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You run with your iPad in your pocket? :O

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I guess it's for nerds trying to get into shape. I dunno, I don't check any stats, and I'm healthy and quite fit, at least compared to other Americans. Sounds like they're trying to turn an imprecise science into data on a spreadsheet.

Considering that obesity is 36% in USA and obesity/overweight is 69%, that's hardly a goal post.

http://frac.org/initiatives/hunger-and-obesity/obesity-in-the-us/
 
Here's the typical "I DON'T UNDERSTAND ANYTHING" thread.

Just because you don't get it, it doesn't mean it isn't valid.
 
Good for you. No, really: congratulations, it's great that you're in good physical condition. It's pretty important, and a lot of people have trouble doing it. Perhaps that fact has escaped your attention?

Or perhaps it has, quite reasonably, escaped your attention that when most people (you know, the ones who AREN'T as awesome as you) are given a way to quantify how much exercise they are getting and the progress they're making, they are much more likely to stick to an exercise regimen, becoming much more reliable about putting in the exercise and much more likely to continue it longer. I can see why you wouldn't have noticed, since you don't need it, but it turns out that there are some great recent studies that tell you this.

But I could have told them that. Fifteen years ago, I decided to get in shape. I started by walking, and then worked up to jogging. And it was a horrible slog and I hated it and I never felt like I was making any progress. And then I got a heart rate monitor and pedometer (they were a bit cruder back then, mind you), and suddenly I could actually see my progress. I could see that I was able to run farther than I had been a month ago, and that my resting heartbeat was, on average, a couple of beats per minute lower than it was a year before. I could get a count of the approximate number of calories I was burning in a day, and compare that with my food intake. I could chart my progress, albeit on a tiny little watch screen (since there wasn't one that would interface with Macs at the time).

Shortly thereafter, I got a Walkman (ye gods, I feel old), later replaced by an iPod. And a couple years after that I received a GPS watch as a gift. These days I'm using an iPhone and a heart rate monitor strap that connects to it via bluetooth 4.0, plus a fitbit (although I'll probably just ditch that, with the M4 thing).

Result? Fifteen years later, I'm still in shape. The reason I stick to it is because I know that I'm actually accomplishing something. I know that I'm in good physical condition. When I skip a day of jogging, I can look at my stats and say, 'Meh, I did five days of jogging last week, plus a seven mile hike last weekend… I can afford to take a day off this week' instead of stressing out about being a bad person because I didn't exercise that day, something that makes it more likely that you will just quit. (And as an added bonus, I can keep track of how many miles I put on my jogging shoes, so I can replace them at reasonable intervals.) I can chart out my rest heart rate (~55, currently… not QUITE the best it has ever been but surprisingly close, seeing as I'm probably twice your age). If I wanted to, I could sit down and chart out how only getting six hours of sleep in a night effects my exercise patterns the next day, or for that matter how my exercise patterns affect my sleep. I haven't, at this point, but if I started having serious sleep issues I probably would. Because it'd be really good to know.

Basically, these kind of metrics make it more likely that more people will stay in shape, and help people understand their own bodies better. And they don't help just a little bit: the studies have been quite striking, and very consistent. Seems to me that, instead of deriding these things as 'for nerds trying to get in shape', you should be, well, a little more tolerant of other people's imperfections. Shall we say.

Well said, I personally don't need stuff like this day to day as I don't find it that difficult to stay in shape but I have a lot of friends that find it hard and they really benefit from these kinds of systems to give them goals and track progress. To dismiss apps and gadgets like this because you find it easy to stay fit is both selfish and ridiculous.
 
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Basically, these kind of metrics make it more likely that more people will stay in shape, and help people understand their own bodies better. And they don't help just a little bit: the studies have been quite striking, and very consistent. Seems to me that, instead of deriding these things as 'for nerds trying to get in shape', you should be, well, a little more tolerant of other people's imperfections. Shall we say.

Fantastic post. Thanks for sharing your story.

Lots of us are motivated by these high-tech add-ons to stick with our workout routines. Nike+ has been my motivator the past six years, and I can't wait until I own a next-generation iPhone (probably next year) and can try out this iteration of the Nike+ app.
 
link seems to be wrong, it's leading me to wrong app??

When I hit the link that's supposed to go to the app, it takes me to an app made by Nike about different fabrics... Not the Move app.
I'm on the Swedish app store if it makes any difference, but is anyone else getting this?

It's not available in our app stores. Don't know why they don't do these kind of releases globally.

/Another Swede
 
Great, I just got 100 odd points for motorcycling to work this morning. Pathetic!

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When I'm bench-pressing at the gym later today, with my iPhone still in my pocket, what exactly will this App achieve?
 
Not so fast. I thought Strava Run was the first app to take advantage of the M7 coprocessor?

Not that I mind. I don't have an iPhone5s but I approve this new wave of motion sensitive apps to detect daily movement.

There's a free app on the appstore called Moves that does what this does and doesn't use the proprietary "Nikefuel" units but rather calories/miles etc.

Does it really matter?
 
Can someone please explain to me why the average person would need to track this much data about their daily life? I understand exercise apps...but tracking how much I walk, sit, or stand...and then offering me incentive to do it again?

The M7 co-processor is awesome. But this (much like the "fit" bracelets that are coming out) seems to be just another thing that someone can obsess over, then post to Facebook.

Maybe I'm missing something. But this quote comes to mind when I see borderline excessive data tracking apps like this....

"We are drowning in information, but starved for knowledge."
--John Naisbitt

maybe one day you can sell all your movement data
 
Fantastic post. Thanks for sharing your story.

Lots of us are motivated by these high-tech add-ons to stick with our workout routines. Nike+ has been my motivator the past six years, and I can't wait until I own a next-generation iPhone (probably next year) and can try out this iteration of the Nike+ app.

Go to your bathroom and look in the mirror. What better motivation do you need?
 
Maybe I'm missing something. But this quote comes to mind when I see borderline excessive data tracking apps like this....

I think what you are missing is that you are a narcissist. "I'm wonderful, I don't need this, therefore there is no point to it. I am the model for humanity." Don't worry; you are not alone. It's a very common malady in the 21st Century, and you can have a full and productive life in spite of it. It doesn't make you a particularly bad person, just a banal one, on occassion.

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Basically, these kind of metrics make it more likely that more people will stay in shape, and help people understand their own bodies better. And they don't help just a little bit: the studies have been quite striking, and very consistent. Seems to me that, instead of deriding these things as 'for nerds trying to get in shape', you should be, well, a little more tolerant of other people's imperfections. Shall we say.

Thanks for sharing. Excellent post. I think everyone who read it is just a little better for it.
 
How many apps in the app store right now take advantage of the M7 motion processor?
 
Can someone please explain to me why the average person would need to track this much data about their daily life? I understand exercise apps...but tracking how much I walk, sit, or stand...and then offering me incentive to do it again?

The M7 co-processor is awesome. But this (much like the "fit" bracelets that are coming out) seems to be just another thing that someone can obsess over, then post to Facebook.

Maybe I'm missing something. But this quote comes to mind when I see borderline excessive data tracking apps like this....

"We are drowning in information, but starved for knowledge."
--John Naisbitt

I guess it's for nerds trying to get into shape. I dunno, I don't check any stats, and I'm healthy and quite fit, at least compared to other Americans. Sounds like they're trying to turn an imprecise science into data on a spreadsheet.

Go to your bathroom and look in the mirror. What better motivation do you need?

Different people are motivated by different things. Just because you don't understand it doesn't mean that it serves no purpose.

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Great, I just got 100 odd points for motorcycling to work this morning. Pathetic!

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When I'm bench-pressing at the gym later today, with my iPhone still in my pocket, what exactly will this App achieve?

You're holding it wrong.

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Yeah, I'm pretty sure that another NSA-style toy that watches every step of its "owner" will help him or her to get into perfect shape...

Here's my advice: Get a dog. A real one, not a tamagochi. And take it for a two hours walk every morning. Good for you, good for the dog. No need for an electronic GPS surveillance gadget sponsored by Big Brother or the National Socialists of America (NSA).

And here's my advice for you: think before you reply. Not everyone is in a position to own a dog. And a dog does not give you feedback on your health.

And if you honestly think a program like this is some sort of spy tool, you have issues my friend. Deal with them soon please.
 
Cool! How do I know that the GPS will be on all the time? Does it only turn on when I leave my house (when not on Wifi)? Because it isn't showing as on right now (its on in the settings)

I don't think it's using the GPS, it's using the accelerometer.
 
It looks like having the gps on all night didn't drain my battery. I just don't like the gps icon being there 24/7 as I don't know when other apps are using the gps. I could turn it off but that defeats the purpose.
 
how do you adjust the options of the App?

Honestly it looks neat but its either very buggy or incomplete. You cant analyze anything, not what you did yesterday or today it just gives you totals that are hard to review.

Also, where are the options lol? :D
 
I think this is a way to promote the fuel band without actually pushing it too much.

Allows people to get a feel for this application and the whole "Fuel" aspect that Nike is doing and when they realise that using a phone for something like this is unrealistic, they'll either give up on it and not use the app or get a Fuelband.

Got a fuel band myself, cracking bit of kit. Has its limitations but I don't expect it to be all singing/dancing.
 
This one, Argus, and Strava are the only ones I'm aware of.

I'm sure Moves will use it eventually.
MotionX 24/7 also uses the M7 coprocessor.

I tried out this Nike+ Move and it fails to win me over MotionX 24/7. All I see is NikeFuel in it. MotionX 24/7 is a sleep monitor, pedometer, an activity monitor, and almanac. It even has a heart rate checker via camera & dual flash (not as accurate but effective.
 
MotionX 24/7 also uses the M7 coprocessor.

I tried out this Nike+ Move and it fails to win me over MotionX 24/7. All I see is NikeFuel in it. MotionX 24/7 is a sleep monitor, pedometer, an activity monitor, and almanac. It even has a heart rate checker via camera & dual flash (not as accurate but effective.

is it better/worse than ARgus? It charges $1.99 for the app so I'm wondering why it's better?
 
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