The rise of technology and fitness

How are the latest trends increasing demand for Data Scientists?

February 9th, 2023

I’m the first one to admit I spend a lot of my time in the gym and I always want to know how well I’m doing as well as tracking my personal bests. The rise of wearable technology and the Internet of Things is increasingly allowing us to do just that. Although a lot of the high-tech, top of the range products may be a little out of reach for most of us, some of my favourite devices can be found on my phone or watch.

Nowadays we are constantly connected to some form of device that is tracking our health, through Fitbits, watches and health apps on our phones.

As an owner of an iPhone I have immediate access to Apple’s health app which tracks my steps each day without me having to activate anything. It tracks my daily progress and can even give me the data in minute-by-minute form if I really wanted to be specific. But it isn’t just the apps that come with our phones that help us track our progress, with apps like Track my Run and Track my Walk we are able to track how far and where we are walking, running or cycling. We can even post this data to social networks to share our progress with friends.

Devices like Fitbits and smart watches are the biggest trend at the moment to hit us fitness fanatics, these forms of wearable tech can do what our smartphones do but without us needing it in our pockets. By either wearing or attaching these products to ourselves we can track our progress, heartbeat and much more. While this information is great for me to see it can also be beneficial when this data is shared with my doctor. By sharing this data my GP would be able to give me a more personalised treatment, and it may help them come to a quicker conclusion.

Watches and phones seem to be an almost obvious type of tech to track our fitness but are trainers going to be the next step towards the wearable tech take over? Nike has definitely been one of the most talked about companies when it comes to wearable technology (with the invention of the self-lacing shoes) but some of the ‘smart shoes’ on the market are helping the wearer track their fitness levels, some of the shoes even “talk to the wearer” when they haven’t moved in a while to give them some “motivation”.

As a keen gym-goer I welcome the invention of newer, more exciting technology to help me better myself. I don’t know where I would be without the trackers on my phone!