Lately, I’ve been getting a lot of ads for so-called “fitness wearables”.
For the uninitiated, a fitness wearable is a device that tracks your activity levels, body composition, sleep pattern, and so on. Kinda like a souped-up pedometer.
And it looks like they’re going to be the latest “trendy” accessory no self-respecting middle-class luvvie will be seen without, along with his soy latte and electric car (because virtue-signalling your “green credentials” is more important than the plight of enslaved Congolese child miners digging cobalt out of the ground with their bare hands, apparently).
Whatever.
I think fitness wearables are a waste of money. Moreover, I’m convinced these devices are more of a hindrance than a help.
Why?
Simply this:
They’re the epitome of “majoring in the minors”, fomenting worry about pointless minutiae while diverting your attention from the things that actually move the needle.
I mean, do you really need to track every aspect of your sleep to the nth degree so some algorithm can arbitrarily score the “quality” of your sleep?
Would it not be better to just go to bed earlier and charge your phone and other electronic devices in another room to stop you doomscrolling right before you sleep or when you wake during the night?
I think it’s obvious which of the two is more likely to help you feel more rested in the morning and eliminate the mid-afternoon crash.
But here’s the thing: Over the years, I’ve noticed most people prefer to feel busy when pursuing their goals, even if it means engaging in pointless or even counterproductive activities. I think because it allows them to blame the process rather than themselves when things don’t work out (“It’s not my fault I didn’t lose the weight because my fitness tracker says my sleep quality score is only 17/100 due to a prolonged REM phase, and there’s nothing I can do about that).
Consequently, they simply can’t, or rather, won’t accept their results are actually determined by a few “prime movers” over which they have total control, because it means their success (or lack thereof) is their responsibility.
And while we’re on the subject of “prime movers”, perhaps the most important one is creating – and sticking to – a coherent plan.
This is why I explain, in some considerable detail, how to plan an entire year of training in January’s issue of The Phil Tyreman Letter.
Clocking in at over 4500 words and several useful diagrams, this issue reveals:
- The three-step process I use to ensure I end every year stronger and in better shape than when I started (while going to the gym a lot less than most).
- Why a lot of men are stuck spinning their wheels despite taking their training very seriously.
- A quick (but deeply uncomfortable) way to find out exactly what you need to focus on right now to set yourself up for success.
- How to know when it’s time to scrap your plan and change direction.
- A special type of “easy” training you must do at least twice per year to prevent overtraining and burnout. (Don’t worry, you won’t lose all your gains when you train like this).
- When and how to use rest weeks to get better results from your training.
- The best types of training programmes for the “average guy” who simply wants nothing more than to be a strong, lean, and healthy role model for his family.
That’s just a partial summary. There’s more inside. Plus, subscribers get some nifty bonus including (but not limited to) access to me via email if they need help writing their training programme, want their exercise form critiqued, or just have questions about training, diet, etc. that they’d like answered.
If you’d like to learn more and – if you feel it’s right for you – subscribe, go here:
www.philtyreman.co.uk/information
Thank you,
Phil Tyreman