The whole way we are living our day to day lives is constantly changing thanks to the latest and greatest in technological advancements and there’s no other industry that’s doing this rapidly as health and fitness.
How many times have you googled a quick workout routine or even your symptoms when you’ve been feeling a little under the weather? Health apps alone are revolutionising how we look at health overall.
We’re living in a digital era so, in the spirit of that, we’ve put together a roundup of our favourite fitness-related technology trends that either are or soon will be transforming the way we work out forever.
Tracking Apps
Apps such as Mapmyrun and Strava are super popular in the health and fitness community. You can link the apps to social media and add your friends so you can all keep each other accountable when it comes to creating a dedicated fitness regime. When linked to wearable tech (which we discuss below) you can accurately track things such as your heart rate during workouts and calories burned. The GPS on these apps is pretty spot on and I always like how it gives me a benchmark for my next jog.
Of course, if you’re using these apps, it’s essential to monitor your progress in order to keep you motivated, which is why we recommend taking body measurements every 4 weeks and weighing yourself every week or two. Some modern scales can now also measure your body fat percentage and things like water weight as well as your BMI; so it’s always a good idea to make sure you invest in a good quality scale to help you stay on track.
Wearable Technology
It started with the likes of FitBit and Apple Watch and now wearable technology has become second nature to us. Especially of late as many watches no longer are now much more aesthetically pleasing. No more ugly rubber things attached to our wrists; smartwatches just look like regular jewellery but can monitor our heart rate, daily steps, stress levels, water and caffeine intake and more.
Thanks to the Internet of Things, wearable tech can also sync with a number of compatible apps for a well-rounded health and wellness routine and will even be logged by Google and Alexa… “Alexa, how many miles did I walk today?”
Virtual Classes
Let’s face it, class times in gyms are usually very much catered to the people who work there rather than the clients. Take my gym, for example, they only do yoga twice a week at 10 am and they’re both on weekdays, excluding me from my weekly low-intensity stretching session meaning I have to then pay for an additional yoga membership.
However, some gyms are now combatting this challenge with virtual classes. You can work out at a time you choose with your very own PT. The only difference? They’re on a screen doing a pre-recorded session rather than in real time. I guess it’s kind of like Youtube, but you do feel more motivated in a gym environment.
Immersive Fitness
Welcome to the world of Virtual Reality (VR). The next level of virtual classes actually takes us into immersive fitness. If you’re anything like me, you crave the outdoors and enjoy finding exercise through fun activities in the fresh air as opposed to the gym.
So what if you could do that but actually in a gym?
With the use of VR, you will now be able to climb some of the steepest mountains or even cycle sections of the Tour de France, all with the encouragement of your group leader urging you to push boundaries and go faster harder and higher every step of the way!