Running comes naturally to humans. Many biologists believe that endurance running played a major role in shaping the human body throughout evolution. Being able to run was vital for hunting and evading danger, and by not using our front limbs to walk, we assumed an upright, bipedal gait, freeing our rib cage and lungs to adopt more versatile breathing patterns.
Today, running is more about getting fit and enjoying the outdoors. Years ago, exercise technology meant the best pair of running shoes you could afford but, in the modern digital age, that’s not enough. We yearn for simplicity, but technology often makes things more complex.
How technology influences
Now, when we run, we take technology with us. Futuristic watches record more physiological parameters than an intensive-care unit and cycles are equipped with more hi-tech equipment than a fighter jet. In the age of the digital runner and cyclist, you just don’t go for a run or out for a spin on your bike; there are cycle computers, GPS technology, and a huge array of apps, all recording and analysing data for personal use – or for sharing our progress online. Said Prof. Jo Little of Exeter University in an article in the journal ‘Health & Place’, “Using technology to monitor performance and fitness could be both enabling and disempowering. Some runners, for example, were becoming so obsessed with their wearable trackers to the fact that it was interfering with their training routine and becoming an unwelcome burden.”
Finding balance
Physiologist Dr Nick Tiller of Sheffield Hallam University’s Academy of Sport and Physical Activity is an expert on the benefits and the pitfalls of exercise technology. “A few of these metrics,” he says, “can be especially useful; for example, running or cycling according to precise heart rate zones can help you maximise physical adaptation, so that no effort is wasted.” He points out that many elite endurance athletes will plan their training around a measure called the lactate threshold. “This,” he says, “is a metabolic threshold which indicates submaximal efficiency. Monitoring power or speed can help you to track your progress throughout the season, help with goal-setting and even plan and execute racing strategy.”
But there can be drawbacks too: The disadvantage of this number-tracking is that an obsessive focus on data can create a barrier between you and the experience of the session; a focus on irrelevant metrics can side-track you from more important issues, not to mention diminish the notion of training for fun.
There’s a balance to be struck. Runners can benefit from shaping their training schedule on feedback from apps and technology. After all, that is the key to success and injury prevention. But, it’s important to know when to switch the technology off too.
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