In a High-Tech World Fitness Success Stays Old Fashioned


Technology is fantastic and certainly makes things easier. Unfortunately when it comes to fitness, you still have to put in the work to get real long-lasting results.

Many people find it difficult to get motivated to exercise and, even once they’re ready to go, they might not know exactly what to do. This is a role that modern fitness technology often tries to play.

For example, the popular Peloton indoor exercise cycle provides access to on-demand classes, live-streaming, and real-time data. Another such product, the Mirror Home Gym, streams live and on-demand workout classes onto an LCD mirror. Users not only use the product to access classes, but they can also connect it to a Bluetooth heart rate monitor to track their heart rate during their workouts and keep track of how many calories they’ve burned. Many wearable fitness trackers (such as the Fitbit, Apple Watch, or Galaxy Watch Active) provide similar health data.

Much of the information these devices deliver can be useful. For instance, step counts provided by most fitness trackers can give you a snapshot of your activity level and potentially motivate you to be more active. Monitoring your heart rate and other vital signs could let you know how hard your body is working while you exercise. Having access to routines, workouts and digital “coaches” can give you training tips and information on which workouts to try. All of these details can be useful and lead to increased health.

However, it’s important to remember that there is no “magic answer” that will allow you to get in shape without putting in time and effort. While technology like fitness trackers can help in many ways, they aren’t a shortcut or an easy answer.

“Motivation with a smile is what our in-home personal trainers deliver to hundreds of customers daily across Canada,” says Beth Spooner, president of Fitness on the Go. “Technology is fantastic and certainly makes things easier. Unfortunately when it comes to fitness, you still have to put in the work to get real long-lasting results. We understand that fitness may not be as enjoyable as watching Netflix, so our personal trainers bring the motivation needed to keep our clients on track and the enthusiasm to help enjoy the session.” It seems that we need a technology that drives our intrinsic motivation to be more successful in fitness, until then, hiring extrinsic motivation remains the antidote.

The reality is that exercise requires hard work and dedication. Technology can try to help you stay motivated by giving you routines and fitness data, but it can’t force you to exercise or get you in shape without you putting in the effort. You’ll still need to find the motivation to start and keep going. While technological equipment, tools, and trackers can be helpful, they’re not the only way to get in shape and they’re certainly not a replacement for hard work and effort. To learn more about Fitness on the Go visit: http://www.fitnessonthego.ca.

Tim Stephens

Writer

Canadian Franchise Journal

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