder and faster than you should normally. This can increase the risk of muscle strain, joint pain, and other injuries associated with exercise.
Becoming solely reliant on the feedback given from technology can give you a false reality of what should really be expected of you when performing your own workouts. Leaning too much on the repetition technology can give you less variety than what you need.
Security concerns
These devices are known to continuously collect health information from you on a regular basis. This collected data can be shared with third parties who can use your information for marketing purposes. The risk of getting your information stolen from criminals should not be underestimated when looking into using technology.
Not suitable for all activities
Even though app trackers can track activities such as running, walking, or biking, many do not offer the ability to give data on resistance training. This training is completely different than what technology is able to track. Going to a gym and having a personal trainer may be better for weightlifting.
How to Reach Technology Fitness Goals
Schedule workouts
It is more likely that you will exercise when you have scheduled a time in your schedule each day to exercise. You can use the calendar app on your phone to schedule your workouts. You can treat your workout as a regular appointment that is scheduled.
Download an exercise app
Exercise apps exist for almost every kind of workout. There are a variety of free or inexpensive options. These workout plans can be completed in the comfort of your own home. This is a great way to utilize technology when doing your own workouts.
Use wearable technology
Smartwatches and fitness trackers can be worn and used to do everything. You can track your daily steps and calculate your pace while monitoring. This wearable technology has an app to keep detailed records and monitor your progress. When doing this, research your options to find the best wearable exercise technology to support your fitness goals.
Use workout videos
There are many workout videos online that require little to no exercise equipment. The types of exercises can be done anywhere at your leisure. YouTube has many workout videos.
Choose a type of exercise that you enjoy and find a YouTuber online that teaches that type of exercise. Instructors online post videos each week. You can look through their workout videos to do a new exercise each week.
Staying Motivated
Technology can keep us motivated by giving us valuable information about what is happening to our bodies physically. It can show us what we need to do to be able to reach our goals of fitness. This can especially be rewarding once you have figured out your strengths and weaknesses and you can see improvement.
Improvement is gradual, therefore being able to meet these goals can happen when your app is cheering you on to the finish line.
In conclusion, it is important to identify the good and bad of using technology for fitness purposes. There are multiple reasons why doing everything online can benefit individuals in many ways. The same way that it can help you, it can also do the same thing for negative aspects.
Not receiving the best advice, or not getting accurate results can make using technology for exercise not worth it. It is good to know the pros and cons to determine what route is best for you.