The workings of the human body are intricate and fascinating; and now we have more powerful and convenient tools for watching the body in action as never before. Fitness trackers, from FitBits to iWatches to the Garmins with their built-in GPS and more, are popping up on a lot of wrists these days. (Disclosure: We at 3BY have no financial relationship with any of these companies, beyond having bought some product as normal consumers.) But are they useful for prepping? Salty and I talk it over in this podcast:
What fitness trackers do
Blood is red. (You knew that part.) Because it’s darker than most skin and of a particular color, a detector that shines a light into the skin and measures the bounce-back can see the size of blood vessels. Every time the tiny blood vessels of the skin expand due to one heartbeat’s worth of blood coming through, the detector can count it. Strap one of these detectors on your wrist, and you have a mobile heart rate monitor. Attach it to a little computer and clock, and you’ve an easy way to keep track of your exertion over time, and a way to get a decent estimate of calories burned.
Add a motion detector to this gizmo, and it will tell you how many steps you’ve taken. Add a sensitive air pressure detector, and it can monitor changes of altitude (such as climbing stairs). Throw in some other cool tech bits if you like, and you’ve got yourself a fitness tracker.
Measuring heart rates and movement are at the core of fitness trackers.
Do fitness trackers actually work?
Well, somewhat. How well depends on the model, and what you’re doing. I’ve been experimenting in a casual way with a couple of different models (a FitBit Charge 2 and and iWatch) for awhile now.
What they both did well:
- Keep track of heart rate, exercise times, steps, and calories burned for the most common exercises, walking and jogging
- Allow you to set goals and view your progress over time
- Send small encouragements and reminders, in a way that’s meant to be (and is, for some persons) motivational
Where they varied:
- Heart rate monitoring slips when I’m moving my arms a lot, such as digging with a shovel. The iWatch is better than the FitBit.
- The iWatch does a better job of tracking distance when I’m cycling, without giving it access to my GPS.
- FitBit would go for most of a week on a charge; the iWatch less than 24 hrs.
- Non-fitness-related stuff the iWatch will do is not the subject of today’s post, so I won’t go there.
- The FitBit kept wanting to talk about how well and how long I was sleeping, and its software would track other fitness-related things like water intake.
Flaws they shared:
- They exaggerate on some topics. For example, they will tell you things like Heart Rate Variability, but don’t bother to tell you that it has very little scientific basis for its use as a fitness measurement in basically healthy people. They’ll pretend to report recovery times, but unless you’re careful to stick to the definitions of a recovery period (say, no loading stuff back into your car) the data are meaningless.
Why might fitness trackers be a prep?
There’s no more important prep that I know of, no better way to prepare to deal with emergency situations, than to be healthy and fit. To the extent that a fitness tracker helps you to improve your health and fitness, it can be a prep. If you find it motivational, or find it helpful to be reminded of what your goals are, they can be a valuable prep.
How are you doing on your goals for walking, exercise, calorie burn? It’s easy to keep track.
Not convinced that fitness is that big of a deal for preppers; or don’t really know what’s worth doing? Salty and I share some thoughts here.
Why might fitness trackers not be a prep?
If you’re not using them as tools that help improve or maintain good health and fitness, they’re not a prep; they’re just another cool gizmo you can buy. Mine’s not a prep. I made my commitment to taking care of my health long since. The physiology geek in me enjoys these toys, but let’s not lie to ourselves and pretend that buying fun stuff is a prep when it isn’t.