Another Distraction in an Unconscious World?

By Ryan Hail, NFPT CPT, CrossFit L1, CHEK HLC L1, USAW SPC L1

As the fitness technology market grows, so does my curiosity regarding the effectiveness of these devices. Is this technology helping or hurting? How accurate are these numbers? Are we missing the point?

While the jury is still out to whether or not these gadgets help or hurt our overall health and fitness, the current data is not promising. A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that subjects who used standard behavioral interventions vs. those who did so with the addition of wearable technology actually lost more weight over a 6-month period (1). Another study found no effect on test subject’s overall health and fitness after one year of use (2).

On the other hand, or should I say wrist, wearable technology has evolved
quite a bit from tracking things like steps and heart rate and are starting to use psychological based theories to provide motivation from their users. While it remains unclear, scientist are hopeful of the potential benefits these gadgets have towards increasing ones physical activity by merging psychological concepts into fitness tech (3). In addition to the questionable effectiveness of wearable fitness technology I challenge the accuracy of these devices. The other day I had a client stop mid-workout claiming “my heart rate is too high; I need a rest.” How did he come to this conclusion? He looked down at his wrist and saw 190+ heart rate. Now let me be clear, I am all for my clients taking a rest if they feel they need it, however this was not the case. He showed no signs of an elevated heart rate (fatigue, dizziness, shortness of breath) and based off of my experience as a trainer, he was nowhere near the red zone. While I kept quiet and let him watch the number on his wrist go down before resuming the activity, my curiosity was sparked.

After the session I decided to look into the accuracy of these popular devices and my hunch was correct, they aren’t very accurate. “Multiple studies have found that activity trackers’ heart rate monitoring is only 80% accurate with higher heart rates.” (4). While 80% is not bad, I am concerned about the 20% of performance gains that are not optimized all due to some ambiguous number often created by an algorithm that is not specific to the individual. In addition to the errors correlated with heart rate monitoring is the accuracy in tracking caloric burn. A 2017 study published in Medicine and Science in Sport and Exercise compared multiple consumer-level activity trackers to more elaborate calorimeter machines and found that one popular device was 92% accurate in measuring caloric burn when walking or running, however this number dipped to 40.4% for outdoor cycling and 0% for those who chose to exercise on a stationary bike (4).

Scenario: It is mid-day and you decide to go for a jog outside because, a) it’s good for you, b) you need a break from work. You lace up your shoes, and make sure your Apple watch is set up and head to the track. Ten minutes in, the fog starts to lift and you are becoming free from thoughts of work. BOOM! Email notification hits your wrist, the magically therapeutic flow state is robbed from you. Your jogging experience is no-doubt hindered.

As mentioned above, I feel the jury is still out in regards to the long term effect these wearables have on us and I am curious to see how the future science plays out. But let’s step back, remember when people used to do things for the sake of doing things? Remember when we went on a jog outside and just enjoyed the surroundings? In a world where we are constantly plugged into some form of technology, I fear that exercise is one of our last sanctuary and now even that is getting over run with screens. We need balance and I cannot think of a better way to add balance back into our lives than tech free exercise.

Does fitness technology have its place? Sure, these tools allow us to gamify fitness, create challenges among friends in different area codes, and help us calibrate our training. But we shouldn’t be consumed by these numbers – numbers that are often times erroneous, ineffective in long term behavior change, and rob us of flow. Tim Ferriss said it best: “Technology is an excellent tool and a terrible master.” So before you head to the gym, ditch the fitness watch for a few weeks and discover how pleasurable the exercise experience can be in and of itself. Good luck!

Resources:
(1) Jakicic JM, Davis KK, Rogers RJ, et al. (2017) Effect of Wearable Technology
Combined With a Lifestyle Intervention on Long-term Weight Loss: The IDEA
Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA, 316(11), 1161- 1171.doi:https://doi.org/10.001/jama.2016.12858

(2) Finkelstein, Eric A et al. (2016) Effectiveness of Activity Trackers with and Without Incentives to Increase Physical Activity (TRIPPA): A Randomized Controlled Trail. The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology, 4(12), 983-995.
doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/S2213-8587(16)30284- 4

(3) Sullivan, A. N., & Lachman, M. E. (2016). Behavior Change with Fitness Technology in Sedentary Adults: A Review of the Evidence for Increasing Physical Activity. Frontiers in Public Health, 4, 289. http:/doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2016.00289

(4) MacKenzie, B., Galpin, A., & White, P. (2017). Unplugged. Las Vegas: Victory Belt Publishing.

About the Author:

Ryan received his Bachelor’s Degree in Sports Science from Wright State University.  In addition, he is a certified personal trainer through the National Federation of Professional Trainers (NFPT), CrossFit Level 1 Coach, USA Weightlifting Specialist Level 1 (USAW SPC L1), Holistic Lifestyle Coach Level 1 (CHEK) and he stays on the cutting edge of fitness programming through workshops and peer communications. He has enjoyed working with his clients to enable them to perform better, feel better, and live better for seven years.  His background focuses on sports performance training, corporate wellness, CrossFit, and Olympic weightlifting.  Ryan’s hobbies include Brazilian Jiu-jitsu, lifting weights, yoga, reading, stand-up paddle boarding, and exploring Austin!

Classes: Boot Camp. PowerFit. Barbell Club. H.I.I.T.

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