In an article by Kit Eaton of the NY times, our smartphones are turning into our personal workout trainer. In his article, Turning a Smartphone Into a Workout Buddy, Eaton explains how our devices help us reach our goals of being fit for the summer. I have used one of the apps that he talks about it in this article, and have been amused and encourage by how these applications actually help with personal fitness and health. I used the application called Skimble when it was first getting recognized which was about two to three years ago. This app gives users a variety of workout routines that may actually get you in top-notch shape if you decide to stay consistent with the workouts. It also acts as a social in which you can see other users and what workouts they maybe doing, and you can also talk with these people from different areas about different workouts and what results they have shown. It is very similar to Facebook in the sense that you can upload pictures, and follow other members like Twitter. When i started using skimble, all of the workouts were free. Plus, they actually shielded results. I don’t use it much now because i made my own routines out of the workouts they had. But now when you go on it, they have built up their customer base. With that being said, the addition of workout programs were made but you would now have to subscribe for 99 cents (do not quote me on it) or $1.99 which is not bad but i wouldn’t pay for it. There are many other apps that are just like this, but show less focus of the social networking capabilities.
These kind of apps raise the questions of:
- Is it really necessary to put this kind of personal information out there?
- Would you use them if customer feedback said it was definitely worth the time to use?
“smartphone workout buddies” is such a useful and remarkable technology to be able to use today. I have personally used it for running and skiing. The smartphone is quite accurate at monitoring speed/pace/distance traveled/ recording time improvements and so on. Having this tech. allows one to train more easily with instant feedback and monitoring at hand, keeping a consistent pace can be very important for distance running and the smartphone acts like a “cruise control” to help keep a constant pace. As for the skiing App, its contains neat features of recording maximum speed achieved, total downhill miles, total uphill miles, gives you a map with your “traced route” of where you have been and can even monitor elevation, making it possible to calculate rate of vertical decent, which are all neat features to have and have transformed (in a way) the sport of skiing.
I feel as if its not all that necessary to put that kind of personal information up on a network like this. I mean yes networking and discovering new work out methods is always good to do, but that’s where personal trainers and going to the actual gym comes in to play. If the app hands out personal information like you said, I would expect them to have a feature which allows you to limit what information is being “handed out”. I wouldn’t use them if feedback was positive, because I’m all about doing things personally and old fashioned, without the help of technology. This app would be great if it wasn’t for the fact that they obtain information like that, but then again in today’s society, everything is open to the public for the world to see.
So I’ve tried Lose it! and I hated it it was way ttoooooo much work. I liked hat all you had to put was weight and height so it wasnt too bad but still i dont think the apps are effective because they seem like they are practical for a few days maybe a week and thats all. Afterwards it gets annoying and time consuming. Why upload pictures or share your weight its not something that should be a used to network, like who the heck wants to send a picture of themselves when they are trying to get results with weightless. MAKES NO SENSE!
I definitely think that this app is one of the more useful ones that are in the market, as opposed to the other rediculous apps. And I think that it is a good idea to see other people’s progress, as it can provide as motivation for you to work out more, eat healthier, and be in better shape.