This bit from The Verge on how fitness trackers just won’t let you rest really struck a chord with me. Before I got sick earlier this year I was easily making my 500 active calories goal each day, and usually getting an hour plus of exercise.
Then it all went pear-shaped when I picked up that medieval chest infection. You can see it bite me early July. I pushed on pretending there was no problem, but eventually I just collapsed.
And everyday my damn watch would be at me like, “C’mon JB, you used to be cool. You can do better than this.”
Yes, I know all the trackers, not just the Apple Watch allow you to adjust your goals. At the end of July I dropped my goals down to just sitting on the couch, watching Netflix and getting better. I am better now, and closing my rings again, but it would still be a helluva lot easier if you could just hit a button that called a lousy rest day occasionally.
The Verge.
Smartwatches and fitness trackers can be excellent tools for anyone looking to build better habits. But people aren’t machines, and they don’t need to be shamed for breaking streaks or losing some fitness during a recovery period. This is doubly true for those dealing with life’s tribulations. No one wants to get a reminder to move when they’re at a funeral or going through a rough time. You should be able to hit a button that pauses streaks, mutes motivational reminders, and ideally, automatically sets easier goals based on your metrics when you’re finally ready to get back to your usual routine. Maybe then, people would feel less inclined to give up and let their trackers collect dust in a drawer.
I used to track steps with the fitness thing on my phone, but after a while it got bored and stopped sending notifications and reports. I haven't heard from it at all for a year or so, now, so I'm a bit afraid to make the first move and open it manually. I can take the hint.
I have the opposite problem, everytime I go for a run my watch's suggested workout is rest day. Then when I run it calls me unproductive or overreaching.
When you’re doing Steptember the app gives you two giant rings: one gradually closing as the thirty days counts up, and the other one that you have to close by walking 10k steps per day or 300k in total. Relentless in it’s own way.
You can set the garmin watch for a certain number of steps, and the default is obv the 10k per day. But it can be hard to build up to that level, so it has a flexible thing too. The unfortunate thing is that when you start doing well it goes up. And up. And up. It doesn't stop. So when you fail to hit the now-well-above 10k target, you've failed. Where's the fricking logic in that?
I used to track steps with the fitness thing on my phone, but after a while it got bored and stopped sending notifications and reports. I haven't heard from it at all for a year or so, now, so I'm a bit afraid to make the first move and open it manually. I can take the hint.
I have the opposite problem, everytime I go for a run my watch's suggested workout is rest day. Then when I run it calls me unproductive or overreaching.
When you’re doing Steptember the app gives you two giant rings: one gradually closing as the thirty days counts up, and the other one that you have to close by walking 10k steps per day or 300k in total. Relentless in it’s own way.
You can set the garmin watch for a certain number of steps, and the default is obv the 10k per day. But it can be hard to build up to that level, so it has a flexible thing too. The unfortunate thing is that when you start doing well it goes up. And up. And up. It doesn't stop. So when you fail to hit the now-well-above 10k target, you've failed. Where's the fricking logic in that?
My pedometer is invaluable. However, there are times I want to drop my phone into some body of water.