Dear Readers,
This blog post kicks off a new series I’m bringing to the website, which I’m calling Technology and X, where X can be any sort of industry or field you can think of. My goal is to reach out to people interested in all sorts of different hobbies and show them how technology can intermingle and combine with them to create amazing new innovations. Technology is pervasive, so why not embrace all that is has to offer? Who knows what sort of new fields or creations could arise from the introduction of technology. Personally, I believe that our greatest creations will arise from interdisciplinary endeavors (that’s why I chose to do an interdisciplinary major!).
The spotlight this week focuses on the intersectionality between technology and fitness. Notice how I’m not mentioning “technology and health” yet; that’s a whole other topic that I promise I will cover! For now though, I’m just going to look at how technology is being used every day to increase peoples’ fitness levels.
Let’s start with the basics. The first area technology has dominated in the past few years has with wearable fitness trackers. Small wristbands developed by FitBit or Jawbone are very popular. They come in an array of colors and offer a number of features. They’re waterproof (but not necessarily submergible) and meant to withstand any sort of workout. Their durability lets users leave them on all day and all night. Some fitness trackers keep track of how long you sleep, and how deep you sleep, based on your movements throughout the night. Others can even track your heart rate. They also keep record of how many steps you’ve done, when you’ve worked out, and the number of calories you are burning. Many trackers also have options to input what foods you’ve eaten that day, and the specific type of work out you might have done. All of your fitness information is now at the touch of your fingers. Or rather, your wrist.
The devices also sync with smartphones, and the companion apps are quite nice. They provide great visualizations of your data and let you see trends in your habits over time. Apps can also help set reminders with your band, or give real time alerts on your phone should you need textual cues.
But technology doesn’t have to be wearable to be associated with fitness. There are many smartphone apps that let you log your diet, encourage you to drink water, and keep track of where you have gone for runs. There’s even one novel app that simulates zombies trying to chase you as a motivation for you to run faster. These apps are a great, low cost (or free) alternative to having a wearable tracker. A wearable will probably be more accurate, but phones and their accelerometers can provide good approximations.
Many people have also turned to console devices for their fitness needs. Things like the Kinect for Xbox and the Playstation Move have gotten gamers off their couches and onto their feet. Workout games enable users to participate actively in workouts with varying difficulties. Sports games engage children and adults, all while encouraging them to move more. Immersive gaming has actually been quite beneficial in the fitness gaming category.
There are many other great examples of tech in fitness. Specially engineered clothes, ground breaking physical therapy machines and training safety equipment are especially new and promising. One day you might have clothes that light up when you go running at sunset, or clothes that can keep you especially cool when hiking on a hot day. Therapy patients might use virtual reality to stimulate simple tasks in which they can practice their exercises. World class treadmills may provide more realistic running simulations. There’s so much left to explore; we are only at the forefront of the technical west.