STORY TIME
Using Wearable Fitness Technology to Monitor Your Progress
Wearable fitness technology, also known as fitness wearables or fitness trackers, has taken the fitness industry by storm in recent years.
In the ever-evolving world of fitness, staying motivated and tracking your progress is essential to achieving your health and wellness goals. Thanks to advancements in technology, we now have access to a wide array of wearable fitness devices that can help us stay on track and take our fitness journey to the next level. In this blog post, we'll delve into the exciting world of wearable fitness technology, exploring how these devices can aid you in monitoring your progress effectively.
The Rise of Wearable Fitness Technology
Wearable fitness technology, also known as fitness wearables or fitness trackers, has taken the fitness industry by storm in recent years. These devices come in various forms, including smartwatches, fitness bands, and even smart clothing. What sets them apart is their ability to collect and analyze data related to your physical activity and overall health.
Key Features of Wearable Fitness Technolog
1. Activity Tracking: Most wearables can monitor your daily steps, distance traveled, and calories burned. This data provides a baseline for your physical activity level.
2. Heart Rate Monitoring: Many devices come equipped with heart rate sensors that allow you to track your heart rate during exercise and throughout the day.
3. Sleep Tracking: Sleep is crucial for recovery and overall health. Wearables can monitor your sleep patterns, helping you optimize your rest.
4. GPS Tracking: If you're a runner or cyclist, GPS-enabled wearables can track your routes and provide valuable data on your speed and distance.
5. Calorie Counting: These devices often estimate the number of calories you've burned based on your activity and heart rate.
The Advantages of Using Wearable Fitness Technology
1. Real-Time Data
One of the significant advantages of wearables is the ability to access real-time data. You can check your heart rate during a workout, see how many steps you've taken, and even receive notifications and reminders right on your wrist.
2. Motivation and Accountability
Wearables can serve as constant reminders to stay active. Many devices set daily activity goals and send you notifications when you're close to reaching them. This gamification aspect can boost motivation and accountability.
3. Goal Setting and Tracking
Setting and achieving fitness goals becomes more accessible with wearable technology. You can establish targets for steps, distance, calories burned, or even sleep duration, and monitor your progress over time.
4. Insights for Optimization
With the data collected by wearables, you gain valuable insights into your fitness habits. You can identify patterns, such as when you're most active during the day, and use this information to optimize your workouts and overall routine.
5. Community and Social Integration
Many wearables allow you to connect with a community of like-minded individuals. You can share your progress, compete in challenges, and even find workout buddies through these platforms.
Choosing the Right Wearable for You
The market is flooded with a variety of wearable fitness devices, so it's essential to select one that suits your specific needs and preferences. Here are some factors to consider:
- Purpose: Determine your primary fitness goals. Are you a runner, a weightlifter, or looking for an all-in-one device for overall health? Different wearables cater to different activities.
- Features: Consider the features that matter most to you. Do you want GPS tracking, heart rate monitoring, sleep tracking, or a combination of these?
- Design and Comfort: Since you'll be wearing it daily, ensure the device's design and comfort align with your lifestyle and preferences.
- Compatibility: Check if the wearable is compatible with your smartphone and the apps you prefer to use.
- Battery Life: Assess the battery life to ensure it meets your usage patterns.
Wearable fitness technology has revolutionized the way we monitor our progress on our fitness journey. These devices offer real-time data, motivation, goal setting, insights, and community engagement to help you stay on track and achieve your fitness aspirations. Whether you're a seasoned athlete or just embarking on your fitness adventure, a wearable fitness device can be your trusted companion on the path to a healthier and more active lifestyle.
Create Your Own Change
Don’t get me wrong, you might push yourself for like a month, but then the excuses will start getting the best of you, and you’ll fall off of your own priority list.
Muscles in action leads to change.
It really is that simple and yet it is that hard.
If you want your workouts to change YOU, then it’s up to YOU to take action and make it happen.
At the end of the day, no one can do this work for you. No one is going to create the change you want to see except you, and it’s up to you to prioritize creating change.
Basically, it’s up to you to prioritize yourself.
That’s where we ultimately fail.
Don’t get me wrong, you might push yourself for like a month, but then the excuses will start getting the best of you, and you’ll fall off of your own priority list.
When you feel yourself falling lower and lower on your own To Do List, instead of just giving up, get creative with your workouts. Plan shorter, more efficient workouts so you know you’re still moving and still making yourself a priority.
Grab the workout below to get you started!
Save this Tabata Set
12 rounds
Alternate exercises on each round
Crunches
Russian twists
Plank hold
You Can Do Hard Sh!t
We don’t do that for ourselves. We immediately think “nope that’s crazy” or “there’s NO way I could do that”.
Have the audacity to imagine yourself doing it.
I told my class today that as soon as you say “I can’t”, your body won’t let you.
It’ll become too hard, too much, and you’ll quit.
Think about it: we are the first ones who doubt our capabilities. If you told your best friend about what you were trying to do, they would NEVER say you couldn’t do it. They would say “Hell ya girl! Get it” and be right there cheering you on.
We don’t do that for ourselves. We immediately think “nope that’s crazy” or “there’s NO way I could do that”.
Instead of automatically doubting yourself, switch your approach.
Here’s my Top 3 Tips to Executing a Hard Exercise:
Break it down. Most complicated and complex exercises have foundational movements that build into something more difficult. Take it back a notch and practice those foundational movements.
Check your form. If you’re feeling the work in the incorrect muscles, it’s going to feel harder than necessary. Listen to your body to make sure the work is in the correct muscle groups.
Be patient. Learning something new takes time. It takes practice. Cut yourself some slack, you’ll get there. Just keep showing up.
Get to Work
We’re not in the game of being able to attempt to “wing” our workouts and expect results. Our days are too busy and there’s too many things demanding of our time.
If you half ass your fitness routine, you can’t expect spectacular results.
You can expect half assed results.
We’re not in the game of being able to attempt to “wing” our workouts and expect results. Our days are too busy and there’s too many things demanding of our time.
This doesn’t mean that every workout needs to be your best. It also doesn’t mean you have to push yourself to the point of breaking during every workout either.
It does mean that you have to consistently show up for yourself. You have to be intentional with your workouts so you know you can get the results you’re working so hard to see.
But how can you realistically fit a workout into days that are already jam packed?
Here’s my Top 3 Tips for Crushing Your Workouts When You’re Busy AF:
Plan. Take time on a Sunday night to plan out your week, including when your workouts can fit into your schedule. Then book mark that time in your calendar like you would an appointment to the doctor. You won’t cancel an important appointment, so don’t cancel on yourself.
Be realistic. How many days a week are you working out RN? How many days do you WANT to workout? Don’t jump to your most ideal goal, make incremental changes so you can adjust to the new normal without losing your sanity.
Have a back up. When you do Step 1, include what workouts you WANT to do during those times. It makes transitioning into the workout faster because it takes out the thinking. And then have a back up workout in case shit hits the fan and you don’t have as much time as you intended.
Become the Testimony
You know how those challenges have shaped you, given you strength, and pushed your limits.
The test always becomes the testimony.
It’s all about perspective.
I tell my clients all the time that the hard work they endure during a workout is not the hardest thing they’ve ever done nor is it the hardest thing they’ve ever been through.
It’s a snippet of time that’ll be over in realistically, less than an hour.
Think about it: You’ve made it through 100% of your bad days.
A little workout is not going to own you.
Intuitively you know that…
You can reflect upon those bad days and recognize how it’s impacted your life now.
You know how those challenges have shaped you, given you strength, and pushed your limits.
You might think back and say to yourself “damn I don’t know how I got through that” but you ultimately did and you know that whatever the lesson in it, you’re better off for it.
Your workout is nothing more than another challenge. Something that will give you strength, push you to your limits, and expand your horizons. Something you’ll be able to reflect upon tomorrow to see its impact on your life.
Don't Wait
Without a doubt, in all the interviews I’ve given, I’m always asked what my top piece of advice is for someone who wants to start working out but is hesitant.
You can’t wait for life to feel easy to start taking care of yourself.
I get to do this cool thing as a trainer…I get to be a guest on podcasts fairly regularly. It was weird at first, talking about myself and my journey with working out. It was an adjustment to being interviewed and coming up with answers on the fly.
Without a doubt, in all the interviews I’ve given, I’m always asked what my top piece of advice is for someone who wants to start working out but is hesitant.
My answer every single time is: start now.
You can’t wait for the planets to align or for the perfect time. Those things don’t exist.
You’re not too old, you’re not too young, and however you think your body looks doesn’t matter.
You’re also never going to be less busy.
The reality is you’re going to have to figure out HOW to take care of yourself in the midst of the chaos.
But you know that…
The hard part is putting it into practice. The even harder part is NOT letting that practice fall off.
My 3 Trainer Tips for Prioritizing Your Self-Care:
Listen to your body. Sometimes self-care means hulk smashing through an intense HIIT workout. Sometimes it means a bubble bath. Give your body what it needs, NOT what you want.
Schedule the time. You know if you don’t block it out in your calendar, it won’t happen.
Find the joy in the process. Even if it’s the stretch at the end of class, find the part you love. It’ll give you motivation to show up.
Reframe Your Workouts
Working out can’t be a punishment or something we HAVE to do. It can’t even be that check in the box on our To Do List.
Let’s rethink how we think about working out.
I tease my clients a lot that they always act like they’re getting tortured and yet they come back ALL. THE. TIME.
Not because they necessarily love the hard work, but because they know that finish line isn’t something anyone can take from them.
Working out can’t be a punishment or something we HAVE to do. It can’t even be that check in the box on our To Do List.
It doesn’t have to be something you love either.
Maybe it’s your moment of sanity in an insane schedule, maybe it’s your moment of peace when the kiddos are pulling on every last thread of patience you have. Maybe it’s your reminder that you’re a bada$$.
Time to find that reason.
Start with the workout below!
Tabata
Switch exercises each round
12 rounds
Swings
Bent over row
Bridge hip taps
Crunches
Don't Rewrite Your Story
When you finish your workout today and you start berating yourself for how it could’ve gone or what you should’ve done, just stop.
Don’t allow yourself to rewrite the story.
The fact is:
✔️ you showed up for yourself today.
✔️ you did something for yourself today.
✔️ you’re better off for it.
When you finish your workout today and you start berating yourself for how it could’ve gone or what you should’ve done, just stop.
Regardless of how your workout goes, you will always walk away stronger than when you started.
That effort is not something that should be discounted.
Give yourself credit for what you did do instead of beating yourself up for how you think it should’ve gone.
4 Rounds
10 reps each exercise
Single leg deadlift right
Single leg deadlift left
Bench press
Russian twists
It's Supposed to be Hard
When you’re in the middle of an interval that’s absolutely owning you, there’s no way that anything you’ve done feels as hard.
Intervals are called efforts for a reason.
IYKYK.
The amount of effort it takes to get through an interval feels like climbing Mount Everest.
At least for 30 seconds.
When you’re in the middle of an interval that’s absolutely owning you, there’s no way that anything you’ve done feels as hard.
You also feel like it’s never going to end.
It’s a test of your mental endurance and strength just as much as it’s a test of your physical endurance and strength.
Just remember: that effort is a tiny part of your day. You’ve done harder things for much longer. If you can get through those things, you can get through this.
Save this workout!
AMRAP
10 minutes
10 deadlifts
10 lateral lunges
10 Zottman curls
Appreciate Your Greatness
You have to persevere through those hard workouts to get the ones that remind you you’re strong and capable.
The sh!tty workouts make you appreciate the great workouts.
You’re not going to have many workouts that feel like Disneyland.
I’ll never be the trainer who lies to you.
Most of this is hard. Most of it sucks. Most of the time you’re going to what to be doing something else.
That’s the reality of working out: most of your workouts are going to make you question your life choices. Getting uncomfortable just does that to a person.
Ya you move and stuff during a workout, you’ll sweat but workouts are really a test of how you respond to an uncomfortable situation.
You have to persevere through those hard workouts to get the ones that remind you you’re strong and capable.
Those strong workouts are the ones that carry you through. That give you the motivation to keep going in all those workouts that make you want to cry or quit.
Those are the workouts you focus on when you’re in the workout that makes you question your life choices. The ones that left you feeling like a rockstar and relishing in your finish line instead of the ones that left you hating life.
