This week, I found one video and one article that focused on wearable technologies. The video that I watched was an advertisement for a wearable fitness tracker called Moov, and the article was about how fitness trackers are used for a period of time, but then diminish. Moov is like a Fitbit or an Apple Watch but it actually tracks specific movements to each type of workout and gives feedback. I think that this technology is great because it helps to push yourself with words of encouragement and it helps to correct your workout by saying things like “take longer strides” or “land softer while you run”. These corrections can help the user because by correcting form it makes the workout or exercise more beneficial than if it was done incorrectly. Also, corrections about how hard you are planting while running will help prevent injury or joint or tissue damage. Moov also can track specific workouts that Fitbits and Apple Watches otherwise couldn’t track like pushups or biking. This allows them to better understand the work that was put in where Fitbits and Apple Watches can only track steps and heart rate. The article that I read focused on how wearable technologies tend to fade in use after a while and I couldn’t agree more. I once wore a Fitbit all day, every day. However, my Fitbit could only track my sleep and my steps. If I ever spent time weightlifting it did not register that I was participating in physical activity. This article specifically explains how at first, people with Fitbits are getting lots of steps and are competing with other people, but after an extended period of time, people stop wearing their Fitbits or they stop caring about fulfilling their goals. One person explained how when they first were tracking their exercise with a Fitbit they would mostly do cardio only to fulfill their step requirements. After some time passed, this person said that they no longer focus only on cardio but are now also focusing on weight training. Wearable fitness trackers can help people track their fitness but they are usually short-lived. After learning about the Moov fitness tracker, I think all fitness trackers should have this feature incorporated into them so that people get “credit” for all types of workouts. This would also be more beneficial to people because fitness should not focus on one area like cardio, it should be more holistic and include weight training exercises, biking, swimming, and form. I imagine that if fitness trackers had more qualities like Moov then they would not be forgotten about as quickly and as easily as fitness trackers that only register movements like walking or running. Watch my Knovio discussion about this reflection!
Superhealth42 