Technically Speaking…
Post-workout early 2020. Not sporting the protective case for my Watch.
I stopped wearing a wristwatch when I was 18. We went on a retreat as seniors and part of the experience was to trust what was going to happen without knowing. We had to relinquish watches when we first got there. I hated it for the first few hours, but loved it by the end of the weekend. So, I stopped wearing a watch. That was 1989.
In 2019, Lorraine wanted something to help her keep track of workouts and make it easier to manage notifications while working, and so I decided to get her an Apple Watch. She loved it and raved about it. But I still wasn’t sure I wanted to wear a watch after all these years. (Cue the late, great Mitch Hedberg).
After a couple months, I started looking for the Watch to go on sale, and when it did I snagged myself one. It was weird for a few days getting used to having it on, but almost immediately I got hooked on closing my rings.
Now, up to this point I could track how far I walked with my iPhone (as long as I had it with me, of course). But this was something different. It counted steps, sure, but also calories burned and heart rate and let you set goals and feel a sense of accomplishment when you met them. At the time, I was working out a ton at Gold’s Gym and closing the rings was easy. On off days, I would try to close them with walks.
I never thought that knowing these things would motivate me to work out, but it did. That was a great benefit, especially when depression would kick in for a few days. A stubborn need to close the rings would often (not always) override the suck and I’d go to the gym or for a walk or something even though all I wanted to do was sulk.
I recently got a heart-rate chest monitor (the Polar H10) that syncs up with my watch to give even more accurate data on my heart rate as I work out. One of my goals after ultimate season this year is to get my heart rate consistently lower when I work out. In the short term, I’m working on breathing techniques and active rest to keep it low as I work out, and this Polar H10 is a huge help with that, as it takes readings far more frequently than the Watch does.
As with any piece of tech, there are some downsides. Having notifications always right there can be a distraction. Perhaps obsessing over rings can get out of hand. And it is one more item to manage as far as power and charging.
I also had to replace my Watch already because I dropped the first one and cracked the screen. It still worked, and I managed for a couple more months, but it was no longer water (sweat) proof and would zonk out during workouts. I found another sale and got another one. This time I got a water and shock proof case for it and I feel much less likely to break it.
All in all, I’m a fan of how it motivates me to workout and helps me keep track of various metrics. It doesn’t hurt that I can contactless-pay with it and see notifications without pulling my phone out of my pocket. All the other reasons people get a smart watch. But the fitness part of it made it a great purchase. There are plenty of other brands that do the same things, some of which cost a fraction of the price, but I’m an Apple guy from way back so staying in that ecosystem makes the most sense for me.
And I will be using it this year to really hone in on my fitness goals, so here’s hoping it continues to motivate me.
