Our society is increasingly driven by a group of omnipresent manipulators who seek to create addiction in order to increase profits. These include the pharmaceutical industry and the Food Giants I discussed last week. Today, we will focus on the predatory practices of the technology industry.

To call them predatory is not hyperbole; their expressed intent is tech addiction. The attention economy is predicated upon us scanning longer and clicking more. This is a big business. The exploitation of our evolutionary biology has been as masterful as it has been uncontested. Critiques come only from a fringe element; the opinion of “health freaks” and those “against progress,” who only want to spoil everyone’s fun.

To combat the effects of addictive technology, we must first admit the dangerous, unethical nature of the manipulator’s work, and begin to educate our communities against it.

The Incessant Hum of Technology

Life has changed dramatically in the past couple decades. We’ve all felt the ever-present draw to our devices—the impulse upon waking to “catch up,” the ease with which they allow us to attain information, and our inability to be undistracted anywhere or with anyone. The steady hum of anxiety that characterizes life in the 21st century emanates from the blue flicker of our four-inch screens.

This perpetual background noise saps our attention from objectively more important things, like studying, strengthening relationships, or driving a car.

Even our best and brightest need help. Picture a brilliant chemist doing essential cancer research. She’s holding and synthesizing many seemingly unrelated concepts and on the verge of making a connection that will drive a wave of breakthroughs. But POOF! A notification pops up on her laptop: she has been tagged in a photo. She can’t help it; she must see what picture this is, which brings her to the entire album, which is when she notices her best friend’s dog died and that it’s her aunt’s birthday.

How has technology become so addictive? It isn’t even a substance we ingest. Is this really some intentional plot to capture our minds?

The Attention Economy

Clickbait is big business. Internet ad revenue totaled $72.5 billion in 2016, and ads make more money where people spend more time. The more a site can get you to scroll, click, or stare at a page, the more money involved.

I must concede that I am, in a way, a part of this world. I have a deep desire for you to read all my articles, visit my website, and spend attention on my work. The more successful I am at this, the more benefits I’ll eventually receive. But my purpose is not solely to addict you to anything. Like journalists and writers of the past, I’m just happy if you appreciate my message.

In contrast to a journalistic approach, technology designers have invested heavily in understanding neuroscience to create addiction. It is not a side effect of their work, but the explicit intent. They look at everything from tracking streaks to color choices. Ever notice that multiple-page articles have gone away? That’s because web developers have discovered our propensity to stay on a site longer if we can scroll down endlessly, rather than having to click on the next page.

Have you ever gone to YouTube to get something you needed, and then spent two hours watching videos of dogs chasing their tails? YouTube auto-plays the next “recommended” video, and their algorithms use every ounce of information they can gather to deliver what you’ll find hardest to resist. Every web media company is busy collecting information on each of us to draw us in more effectively.

The Ways Your Tech Runs You

Former Google web designer Tristan Harris has been vocal in exposing this secret mission of the technology industry:

“There’s a hidden goal driving the direction of all the technology we make, and that goal is the race for our attention… The best way to get people’s attention is to know how someone’s mind works… Technology is not neutral.”

Harris was taught the tricks of this trade at Stanford’s Persuasive Technology Lab. According to him, these tricks include:

• Intermittent, variable rewards: When users are linked with a varying reward for actions, they keep coming back. This is the phenomenon behind slot machines, which make more money than baseball, movies, and theme parks combined. We now have a slot machine in our pockets at all times, which probably accounts for why we check our phone over 150 times a day, on average.
• Fear of missing something important: This is why you have to bring your cell phone everywhere, why you keep swiping forever on dating sites and have to check the “neighborhood” app every day. What if something huge happens?
• Social approval and reciprocation: Tapping into our evolutionary need for social acceptance that once kept us alive, we’ll spend an entire day seeking positive affirmations from people we don’t really know. Whenever someone does something for us, we subconsciously feel we owe them. “Thanks for the follow, I’d better return the favor.” So of course, every social media company now suggests new people you should follow.
• Bottomless bowls and auto-play: Perhaps the most effective thing technology companies do to keep you scrolling and watching longer is keep the flow of juicy morsels uninterrupted, with precious little input from you, the user.
• Instant interruption versus respectful delivery: Is there a reason you have to check that Facebook message, email, or text the second it comes through? A framework that respected our minds might not have beeps and prods constantly pulling our attention away and habituating distraction. If something is that time-sensitive, it would require a call. Wouldn’t that drastically change what you perceived as urgent or worth interrupting someone for?

At the root of most these addictions is the manipulation of dopamine: a powerful neurotransmitter that causes you to seek out more of what gave you your last hit. It is the itch you must scratch. Technology offers a constant drip of dopamine, rewarding us as we become habituated to its constant presence. Our biology is magnetically pulled to these texts, videos, likes, games, and the never-ending bounty of instant gratification that is offered by the slot machine in the palm of your hand.

The Hard Cost of Smart Software

“So what’s the big deal?” I hear you ask. “Could it be that culture is just changing, and this Shane dude is a big party-pooper? We like this stuff!”

The trouble is the effect technology is having on our ability to handle the real world. It has exponentially increased our ability for self-deception and our inclination to prioritize immediate pleasures over long-term goals and happiness.

The ability to delay gratification, also known as willpower, is a muscle that grows from practice. This is significant because delayed gratification is the greatest predictor of success in work, relationships, and life. Our smartphone-addicted population, particularly our youth, is quickly losing the capacity for the very element we know is most crucial to fulfillment.

These costs are tremendous and the evidence is overwhelming. In 2012, smartphone ownership crossed the 50% threshold. By 2015, 73% of teens had smartphones. In direct correlation, between 2010 and 2015, the number of teens who claimed to “feel useless and joyless” rose 33% in national surveys. Teen suicide attempts jumped 23%, and actual suicides jumped 31%. One in five high-schoolers today have or have had a mental health issue, with anxiety disorders exploding across all demographics in our society.

We’ve come up with new slang terms, like FOMO (the fear of missing out) and nomophobia (fear of being away from mobile phones for a long time), to describe our digital angst. There are even effects to our cognitive ability. We’ve seen ADHD diagnoses go up 43% since 2003, which should come as no surprise when we look at the constant distraction characteristic of tech culture. A study out of Korea indicated that teens addicted to smartphones had a higher prevalence of a neurotransmitter called GABA that results in worse attention and control. We’ve seen a generation of students who never experience deep work because they are unable to attain the depth of focus where real learning, synthesis, and growth happens.

The Generation of Digital Natives

This newest generation has been called iGen—a title befitting the saturation in digital culture that has characterized their upbringings. For these “digital natives,” it will only get worse until we accept that we are indoctrinating a society of humans with patterns and addictions that make them less. We must give them a framework to be more.

It is not uncommon to walk into a restaurant and see an entire family waiting for their meal while scanning their devices. Car rides are now quiet, as the children are occupied with games and videos in the back. The bus stop is full of kids quietly looking down. No time is sacred. We have to check our work emails at Junior’s Saturday morning soccer game and respond to an email from Stacy’s teacher during your work meeting. Most people feel as if they must always be checking their phone to make sure no one needs anything in this very moment. We can’t even work out without these digital leashes. “What if someone needs me?”

I’ve watched an entire varsity football team on the sideline “supporting” the JV, while every single one of their eyes were fixed on their phone. Each day, I watch as swaths of students are dropped off by parents without so much as a wave, and then trudge across the street, unaware of traffic as they anxiously scan social media.

The Loss of Anticipation and Experience

Technology is always with us, always poking its head where it doesn’t seem necessary. How hard is it even right now to keep reading? Have you felt a tug to just skim this article so you can consider it “read,” and then move on to digesting more?

What is lost is more than just time, attention, and cognitive ability. It is our very capacity to enjoy the subtle, beautiful nuance in each moment. We always feel we need something more, which fuels our consumerism, our debt, and our inability to follow through on goals and projects. As a society, we are losing the capacity to appreciate the build-up, the process, the growth that is the core of all success and fulfillment. We are, in effect, always trying to skip to the climax. Then we become confused as to why it’s not as good as we remembered or anticipated.

A great example of this can be seen in how we digest music. We aren’t listening, so much as wondering what song to play next. We’ll skip to get to that awesome loud part of “In the Air Tonight,” or “Stairway to Heaven.” But it’s not the same; it’s lost something essential.

Anticipation is part of the enjoyment. The juice is sweeter when we do the squeezing. This is because simple outcomes don’t bring happiness—mindfully driving towards a purpose while fully engaged in the process is where peak experience lies.

For most, these tools have made their lives less fulfilled, not more. Rather than working in concert with our nature to scaffold humanity to greater heights, the smart device has inhibited our growth. We’ve lost creativity, as our minds never have space. We’ve lost the ability to add numbers, to navigate, to strike up conversations with strangers, and to engage in the depth of conversation on a daily basis. We do not share company, so much as we populate the same rooms. Experiences are always clouded with the need to document, post, and curate our social highlight reels.

A New Framework for Your Digital Life

Technology has become so powerful and ubiquitous so quickly that we never learned how to safely incorporate it into our lives. Distraction and tech manipulation are virtually impossible to mitigate without a framework that teaches us how to access its benefits without being sucked in.

Rather than playing to society’s perception that all technology is progress, our schools should be the experts instilling responsible tech habits. They should be on the cutting edge of the manipulator’s methods and how to circumvent them. They should lead our communities with parent and youth education aimed at utilizing the power of these tools to make us more.

Here are a few quick suggestions that you can apply today:

• Create and enforce no-phone zones. Make certain places sacred spaces of quality time, immune to digital distraction. Embrace awkward silences. They often are followed by the most precious moments.
• Create rules for email, text, and social media. Batching these to two times a day allows you to handle a lot at one time while freeing your mind and harnessing mental energy in the rest of your day.
• Put the phone away an hour before bed. Either set the alarm and put it across the room or just get a clock with an alarm. Yes, they still make those.
• Create a rule that you cannot check your phone in the first hour of the day. I suggest filling this time with movement.

We cannot continue to strip our lives of the experiences that build willpower. We cannot continue to erode our ability for deep work. In a world with weapons capable of ending all life, with mass shootings going up every year, with global climate change, a nation in massive debt and epidemic health disorders, maybe it is essential that we relearn depth of thought, logic and logical fallacies, and the skills for dialogue and compromise. Maybe it’s time we decided to disconnect and choose to not be manipulated.

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The post We Used to Be Humans: Practical Strategies to Combat Tech Addiction appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

The missteps aren’t reserved to our obsession for earning more money to buy more toys. We also would rather throw money at our challenges, rather than use results as feedback and change strategies. Many use money as a crutch in all areas of their life, entrenching a form of learned helplessness that drives us further from fulfillment. We actively nurture the expectation of ever-present comfort, and the belief that struggle must mean disorder.

Think about how crazy it is that pharmaceutical companies advertise to the average citizen having no medical background. “Ask your doctor about (enter pill here).” As if your doctor was just winging it. Maybe you should also remind him how to take your pulse and blood pressure. But it works, because most people would rather spend the money than the time and effort to improve their health on their own.

Don’t Sacrifice Personal Development

There is a time and a place to pay out, and money can be a great tool to improve your quality of life, provided you understand its limitations. But more often than not, we open our wallets at the expense of personal development. We make the assumption that if it costs money, it is valuable. When what we bought doesn’t do something for us, we think that we just need to spend more, rather than exert more focus and commitment on our own behalf.

This trend can be seen in every industry and fitness is no different. If we are willing to think differently we may save money and grow in the process.

Money itself is not the problem; it’s our beliefs in money and things. When we buy things, we quickly adjust to them as if they are normal, and return to our baseline level of happiness. Then we notice somebody else has some other things we want, and the arms race begins. The cycle continues, and regardless of earnings, we seem to always spend all our money.

Experiences Are the Key

Experiences, in contrast, are deeply satisfying and transformative. They become part of our identity, granting us greater perspective and understanding of the world. They promote confidence, and often provide social, analytical, or experiential skills that enrich our worlds.

Fitness falls into the category of experience, and so can provide great value. You should invest heavily in your own health and fitness experience. But there are many clients and coaches who want all the newest gadgets, and to try every new method and program. I have been as guilty as anybody, but we would all do well to choose one or two tools, invest in those, and master them.

Whether it’s gymnastics, Brazilian jiu jitsu, kettlebells, or Olympic weightlifting, there is far more to be gained from a focus on depth of knowledge, rather than the accumulation of more tools used with superficial understanding. You don’t have to become an expert, but there is merit in committing to one process and seeing it through for a while. This signifies a maturity in your training approach, rather than chasing what’s shiny. We need to look beyond all the expensive fad plans, and instead put ourselves onto the road to fitness and health autonomy.

Don’t Throw Your Money Away

The increasing use of technology in your training is a great example of throwing money at your fitness problems. A professional sports team trying to eek out the highest potential from its already advanced athletes might need Tendo units and Catapult Wearable Movement Analytics. They are competing with the best athletes in the world, who also have access to the best resources.

But at every level below top-tier professionals, you probably don’t have the human resources to monitor all this data, let alone the training and knowledge to interpret it into useful advice. You would benefit more from a deepened awareness of your practice. All the analytics in the world tend to distract from the reality that the best training comes from deep intent to execute the fundamentals. Progress comes from consistent application of tried and true principles, not the latest wearable or app.

Likewise, the best coaching is rooted in relationships, energy, and mindful engagement. Brett Bartholomew, trainer of pros and author of Conscious Coaching, makes the point that it is far more important to make connections that influence long-term behavior, rather than spend money to elicit a one-time motivational spike. Human capital is the most valuable resource. Many school districts have built multimillion-dollar training facilities that rival top colleges, but never bothered to staff them with a single qualified professional to run training programs. They’d be far better off employing one or two top strength and conditioning coaches with nothing more than space and dumbbells.

There Is No Substitute for Work

Money is no substitute for putting in the work. Many will use tried and true methods, but with shaky consistency and nothing approaching attention to detail. They’ll rush through the motions, seeking a quick outcome, only to get frustrated when their sloppy approach hasn’t yielded earth-shattering results three weeks later. Must be time to order a ton of supplements, change programs again, and hire a new personal trainer, right?

Again, I firmly believe that health and fitness are worth your investment. Most people would benefit from a skilled professional’s help to learn proper movement patterns, construct effective, safe programs, and begin to eat sensibly. However, we must approach our fitness from a mature perspective that understands consistency is the top variable, and that there is no magic pill. Without that understanding, long-term results are impossible. Let me be clear:

Spending money does not entitle you to a result. Doing the work does.

Parents who want to pay for 19 different skills and performance coaches, while they allow their kids to spend every free moment seated in air conditioning with their eyes glued to a screen are wasting their time and money. Skills and strength and conditioning matter, but they are made pointless by the loss of athleticism, focus, and tenacity typical of this upbringing. The greatest strength coach in the world will spend most of their time with this sedentary athlete on a regressed, simple plan to recreate the physical foundation destroyed by their everyday habits.

Money Does Not Replace Experience

Fitness, health, and athletic performance are worthwhile investments, but we need to be careful before assuming that money is going to provide a quick fix. If money was all that was required, we wouldn’t continue to see a degradation of public health, while health spending rises year after year.

Elite strength coaches, professional programs, and a cabinet full of supplements are not the solution for people who’ve never valued moving. Paying more means nothing without an earnest commitment and appreciation for the process. If we think we are just going to buy the outcome we want, we’re doomed to a lifetime of failure and superficial wandering.

As individuals, we must conduct an honest self-assessment to determine whether we have the skills and maturity to realize the benefit of our investment. Are we spending money on health to defer responsibility, or to create understanding and promote life-changing development and eventual autonomy?

If you spend money and learn nothing, you might as well have lit that money on fire. Your fitness expenditures should help you learn how to make sustainable, long-term change. Being a lifelong learner enables you to use each new challenge or investment as an opportunity to add skills, and thus add more possibilities to your future.

Money can be a tremendous asset to help spur amazing physical improvement and performance. However, we must not treat it as a cure-all. Understand your impulse buying propensities, and apply standards to your purchases. Rather than rushing into the next shiny new fitness thing, take the time to educate yourself first. When you’re confident that you’re ready to commit and that you need help, go get it! But always maintain a sincere desire to learn and a value for the process. Your ability to do the work and focus will get you the results, and nothing else.

The post Money Is Not the Solution: You Are appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

The study’s findings are promising and indicate a new era in strength and conditioning research. [Photo credit: Pixabay]

In a joint effort between the University of Birmingham and Southampton Football Club, the study analysed the performance of youth players to observe the links between training and injury.

The researchers used a range of player performance data gathered by GPS equipment worn by the players in training, including: total distance covered; distance covered at high speed; total load/forces experienced; and short bursts of speed. This data was then analysed in relation to ‘recordable injuries’ – classified as mild, moderate, or severe – that caused the players to have to take time off from training. The injuries’ timeframe ranged from a couple of days to several weeks.

They found that high levels of acceleration over a three-week training period was the strongest indicator of overall and non-contact injury risk. It also found that a high amount of distance covered (in excess of 112km over a four-week period) and high weekly total loads significantly increased the risk of overall and non-contact injuries. Moderate-to-high levels of distance covered at high speed resulted in higher overall and non-contact injury incidence respectively; and very high weekly total loads and intense levels of short bursts of speed were significantly related to a higher risk of contact injury.

This study’s findings are promising and indicate a new era in strength and conditioning research. All athletes who can safely train harder can develop a greater tolerance for increasing intensity and the inevitable fatigue of competition. With this in mid, GPS technology could pave the way to a new and more resilient generation of athletes.

Lead researcher Laura Bowen commented:

“Our research has huge practical and scientific application. It expands on a recent body of literature in rugby league and cricket which has proposed that the prescription of workloads may be more indicative of injury than the load itself.”¹

The specificity of the findings from the GPS technology can also be used to provide a set of thorough guidelines to help reduce the occurrence of injuries in elite youth football and beyond. The researchers have already been able to recommend that training should be organised so distance covered at high speed and total load experienced fluctuate across a four-week period, with more to come as the technology’s net is cast wider and more GPS studies become available.

References:

Laura Bowen, Aleksander Stefan Gross, Mo Gimpel, François-Xavier Li. Accumulated workloads and the acute:chronic workload ratio relate to injury risk in elite youth football players. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 2016; bjsports-2015-095820 DOI: 10.1136/bjsports-2015-095820

The post Study Uses GPS Technology to Predict Injuries appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

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Core Conditioning – Fad or Trend?

It seemed every exercise in the previous decade was a core exercise and you couldn’t find a gym anywhere not offering core-specific programming like Pilates mat classes and group exercise programs with names like Ab Lab or Core Blast.

Core conditioning was been one of the biggest trends to hit the fitness industry and in many ways still permeates fitness culture. In part, the trend was the general population’s recognition of the importance of stability and training from the inside out. Our core is the foundational element from which we breathe, move, and sustain our postural structure.

“The distinction is that fitness fads come and go, while fitness trends change the way we approach exercise.”

Of course, equally if not more pronounced in core training was the emphasis of the outside more than the inside. That is, when it comes to the popularity of core-based exercise, some just want a flatter mid-section, feeling somehow core conditioning is the way to achieve that result.

The Relationship Between a Fad and a Trend

The core-conditioning example shows perfectly the relationship between fitness fad and fitness trend. The general trend of core conditioning has been around for decades – from the yoga and Pilates movements to newer concepts like traditional strength training exercises on a balance modality such as a Bosu.

RELATED: Is Mobility Just a Fad?

The core-conditioning trend has also spawned fads like 8 Minute Abs and the Ab Roller. The distinction is that fitness fads come and go, while fitness trends change the way we approach exercise.

Here’s a breakdown between fad and trend – and what it means to you.

The Definition of a Trend

Trend: (n) “a general direction in which something is developing or changing.”

In general, trends tend to be longer lasting, crossing over industries, and have roots in deeper societal currents. Fads tend to be industry specific, shorter in duration, and trivial in their underlying meaning. Fads are the proverbial flash in the pan.

RELATED: Unilateral Leg Training, Part 1: Historical Perspectives

A good case in point is technology. How we interact with technology from smart phones to the Internet has changed every facet of our lives across every industry. In the fitness industry, we have seen technology impact the way we train from the explosion of fitness-based apps, to web-based coaches and trainers, to applications like real-time heart rate and calorie monitoring. Technology and how we interact with it isn’t a fad. It isn’t going anywhere in our lives at home or work, and it isn’t going anywhere in our fitness lives either.

Contrasted with technology, some of the biggest recent trends to hit fitness are about as old school as you can get. The kettlebell and bodyweight exercises come to mind. While new-school technology gives us access to new and in-depth information, this information has led us to circle back to old tried-and-true ways to move the body, such as functional and bodyweight training.

RELATED: Maxick Teaches Us the Lost Art of Muscle Control

Old school training delivers results – running, jumping, squatting, and doing push and pull-ups always have and always will get the job done. Both old school and new school are trends that are here to stay because they aid in producing long-term and lasting results.

The Definition of a Fad

an intense and widely shared enthusiasm for something, especially one that is short-lived and without basis in the object’s qualities; a craze.”

Synonymous with “fad” is the word “gimmick,” and the fitness industry has had its fair share of them. Look no further than the Shake Weight and the ThighMaster. But fitness fads are not just comical infomercials and white elephant gag gifts. They are usually correlated with a trend (like the Ab Roller and core conditioning.) Curves is also an example of a fad correlated with a trend (obesity and a deconditioned population).

“While Curves made their customers feel comfortable and got them moving, they had no answer for the question ‘what’s next?’ In fitness, this is the only question that matters.”

At one time, Curves was a fitness juggernaut with over 10,000 locations and a designation as the world’s largest fitness franchise. Now, it’s hard to find a Curves in your neighborhood. In the fitness community, Curves is on the outside looking in. Since it’s peak in 2007, North American Curves locations have declined by 65%.

At first glance, the Curves concept seemed brilliant. Give deconditoned clients a place where they feel welcome, can find community, and exercise with simple-to-use stations. This is all well and good for a new exerciser, but then what? Exercise by its inherent nature is dynamic and challenging, and the problem in the Curves model is that results based in and around a simple circuit do not last.

While Curves made their customers feel comfortable and got them moving, they had no answer for the question “what’s next?” In fitness, this is the only question that matters.

The Distinction Between a Fad and a Trend

The distinction between fad and trend is an important one. Trends tell us the direction the tide is moving. They give us access to new information and different ways to participate in various activities.

Fitness fads tell us information we want to hear. This diet food tastes great or this exercise is easy and produces great results. Fads tell you there is a short cut or a simple answer to a complex dilemma.

RELATED: Evolutions in the Fitness Industry

Fads can be harmless fun. (I have certainly enjoyed plenty of good laughs about the Shake Weight.) But fads are harmful in that they distract you from the real meaning of fitness – which is you.

Your journey in fitness and wellness is all about the process of facing yourself, exploring what makes you tick, and making the necessary adjustments along the way. The body is dynamic and constantly evolving. What works for you today will not necessarily work tomorrow.

A trend can help you see new things and enhance your fitness for the long term. A fad is a quick fix with short-term and temporary result. Do yourself a favor and skip the fads.

References:

1. Karsten S., “Crash Diet: After Shedding Thousands Of Locations, Can Curves Get Back In Shape?” Forbes. June 16, 2014

Photo 1 courtesy of Shutterstock.

Photo 2 courtesy of CrossFit Impulse.

Photo 3 courtesy of Curves.

The post What’s a Fitness Trend? What’s a Fad? Does It Matter? appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

Screens Hurt More Than They Help

Screens are an essential part of our modern lives and that isn’t about to change. No statistical study, analysis, or commentary is going to change the fact we use screens to do just about everything – to entertain, to inform, to shop, and, of course, to communicate. Right now, you are staring at a screen to read this article, and maybe while you’re on the treadmill, to boot.

Technology in and of itself is neither good not bad. It can be a force for good, and we all undoubtedly know countless examples to the contrary. But what about our lives in fitness? Do screens help? Do they hurt? It is my contention that gyms, clubs, fitness studios, and the like should be sanctuaries of health and wellness.

Gyms are more than places where we do weights and cardio. They are where we come to get well. With that in mind, though I am as guilty as anyone in using them, when it comes to screens at the gym, I believe they hurt more than they help.

The Modern Fitness Landscape

Working out in the year 2014 has in some ways become synonymous with technology and the use of screens. We track our workouts and follow our virtual trainers on our smart phone apps. On the spin bike, we watch a screen as we “ride” a course through the “French Alps.” On the treadmill, we watch cable news and check the score of the football game.

We’re all guilty of this. When I lift weights, I listen to music through my headphones, which are plugged in to my smartphone. In between sets, I can’t help myself from glancing down at the phone to check Facebook or my email. These days, instead of simply working out, we multitask.

Some might contend this is a good thing. Why not be productive in two ways at once? Why not get a little work done or catch up with a friend from college while you’re working out?

It’s a fair question. I do it and most likely you do, too. After all it’s your workout and it’s your time, so why not kill two birds with one stone? There isn’t much harm in doing so on a case-by-case basis, but in the bigger picture, fitness represents more than a mere means to an end. Here’s why that screen of yours just may be hurting you more than it helps while you work out:

You Can’t See Yourself at the Gym

The truth is, you can’t focus on your body if you’re focused on screens. And seeing yourself is critical in fitness. There’s more than working out (or texting) going on when you exercise. Behind working out is the how and why you do so. That is, how your body moves, how you breathe, and how you express your physicality. Deciphering all that is only done when you’re able to access the present moment.

Every breakthrough, epiphany, and euphoric state I have ever experienced in fitness occurred through finding the present moment, not avoiding it. That eureka moment in life always comes with the willingness and ability to get purely present. With that in mind, screens hinder this process rather than help it.

That ability to be present is a foundational element to growth of any kind. This is true whether we’re talking high-level training, learning a skill, or developing a craft. Having spent years in and around boxing and the martial arts, I can tell you I’ve never once seen a screen in a class at a dojo or dojang. I am sure it happens, but a martial artist knows you must see yourself to learn and grow.

The same holds true in fitness. When your head is pointed up, you might actually see yourself working out – your posture, your form, your essence staring back at you in the mirror. You might notice how relaxed you are (or aren’t) while you run. Or perhaps you can even catch a glimpse of yourself beyond your physicality. That is, you may witness the true nature of your spirit found through the journey in your mind.

The ability to see your body is the only way to find your true physicality in the same sense that truly seeing your mind is the only way you can find your authentic self. Screens help us do neither.

You Can’t See Others at the Gym

Gyms aren’t just places where you workout. They are communities. In case you haven’t noticed, other people also go to your gym. One day, you might actually meet one of them and even have a conversation – if you aren’t staring at the screen.

Personally, I have never found the gym a particularly social place as I am there for the purpose of working out, not chatting with my fellow exerciser. That said, we never know what people will come into our lives and for what reason. People are the reason we’re here, so if you’re at the gym, why not look up occasionally.

I met my girlfriend at the gym and had I been looking down at my screen, I just might have missed her. Furthermore, you can learn from observing others in how they move, breathe, and express their physicality.

The Bottom Line on Screens and Working Out

All of us have different motives behind our workouts, from stress relief, to the desire for a hard body, to burning calories so we can consume more of them. But behind those variables is a deeper goal – the desire to find lasting joy.

Study after study corroborates that watching television and heavy multimedia use make us less satisfied and less fulfilled. A recent study of over 3,400 girls aged eight to twelve found a strong correlation between feeling less socially comfortable and less happy in proportion to increased screen usage. And it’s not just young girls where this holds true.

Ironically, while the screen theoretically brings us together and brings instant happiness, it also isolates. Yes, access to the Internet brings immediate gratification, but lasting joy is a quality found within. Use your workout time as an intensive in finding yourself and your quest for that joy.

Technology isn’t going anywhere, so you must use it as an ally and control when and where you use it, rather than letting it control you. When it comes to fitness and exercise, use technology to plan your workout like you would a road trip. Knowledge is power and to that end technology is a wonderful thing as it relates to fitness. Use the screen to plan your workouts, your meals, your routes, and examine pertinent data that can help you grow.

But once you’re on the trip itself, it’s better to be present. I’d hate to think I’d be stuck looking at Facebook on an African safari. Similarly, our workouts are little journeys. They are an exploration of ourselves. Try looking up during your workouts and see what you find.

References:

1. Stelter, Brian, “8 Hours a Day Spent on Screens, Study Finds,” The New York Times March 26, 2009.

2. Pea, Roy, et al, “Media use, face-to-face communication, media multitasking, and social well-being among 8- to 12-year-old girls,” Developmental Psychology, Vol 48(2), Mar 2012, 327-336

Photos courtesy of Shutterstock.

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Adventure running games have become fairly popular, especially with the creation of Zombie, Run! and the Zombies, Run! 5K trainer, as well as non-fitness but GPS-based games like Ingress.

But what if you aren’t particularly into zombies and want to get running? What if you’re more the type for battling with aliens while wearing an exosuit? Well, there’s an app for that!

The Details

BattleSuit Runner Fitness is a GPS-enabled role-playing game. The interactive platform allows you to achieve success on various missions by changing speed and direction during your run. You can choose the length of the mission, and provide a music playlist to use during the mission.

Start out at the pace you like with your music playing, and BattleSuit Runner will take you through the plot of your mission. While on your mission, you are encouraged to speed up and slow down, as well as retrieve items like a special metal called iridium. The iridium lets you upgrade your suit. So, at the end of the mission, you get suit upgrades and other powers to make the next mission even more interesting. (Note: The suit upgrades only “stick” in the paid version.)

Additional Features

BattleSuit Runner doesn’t have a huge amount of settings, but what it has is useful. There’s a setting for kilometers or miles for distance, and for how fast to expect sprint speeds to be, from “easy,” to “commando,” and beyond. Additionally, there’s an ability to post your run to Facebook, for those of you who love to share.

Features I’d Like to See

Currently BattleSuit Runner has no synchronization with a fitness app like MyFitnessPal, Nudge, or any other tracking applications. I’d love to see a way to push data to at least one of these so that calories and workouts could be easily integrated into a daily count.

Known Issues

The only known technical issues I could find with this app had to do with music. Apparently, if you do not have a music application currently installed, you can’t use the application. As someone who can’t live without music, I was a little appalled at the thought of running without it. But I think freedom of choice is important, and the makers of this app most likely assumed that the user would already have at least one music app installed.

With a free version to try it out, there’s no reason not to give BattleSuit Runner a try. I find it to be a cross between the Metroid video game and the Starship Troopers movie, and it’s a lot of fun. Let me know if you do try it out and what you think, especially if you’ve tried Zombies, Run! as well.

BattleSuit Runner Fitness is available free of charge for iPhone and Android.

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Debates about authenticity aside, the paleo diet has been and still is a pretty large trend in gyms across the globe, particularly for CrossFitters. More often than not, mixed within gym orientation or onboarding classes is a nutrition class or two highlighting the perks of eating an unprocessed and, most likely, paleo-based diet.

Typically, a few handouts are given and the questions begin. Can I drink almond milk? Cashew milk? What about peanuts? Popcorn? What can I eat? What can’t I eat? Knowing we all navigate these questions, I thought it was a great time to review the Paleo Central app from Nerd Fitness. The app has been out since last year, but has been updated recently.

Paleo Central provides a simple interface for searching for foods to determine whether or not they are paleo. The search field keeps things simple, but if you’d like to browse through a list of foods, simply swipe to the right for a list of options, including “Browse Paleo Food.” The browse function allows you to look at everything from beverages, to fats and oils, to meats. You can easily see what foods might have added ingredients that are not paleo, and what foods are simply not paleo-approved.

Additional Features

Along with the simple search functions allowing you to stay on the straight and narrow of paleo dining in a modern processed world, there’s a “Paleo Guidelines” option. This option gives some additional resources for recipes, addresses the issue of dairy, and provides a basic guideline for dining like a caveman.

Left: Menu screen; Right: Guidelines screen

Any Issues?

As with any food search tool, I’d love a way to log meals as well, especially with the tendency to undereat when first starting with paleo. But that’s just not the way this paleo cookie was meant to crumble. Perhaps they’ll bring that feature in for future versions.

Summary

For people first trying out a paleo lifestyle, this could be a great tool for dining out, going to cookouts, or simply hitting the grocery store. Some simple recipes would be a great addition to this app, but overall it succeeds in answering the basic question: “Is it paleo?”

The Paleo Central app is available for $0.99 at NerdFitness.com.

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All too often I’m told about a shiny new app, only to be disappointed when it’s only available on iPhone. It never fails to make me a little bit grumpy. One such app I had earmarked to review once it was available for Android was the Tribesports Training app. The Android version was released in late March, so I took it for a spin.

What’s it Got?

The Tribesports app offers live GPS tracking for running, cycling, swimming, and more, as well as a way to manually log activity. This is great for logging a warm up or workout that is followed by a run or ride. Weekly, monthly, and all-time summaries of the distance logged for each activity are provided when you log in.

The app also offers a library of workouts that can be searched by keyword. The library looks to be fairly extensive, including bodyweight, endurance, and weighted movements. In the photo below, you can see an example of what I get when I search the term “calisthenics.” Each movement is broken down with instructions and illustrations when you select it. The images and descriptions look to be accurate, and I found this fairly impressive considering the app is free.

Left: GPS Screen; Right: “Calisthenics” Search Results

What’s Missing?

First off, this app requires you to create an account before you can use it. There is no guest mode. The reason for this is pretty clear once you visit the website and see all the functionality missing from the app that is on the web. Challenges, which are team-based activities or goals, and activity notifications (you can “encourage” others in their activities as well as many other options) seem to be web-only options, though you can view an activity feed via the app.

Tribesports is also sorely lacking in any app integration save with its own. It has one integration with MapMyTracks and allows for the upload of .gpx (gps data) and .kpl (Google earth) files directly to the training log, but again, only on the website. I am hoping this changes as the site and product evolve out of the beta stage.

Left: Push Up Screen; Right: Log In Screen

What’s Unusual?

Tribesports has no personal weight tracking. I spent a few minutes trying to figure out what the weight tracking function was on the activity reporting, and realized it was to track how much weight you used in weightlifting movements, not how much you weigh. So even though there are distance and activity metrics for everything you do, there is no metric for weight. I actually love this, and although originally I signed up for an account just to review the app, I am now looking at how to apply it with my clients so they can move away from the obsession with the scale. Others may find this quirk annoying or frustrating, though.

There are several community-based fitness sites out there. The Tribesports app is still officially in beta, but definitely shows a lot of promise with functionality and community activity. The app is limited in functionality compared to the website, but does give more than enough options for tracking and logging workouts and other activity that can then be further analyzed on the website, so it’s not stand-alone. I look forward to finding ways I can leverage the challenges and tracking with my one-on-one clients, and to seeing how the product progresses as it makes its way out of beta.

The Tribesports app is free for Android and iPhone.

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I was first introduced to Concept2 rowers while at CrossFit Boston, where we had several rowers lining the walls. I remember rowing my first 2km, fumbling to loosen the straps on my feet, and flopping my legs off of the machine. Then I just sat there, wondering what sort of cardio train had just hit me. A week later, I was shopping around for the classic model because I loved how it looked – all wood with repurposed bicycle rims. I was hooked. It’s no wonder using ergonomic rowers like the Concept2 has quickly become a favorite activity for people desiring a higher level of conditioning.

The Row Keeper app is a simple way to track your rowing workouts. You simply enter the distance rowed and time spent rowing to calculate your splits and provide reporting on your progress. You can add a new workout by tapping the plus sign in the upper right hand corner. The interface is simple. You just enter the number of minutes and seconds of rowing duration, along with the distance rowed.

Left: New Entry Screen; Right: Date Select Screen

I found the entry for the time and distance was little awkward, as the zeroes that are present on the screen don’t clear when you click in. For me, this made some extra work. The date select was fairly standard though, and the Android version reminded me of my days using an iOS interface.

Once the workout is entered, you are directed back to an overview list of workouts titled “Rowing Logs.” A few reporting options are possible for the data you’ve entered. A calendar allows you to look at distance, time length, or your split per workout per day. Easy top left and right controls allow you to move from month to month in the calendar view. Additionally, a “Graph” screen allows me to look at my distance, time, and split over the last thirty days. There’s also a “Summary” screen that shows a lifetime or thirty-day summary of the total workouts, time spent rowing, meters rowed, and average split.

(Left: Rowing Log Screen; Center: Calendar Split Screen; Right: Graph Screen)

I enjoyed the clean design and navigation of this app. It’s obvious that it was created by someone who knows rowing, and I feel it captures what it needs to without a lot of messy extras. I wish the time and distance entry was a little less complex, possibly with a pop-up menu like the date screen, and that the graphics were higher contrast for entering and viewing workouts in sunlight. I enjoy the color combination, but it was hard to see when inputting data on a bright day while dealing with screen glare.

Going forward, I’d also like to see options for exporting the log to Excel to run other graph and reporting options. But at this time, anything else would be ruining what makes this app great, which is its straightforward simplicity.

The Row Keeper app is available for $1.99 at Row-Keeper.com.

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You may initially wonder why I chose to review project management software on a fitness website. If you do, I’d like you to think about these questions:

• Do you have fitness goals?
• Do you plan your workouts?
• Do you think long term?

If so, you probably have use for Asana, a robust online software package that allows individuals and teams to manage projects, tasks, and deadlines using a common workspace. I actually debated writing this review because I consider Asana my secret weapon. The recurring tasks and email alerts help keep me organized in everything from invoicing to gym programming, and I don’t know what I’d do without it.

The Web App

The online web app is where you’ll want to work most of the time. There are mobile apps available, which I’ll cover in a moment, but I find I enjoy the real estate that working on my computer screen gives me. When you log into Asana (which you can do via a Google account or simple email sign-up), you are greeted by a list of tasks and projects on the left side of your screen.

If you have more than one workspace, which is defined as an overlying company, organization, or department, you’ll be able to drop down and choose which workspace you want to use. Click on a project, and you can add tasks with deadlines and detail. You can use the plus sign on the bottom of the page next to the “Followers” tab to keep people up to date on your tasks. You can also assign tasks to other users on your team after creation.

The system will send you or the person the task is assigned to email notifications when deadlines are approaching, and the other people following the project can add comments to the task as well. For example, in my screenshot above I’m adding a deadlined task to finish April programming. I may think of things later that I want to include in that programming, and I can come back and add comments to make sure I don’t forget.

The Asana web app also has a robust help system. Videos, documents, and a responsive support team (even for the free accounts) help keep the learning curve tight. I was up and running using Asana within my first day of signing in.

Phone App

The phone app version of Asana is fairly functional. I only feel that it’s limited by the size of the phone screen, as I like the layout of the projects on the web version. The phone version is good for adding quick tasks, comments, or other thoughts while out and about. Once I add my task, I can tap “Due Date,” and a simple calendar interface pops up for me to select a date. The share icon, which is the concentric curved lines in the lower left corner, allows me to share my tasks with other members of my team, therefore sending less email and spending less time communicating, and more time doing.

Left: Task 1 Screen; Right: Calendar Screen

Asana may not be for everyone. You may already have a great organizational system in place, or be a team of one that knows what has to be done at any given time. But I’ve found that when working in a small, busy group, or even on my own to keep my thoughts organized, Asana has helped me better keep track of deadlines and general ideas about projects. This has in turn helped my business by keeping me more organized. It’s also free for up to fifteen team members, so why not give it a try and see if it’s good for you, too!

Asana is available for free at Asana.com.

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The new year is often the time for new challenges, be they fitness-related or simply learning a new skill or hobby we always wanted to. We try to attend classes, figure out timing, and see when we can shoehorn that little bit of extra productivity into an already busy day. Often we fail because excuses prevail. The time is too short, the class is too early or late, and the resolutions go unmet for another year. But what if I told you there was a way to accomplish those resolutions from the privacy of your own home, when you can make the time? Enter Google Helpouts.

What It Is

Helpouts is a new venture by Google, just recently out of beta. Helpouts aims to connect professionals who are willing to share their knowledge over Google Hangouts with people who are willing to pay for that knowledge. Along with a Fitness and Nutrition category, which I’ll highlight in this article, there are several other potentially relevant Helpout topics offered, including Cooking, Health, and Home and Garden.

How it Works

Professionals set up a profile, along with one or more initial offerings. Then a Google Helpout specialist will meet with the professional and go over their offerings, technical configuration, and qualifications to make sure their offerings are sound and that the technical setup is adequate. After that, the specialist approves the Helpout offerings and also makes available a test drive of the experience to customers, so they know what to expect before they start purchasing services.

Professionals can then set available Helpout times, which customers can book, paying a set or sliding scale fee for the service. The professional and their customer meet via Google Hangouts using the Helpout interface. Hopefully, the customer is satisfied and gives a great review, and possibly returns for repeat Helpouts.

What Could Go Wrong?

The regular technical disclaimers apply here. When it comes to online coaching, we’re only as good as the speed of our Internet connection. Unfortunately, laptop cameras also aren’t that great for catching wide-angle shots to make sure your Internet coach can see what you’re doing, be it a push up or a soufflé.

Also, be sure to read reviews and make sure your expectations are reasonable for the price being charged. A fifteen-minute yoga session for $10.00 isn’t obligated to provide you with more routines for later, but a ninety-minute yoga consult for $150.00 that advertises more routines should deliver quality materials in a reasonable amount of time.

Summary

This service just made it out of beta, so there are likely to be occasional bugs. Overall though, Google seems to have a fairly large team screening and keeping track of the Helpout operations so that both the customers and the professionals offering a service are getting the best experience possible. Check out what’s available and see if there’s something for you. Or if you’re a fitness professional looking for a new market, check out how to give your own Helpouts by using the link in the upper right hand corner of the Helpouts home page, pictured on the right. Happy learning!

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As the race got closer, my fascination with the data I was tracking became more like an obsession as I was constantly trying to top the stats from my last run. Instead of enjoying my runs and looking around to appreciate the beauty of the Pacific Northwest, I found myself trying to push harder and harder, racing against my previous times. While I was grateful that the Nike+ device helped me get faster and prepare for the event, running with it also became more like a chore instead of something to look forward to. It felt like work. After the race, I put the gadget away and never wore it again.

Since that apparatus came out, many similar fitness-tracking devices have come into the market. Nike now makes the FuelBand, Jawbone has the UP band, and it seems like the Fitbit is all the rave. There are devices that tell us how far or fast we run, while others tell us how much we sleep get. Some devices count steps, while others measure heart rate. Until recently, the only people with access to this kind of data were athletes and only through the assistance of coaches, labs, and scientists. Now everyone can track not only how many calories they take in, but how many they burn each day as well.

But the question remains: are these devices a good thing? I think the answer depends on how you use them, as is the case with any technology. Data can help you pinpoint your weak spots, and in that way, having a device like the Fitbit can help you get healthier and more athletic. However, getting bogged down in the data has its downsides, too.

The Good

Knowledge is power. In order to succeed in sport and fitness, you must have a plan. The foundation of that plan is knowing your starting point. The only way you can achieve your goals is to know where you are and where you’re going. These devices help us do exactly that. These devices provide a ballpark range of daily activity level and in that is most certainly a good thing.

The discovery process of mining the data. Compiling data sheds light on the big picture. Sometimes we need a reminder of just how active we are or are not. As I started wearing the Fitbit, I noticed that on an active day, I was taking about 15,000 to 25,0000 steps. On a slower day that number is 7,000 to 12,000. I didn’t think much about it until a client of mine who has a desk job mentioned her daily goal was to get a minimum of 6,000 steps a day. Analyzing the data made me realize how fortunate I am to have a career and lifestyle based on moving around.

Accountability. Mark Twain said there are three types of lies, “Lies, damned lies, and statistics.” That said, it’s hard to argue with the numbers when you wear a Fitbit or similar type device. The only way to hit your target numbers is to earn them by moving. If you need that extra little push in getting active and staying true to yourself, one of these devices might help you do just that.

The Bad

Accuracy. As I was doing a bit of research for this article I noticed some people pointing out disparities of data when wearing multiple devices. If you wear two devices measure steps, and you get a different number from each device, then which number is more accurate? This begs the question of how completely accurate any of the devices are.

Not able to measure every mode of activity. Recently, while on a skiing trip in Colorado I discovered the Fitbit was unable to measure vertical feet. Even worse, it couldn’t measure my movement or calories I burned while snowboarding either. Apparently skating, skiing, and gliding are hard to measure. This reminds me of when I tried wearing the bodybugg for a while and though it seemed pretty accurate for my general activity, it didn’t read much for my bike rides – unless I wore it on my ankle!

Analysis paralysis. When you start exploring a scientific approach to fitness and wellness, there’s always the prospect of getting lost in the numbers. Science can tell us our VO2 max or our BMR. Science can tell us how many steps we take a day. But data cannot motivate us or shed light on what is behind the things we do. Sometimes information and analysis can distract us from getting to the important emotional construct of our behavioral patterns. In short, you must be careful with a fitness tracking wearable that it doesn’t become your whole focus.

The Bottom Line

When it comes down to the question of whether you should buy a device like the Fitbit, I’d say it depends on where you are in your fitness journey. Knowledge is indeed power, and you have to know where you are and where you’re going in order to get somewhere. From that standpoint, a device can give you much needed baseline data. Aafter a cost-benefit analysis, though, you have to to wonder if $100 to $150 (the approximate retail price for such devices) is worth it in the long run, if you only wear one in the short run?

As to the differences in the products, I like the Fitbit better than I liked the Jawbone UP, but that is just my preference. Both the Jawbone and Fitbit apps are fairly easy to use and offer a decent presentation of the data. Because I coach a lot of boxing, a bracelet device gets in the way and doesn’t work as well for me as one that fits easily in my pocket. Most manufactures now make devices that can fit either on the wrist or attached to your belt or pocket. The downside to the devices that fit in your pocket is that it’s easier to lose or forget them. I’ve had the experience more than once of forgetting my Fitbit in my pants when I changed into shorts to go on a run.

In the end, these devices feel more like a short-term aid versus something that helps make long-term lifestyle transformation. A Fitbit may help you to get excited about moving more, but the question remains well it help you stay excited in the long run? Ultimately, all that matters when it comes to fitness is developing a lasting motivation by finding genuine enjoyment, satisfaction, and purpose in what you do. I like my Fitbit, but I doubt I’ll be wearing one three months from now. The novelty simply wears off.

Photo 1 courtesy of Shutterstock.

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