“Be better today than you were yesterday. Be better tomorrow than you are today.”
– Jim Harbaugh
I'm a huge believer in the Quantified Self. The more information we have about our exercise, sleep, nutrition, and how we feel, the better we are able to learn how these things interact. Fitness technology has allowed us to track all of these things, but fail to tell us what to do with them. Below is a case study regarding how I use my experience in exercise psychology to apply the information received from this technology.
Fitness technology has become a huge part of my life. The ability to track and analyze workouts and physical activity, sleep, and nutrition data has changed the way I exercise forever. Some people may become inundated with information; I thrive in it. Each little piece of data tells me something about my exercise, and with the right knowledge, I know how to use it.
For this case study, I will go through a normal day to give you an idea of the types of information I get, and some of the ways I use them. This is not an exhaustive list, but a snapshot of an average day.
Every day, I push to improve myself in some way. I have found that this can be the greatest value of fitness technology-- tracking what you do, so you know when you've improved, and where you have to work harder.
For this case study, I will go through a normal day to give you an idea of the types of information I get, and some of the ways I use them. This is not an exhaustive list, but a snapshot of an average day.
Every day, I push to improve myself in some way. I have found that this can be the greatest value of fitness technology-- tracking what you do, so you know when you've improved, and where you have to work harder.
Morning
After waking up, having some coffee, and looking at recent happenings on the internet, I check my sleep tracking.
Sleep Tracking
My favorite app for sleep tracking is Sleep Cycle (Free on iOS and Android). Not only does it show you sleep stages and quality, it looks at other information in your system and shows you trends to tell you how certain things impact your sleep. I have specific tags when going to sleep, such as “Lifted,” “Sick,” or “Took a nap.”
On days I lift, my sleep quality decreases by 1%. Sick? My sleep is 3% worse. Didn’t get enough sleep the night before? My body compensates by getting 15% higher sleep quality the following night. It’s not clinical, but gives you a lot of cool information and helps you learn a lot about your sleep. Even how different weather can impact it.
On days I lift, my sleep quality decreases by 1%. Sick? My sleep is 3% worse. Didn’t get enough sleep the night before? My body compensates by getting 15% higher sleep quality the following night. It’s not clinical, but gives you a lot of cool information and helps you learn a lot about your sleep. Even how different weather can impact it.
Workout TRACKING
For my lifting sessions, I like to track two separate things.
First, the overall workout. For this, I use MapMyFitness (Free on iOS and Android). It’s an all-in-one app that tracks most activities you’ll do, from Aerobics to Yolates (whatever that is). For my lifting session, this tracks duration and calories. Don’t put a lot of faith in the calorie tracking—it’s way too complex a system to boil down to a simple equation. But it does give you a good idea of level of activity for comparison across days.
In addition to that, I track all of my weights, reps, sets, and splits in Body Space (Free on iOS and Android). This allows me to track weights over time, as well as a roughly calculated one rep max based on reps at given weights. Tracking all of this info allows me to track progress, tailor workouts, and push myself to do a little more every day.
“Today I set a calculated one rep max in bench press.”
First, the overall workout. For this, I use MapMyFitness (Free on iOS and Android). It’s an all-in-one app that tracks most activities you’ll do, from Aerobics to Yolates (whatever that is). For my lifting session, this tracks duration and calories. Don’t put a lot of faith in the calorie tracking—it’s way too complex a system to boil down to a simple equation. But it does give you a good idea of level of activity for comparison across days.
In addition to that, I track all of my weights, reps, sets, and splits in Body Space (Free on iOS and Android). This allows me to track weights over time, as well as a roughly calculated one rep max based on reps at given weights. Tracking all of this info allows me to track progress, tailor workouts, and push myself to do a little more every day.
“Today I set a calculated one rep max in bench press.”
Afternoon
After my workout, I eat some food. I make sure I get the right nutrients for recovery.
Nutrition TRACKING
To track what I eat, I use MyFitnessPal (Free on iOS and Android). It takes information in from a ton of different sources, and acts as an aggregator. It lists all your workouts, what you’ve eaten, and other information you input, such as weight and body measurements.
If you know about nutrition, it’s a great way to track all the information. I use it for my macronutrients (carbs, protein, fat) to make sure I’m getting the right mix of food for my activity. The barcode scanner makes it really easy to input ingredients as I make food.
"I still need 20g of protein today… I should eat some nuts."
Even if you don't know about nutrition, it can teach you a lot about what you eat. The biggest benefit, especially when you start using it, is the awareness it increases about how you eat. You will likely surprise yourself when forced to think about everything you eat. Especially when you realize how small one serving of cereal is (hint: it's not 1/4 of the box).
If you know about nutrition, it’s a great way to track all the information. I use it for my macronutrients (carbs, protein, fat) to make sure I’m getting the right mix of food for my activity. The barcode scanner makes it really easy to input ingredients as I make food.
"I still need 20g of protein today… I should eat some nuts."
Even if you don't know about nutrition, it can teach you a lot about what you eat. The biggest benefit, especially when you start using it, is the awareness it increases about how you eat. You will likely surprise yourself when forced to think about everything you eat. Especially when you realize how small one serving of cereal is (hint: it's not 1/4 of the box).
Commute
I ride my bike to commute to and from work every day. I like to track these rides using MapMyFitness, both because I push myself hard on them, and it helps provide a more complete picture of my activity on a given day. I can see differences on days that I ride my bike vs. rainy days I have to take the bus.
Activity Tracking
In my work, I spend most of my time on my feet, moving around. For that, I like to wear an activity tracker. This allows me to monitor how much I’m moving during the day without having to constantly be around my phone. It also helps me track all the sports I play, since I’m always wearing it and it automatically tracks everything I do.
Evening
COMMUTE
Back on the bike, back to MapMyFitness to track it.
"Look at that, I just did my commute home 30 seconds faster than normal. I must be getting faster."
"Look at that, I just did my commute home 30 seconds faster than normal. I must be getting faster."
Cardio
Today was a busy day at work and I didn’t get to move as much as I would have liked, so I go for a run when I get home. I track it with MapMyFitness and my Armor39 HR strap (LINK). I have info on distance, times, HR, and a proprietary measure called Willpower that is a formula intended to calculate exertion for any activity.
"My average HR was 5 bpm lower than the last time I ran this course, but my times were comparable. My heart must be getting stronger."
"My average HR was 5 bpm lower than the last time I ran this course, but my times were comparable. My heart must be getting stronger."
Wrap-Up
Just before bed, I check MyFitnessPal again. I see all of the good food choices I made, all of the effort I put into exercising, and am able to reflect on how I improved myself today.
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