Wearable Tech Is Changing The Way We Exercise
Technology is changing the way we work, spend our leisure time, and most recently, how we exercise. Today, millions of people around the world use devices such as smart watches, smart glasses, and other sports-related technology to monitor their exercise routines. This is not surprising; with certain incomes rising along with the widespread use of smartphones, wearable technology is helping people exercise more and better while keeping track of their progress online.
The fitness industry has undergone a major paradigm shift towards preventative solutions that can be personalized and treat every person's needs. Wearable fitness devices are designed to support healthy lifestyles by offering personalized support and intelligent data tracking that help us make informed decisions. In fact, wearable technology is the top fitness trend for 2022, according to a survey of 4,500 health and fitness professionals by the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM). The ACSM released the survey results in the article “Worldwide Survey of Fitness Trends for 2022,” published in the January/February 2022 issue of ACSM’s Health & Fitness Journal.
According to the ACSM past President Walter R. Thompson, “Tech advances have made it easy for users to collect important health metrics and work with fitness professionals and health care providers to develop healthy lifestyles and increase the quality of life.”He knows what he’s talking about; last year wearable technology was in second position and has ballooned into a full fitness and wellness revolution as of 2022, with devices such as fitness trackers, smartwatches, and heart rate monitors dominating the market.
Types of Wearable Technology
Wearable technology for fitness comes in many innovative types designed to measure biometric data such as sleep quality, fatigue, steps, and calories while helping the wearer create a tailored workout plan. In this category, we have popular smartwatches & fitness bands embedded with sensors that provide useful information while monitoring the workout in real time.
Another more high-tech category of wearables is smart clothing; apparel items specifically designed with embedded sensors that measure performance or, as in the case of diPulse, make full use of the NMES (muscle stimulation) innovative technology to revolutionize workouts. The recent rise of the AR/VR trend has made AR/VR glasses more widely popular even amongst fitness fanatics. Those smart glasses can splay information in the form of an AR overlay that includes vital biometric characteristics or information such as time and speed.
Can Wearable Tech Change our Fitness Habits?
One thing is certain; fitness wearables are becoming increasingly popular. Data Bridge Market Research notes that wearable devices in the sports market were USD 79.94 billion in 2021 and is expected to skyrocket up to USD 212.67 billion by 2029. Their ability to capture useful biometric data while enhancing our ability to train more efficiently has made them an indispensable accessory to most people’s training routines. Fitness trackers tell us how many calories burned, NMES technology wearables assist in our strength and recovery training and AR glasses enhance our vital senses during workouts.
Our fitness routines have been revolutionized, but still, our habits remain a complex behavioral concept. “On their own, these devices generally aren’t enough to change behaviors,” says Matthew Buman, Ph.D., an associate professor in the College of Health Solutions at Arizona State University in this Yahoo News article. “You need education and support to really make it work”, he concludes.
Truth is while fitness wearables can encourage activity, it is hardly possible to actually influence our will to exercise alone or make us lose weight. And while exercise routines are based on consistency and internal will, wearable tech is set to influence that. Fitness is first and foremost a mind thing and wearable tech is here to assist and motivate us toward greater goals and accomplishments.
