Women's Fitness

38 womensfitness.co.uk | September 2016

F

itness is no longer niche it’s

mainstream. While at one time

the gym wasassociated only

with the likes of bodybuilders

hardcore fit freaks and athletes now

more and more people are starting

to make conscious decisions that

affect their health body and fitness.

We’ve slowly seenthe industry

grow more popular thro ugh at-home

exercise videos in the 1980s and the

subsequent rise in in terest in

running but never has it exploded

in the way that it has done in recent

years thanks to th e power of

technology. But how exactly have

the likes of appsfitness watches

and devices made us fitte r?

A motivation boost

Injuries aside one of th e bi ggest

obstacles we face when it comes to

getting fit is our motivation – or lack

of it. Whether you struggle to get up

early for a pre-work session or

post-work drinks with friends are ju st

way more tempting than hitting the

gym we could all use a little help

staying on the fitness wagon

sometimes. ‘Technology has had

a huge impact on fitness trends

largely because it has made people

more motivated to work out’ says

Myzone founder Dave Wright. ‘Not

only are you able to track your

activities but you’ re re warded like

never before.’ Being able to receive

your data visually – on your phone

watch or computer screen – at any

time really puts into perspective

what you’ re achieving. This can be

the bi ggest push and knowing

your device is recording your

activity encourages you to keep up

the good work as well as to push

harder to beatyour previous

achievements which you might

have otherwise forgotten about.

Social beings

Fitness hasgrown hugely thanks

to social media – from gym selfiesto

motivational memes working out is

one of th e thingswe mostlike to

post about. Not only can you get

ideas and tips for exercise from

fitness gurus on social media but

posting about your own workouts

almostacts like a validation foryour

hard work – and who doesn’t want

that? ‘This kind of feedback

empowers people to exercise more

effectively’ addsDave. ‘I t’s the

psychology of instant grat ification.’

Every time we hit the gym there’s

an element of pride and satisfaction

afterwards and posting it on

Instagram or Facebook allows

us to bask in this. Shane Harman

Garmin UK wellness and fitness

product manager reckons that

social media has also had a huge

impact on which kind of workouts

people are doing thanks to

sharea bility boosting their

popularity. For instance the squat

challenge – which involved just

squatting daily – shot tovira l

status thanks to its simplicity and

accessibility allowing everyone

and anyone to take part from the

comfort of th eir own homes.

Get holistic

Apps like MyFitnessPal and devices

like Fitbit help us take an everyday

holistic approach to fitness health

and wellbeing. As well as tracking

your activity throughout the day

outside of workouts – for example

through steps taken or calories

burned – they also allow you to track

what you’ ve eaten. Fooddiaries can

be helpful for people trying to lose

weight or wanting to discover what

could be causing them digestive

prob lems and ke eping one that

coincide s with fitness data could be

particularly useful to help you figure

out what tweaks could be made to

further your goals. Throw into th e mix

information about sleep and you’ re

on a one-way track to success.

Show us the progress

The fact that we can now record

every step mile or length ofour

workout has changed fitness hugely.

‘We see numbers in bl ack and white

during and after exercise’ says

Shane. ‘What previously may have

felt like “a good run” has been

quantifi ed into X seconds per

kilometre faster than last week.’ It

might seemlike a more obsessive

approach to working out but to many

of us it’s the keyto improving.

Having numbers and data to

accompany every session means

that we judge less on how a workout

feels – so it’s easier to go harder (or

lighter) than the la st session and to

push through to make progress. But

that’s not all – technology can also

EXERCISE

Technology has massively pushed the

fitness industry forward so how canit

help you reach your go als?

Fit for

the future