From steps to sleep…my fitness tracking journey #059
And an insight into my decision making
What did we do before we counted how many steps we take in a day?...We just went for a walk. Until we reached our destination, felt tired or our feet hurt.
Not these days. And I’ve just upped my ante.
In the beginning
Sometime in the annals of time it became received wisdom that we should all be doing 10,000 steps a day. It started with the humble pedometer. The one that you stuck in your bra or boxers, whichever your predilection.
It all started for me over a decade ago when Fit Bits first became a thing. Mine was pretty basic. Just a narrow, black wrist strap which counted my steps and told me how far I’d cycled or swum, if only I could get the length of the pool right. The data must have blue toothed to a basic app on my iPhone. I hardly recall.
The simple Fit Bit was more than suffice, until I started to covet an Apple Watch. Oh the lure of a shiny, clever smart watch. Because of course, as a woman in my 50s in training for broadly nothing, it was imperative I track my activity far more closely. Enter multiple sports tracking, stop watch and timer modes. Plus the additional Apple features of playing music and podcasts, paying for the tube, tracking my heart rate, finding a location, receiving and sending text messages…none of which I ever did. Why would I, I also always had my phone with me!
Upping the ante
As time went on, naturally, I realised my life was incomplete if I couldn’t monitor and analyse the quality of my sleep. Or know my Heart Rate Variability (HRV), training zones, and VO2 Max. Not to mention my recommended Daily Strain.
But, oh, what to choose: the Oura Ring or the Whoop? One a mere ring on your finger of choice. The other, another wrist band that looks like a watch but can’t tell you the time.
In typical Ruth Sturkey style I ummmmed and arrrrrrrred for months trying to reach a decision:
If I got the Oura I could start to wear my relegated 1989 Cartier watch again (a Christmas present from a tricky ex who was good at buying presents but less good at being a boyfriend, but that’s another story…) BUT
The Whoop came very highly recommended from two sporty, health conscious friends of mine. Yet another wrist band – would I still be able to wear a watch alongside it without looking a twat?
Such is the high quality of my critical thinking!
Decision time
I turned to Ecosia (a tree planting Google alternative search engine) for a pros and cons review. Much of a muchness.
Eventually I got so sick of my procrastinating and dithering I plumped for the Whoop. The relief.
Nearly a month in and I’m (almost) loving it. Stacks of pretty useless data informing me of my sleep quality, how hard I’ve exercised, my recovery and whether or not I should exert myself. Along with a heap of other stuff I’m still figuring out. There’s also a Community function where you can enrol in likeminded groups. I was chuffed to see on Wednesday, after cycling 70kms and climbing 3,875, feet I was 8th out of 4,200 women over 60! For one day at least.
Disappointingly it also clearly tells me alcohol is to recovery what an ashtray is to a motorbike. No surprise there.
Why?
Why do I bother? - I find it fascinating to learn how my body is working and responding. All of this information garnered from a small sensor on my wrist and beamed to an app on my phone. Impressive.
Is it necessary? - Absolutely not. We humans are pretty good at knowing how we feel and when we can push it or need to slack off. Intuition and all that. However, it certainly motivates and brings our the competitive side in me, not to mention the health benefits.
Will I stick with it? - Well, after a free first month I am just about to pay my annual subscription so I will see how I go over the year. Maybe I’ll even report back in 12 months, watch this space.
You
As ever I’m interested in you. Are you a Tracker? If so what do you Track, how do you use it and what device do you use? Does it motivate you? Perhaps you are a Recovering Tracker? If so what led you to go cold turkey? Or maybe you eschew all this unnecessary tech in favour of living free?
Whatever camp you’re in, I’d love to hear your thoughts. Grab your favourite energy bar or protein shake and drop me a line, I’d love to hear from you.
And remember, you’re never going to be any younger than you are today - what are you dithering and using up head space over that just needs a simple choice?
Five find the meaning of life 058 - your comments
Finally, thanks to all of you for your comments on last week’s blog who told me your thoughts on self help/positive psychology books - seems we all like a bit of it, but not too much! And to those of you who sent me the cutest pictures of your dogs, so lovely.
Until next week my friends,
Ruth x
If you have a mo, please do leave a comment telling me your thoughts on trackers and lifestyle tech. If not, a like, share or subscribe would be great too - you’ll put a spring in my step, thank you.
I have an Apple Smartwatch that tracks just about everything ... my steps, my hours standing, how many stairs I climb, my sleep patterns, my cardio, my wrist temperature? why? my state of mind? if I tell it. ...I can even monitor my heart with an ECG test which I can then email to my cardiologist if Im worried ... it was my Smartwatch or having a loop recorder stitched under my skin for a year to record my irregular heart beat. ... no contest! I am a bit addicted to my Smartwatch since my daughter told me I should be doing at least 10,000 steps even at 77 years old ... now I can tell her I do!
I have a Garmin and track all my runs, walks and occasional swim. However, it is all a bit much isn't it? Someone I know recently got themselves into a real tizz because of a questionable blood pressure reading and now is obsessed with sleep data! Does any of this improve the quality of our lives? It doesn't feel like it this week!