When mobile phones first came on the scene, fitness professionals were appalled to see gym members pedalling away on exercise bikes and other machines sending text messages, chatting endlessly between sets and leaving expensive little devices on the gym floor next to water bottles and towels just begging to be stepped on or, even worse, pinched.
It took us a while to get used to these latest additions to the gym environment and things got a whole lot worse with the advent of new and improved smartphones. With a dumbbell or barbell in hand, is there really enough room left for the world at your finger tips?
“Leave your phones in the locker, or even better, at home if you want an intense and productive workout,” we would say.
Unfortunately, however, we underestimated our new adversary. Smartphones were here to stay. Indeed, the gym most certainly isn’t the only place where such devices take precedence over the world at large passing us by. But like every invention since sliced bread, it is up to us, the users, to ensure their effective use, to ensure they remain tools of enhancement and not instruments of enslavement. There was no getting rid of gadgets and devices in the weights rooms and cardio theatres, and so prevalent their use has become that researchers have even begun looking into the precise effects they might be having on the productivity of our gym-based efforts.
In terms of achieving results in the gym, texting just isn’t worth it, and most certainly not recommended by the experts
Most recent investigations have come from researchers at Kent State University in the US, who have provided us with some interesting insight into smartphone use on the gym floor.
They looked specifically at the major functions we tend to use the most: listening to music, talking, and texting. Considering texting has evolved from simple short messages to communication via a multitude of additional text-based applications, results in this particular category are of particular interest to us.
A group of participants engaged in a treadmill workout while using their phones. The researchers looked into how speed, intensity and enjoyment were affected. They found that listening to music led to an increase in all three factors. Participants employed more speed, experienced productive intensity through increased heart rates and rated the enjoyment of their session as generally high.
Talking also led to an increase in enjoyment but had negative effects on speed as the participants naturally tended to slow down while they spoke. Interestingly, while intensity was reduced, it did not decrease as much as was expected. It is fair to assume that this would vary according to who was on the other end of the line, and what the subject of the conversation was, but generally speaking, silence in the case of fitness is truly a virtue.
The worst offender was texting. It reduced speed, decreased intensity and did not affect enjoyment either positively or negatively. In terms of achieving results in the gym therefore, texting just isn’t worth it, and most certainly not recommended by the experts. Just about the only benefit of phone use appeared to be listening to music, so when you consider this can be achieved with far less distracting devices, the case isn’t looking good for the smartphone.
The jury is not out just yet, however, simply because there are many more things a smartphone can do beyond the functions of listening to music, talking and texting. There’s an app for just about everything these days, and fitness is no exception.
Among the most useful functions of a smartphone is its ability to replace the old concept of a training diary. We used to see hardcore enthusiasts carry little booklets around, pencilling in details of every set, repetition and weight lifted. Such data is invaluable in chartering your progress, planning for subsequent sessions, and learning about what exercises and workouts work best for you.
The smartphone has made the act of keeping a training diary just that little bit more accessible. You don’t need to be hardcore anymore to document your sessions and adopt a more scientific approach to your training efforts.
Depending on the type of training you do, some apps will even do the recording for you. If you like to run or cycle, you can track your distance and speed using global positioning satellite (GPS) technology.
I’ve even seen a running game based on this capability involving escaping blood-thirsty zombies. Not for everyone, granted, but if you needed just one little push to hit the road on a dark and gloomy night, this might just work and even turn out to be a little fun.
Some apps give you ready-made programmes based on your personal characteristics and goals. All you need to do is follow the workouts as they are given to you, exercise by exercise, keeping track between each and every set, exercise and session.
Another great capability of the smartphone is keeping track of your eating habits. You can work out your daily calorie requirements and have your app work out daily meal plans for you, or suggestions based on foods commonly available to you.
So it seems smartphones and exercise mix only depending on how exactly we combine them. In short, don’t talk and don’t text but feel free to use the music functionality and experiment with the wide variety of apps available, whatever motivates you and adds spice and creativity to your workouts.