Hacking Fitness
It turns out that willpower is a terrible fitness strategy.
For years, technology has been the scapegoat for our sedentary lifestyles. Screens, streaming, and scroll-holes have kept us anchored to our sofas while our step counts wither.
I like to flip the narrative on this one: I rely on Tech to give me that push to be healthy. My brain just doesn’t get it right on its own. I NEED an element of gamification to help with my disordered eating and exercise. Give me NUMBERS! Give me STREAKS! Give me TARGETS to hit!
Willpower alone just does not seem to work for me.
What actually works? A personal journey begins…
Garmin Epix Gen 2: The Ultimate Accountability Buddy
There’s something mildly terrifying about a device that knows more about your body than you do. My Garmin Epix Gen 2 doesn’t just track my steps—it tracks my heart rate, sleep, stress, and whether I’m actually putting in the effort on those runs. It even tells me when I’m ‘Not Productive’ (typically when I’m feeling particularly proud of the run I’ve just put in).
But beyond the raw data, the real power of this watch is the nudging. If my Acute Load has dropped out the green zone, I know I’m slipping. If my VO2 Max score is rising, I know that my training is starting to have a real impact. Of course it’s real: The numbers are telling me it is!
Most importantly, it helps with willpower. On days when my motivation is low, seeing the numbers forces me to show up. It’s not about waiting to ‘feel’ like running—it’s about knowing that future me will regret skipping it. Garmin makes it harder to make excuses.
(It’s not a perfect science: Garmin’s predictions on my race times are always fantastical. I can run myself into the ground on a 5k, HR pinned to the red zone, with the watch cheerfully telling me that I could definitely do that 2-3 minutes quicker).
Withings Smart Scales: Brutal Honesty in a Beautiful Package
Stepping on a scale used to be an emotional rollercoaster. Now, it’s a data point (And also an emotional rollercoaster). The Withings Smart Scales give me body weight, fat percentage, and muscle mass. Even a pretty graph to show the trend. Okay, it’s mostly about the pretty graph.
Weight loss doesn’t tend to be the straightest of lines. Here, the trend line smoothed out my paranoia and let me see the bigger picture.
Self-accountability is helped by the data being auto-synced to Garmin (for accurate calorie burn calculations) and Cronometer (coming up!).
(This is the shortest section in this article. I’m finding it very hard to be enthused to write much about smart scales. Woo! Wi-fi! Digital display! Batteries!)
Cronometer: Finally, a modern fitness tracking app
I have been a MyFitnessPal user for years, but have become increasingly disillusioned with the product. Their food database started to become increasingly inaccurate (the problem with crowdsourcing is that the data ranges from ‘helpful’ to ‘hopelessly wrong’). The mobile app started behaving as if it was mired in treacle. Then the ‘Scan barcode’ feature was locked behind a paywall in a move that seemed to indicate a real hatred of the user community. I’m very happy to pay for apps for advanced features, but no, things had just gone a bit awkward here. It’s not me, it’s you.
Some searching around on alternatives showed a lot of signposting towards Cronometer. So I’m trying it out.
It’s fast. It looks great. It has outstanding integration support (So I can seamlessly pull in the fitness data I care about from Garmin). The mobile app works very well. There are paid membership options if you want all the bells and whistles, but the basics are not restricted. Perfect.
It makes me think beyond just calories. How’s my protein intake? Am I actually getting enough fibre? Should I be eating more magnesium-rich foods? (Spoiler: Yes.) I mean, it makes me think about these things: I’m not yet crafting my diet to hit all these right numbers. I’m a simple calorie man, me. One step at a time.
Instead of trying to ‘eat better’ based on vague intentions, I have clear, objective numbers. When I log my meals, I know exactly what needs adjusting, which means I don’t have to rely on guesswork or gut feelings. Hah, gut feelings. I know, I know.
Can Tech Actually Make You Fitter?
Yes—if you let it. The key is to use tech as a tool, not as a distraction. My Garmin keeps me moving. My Withings scales keep me honest. Cronometer makes sure I’m fuelling my body properly, or at least steering me away from excessive cake.
The best thing about all this? It takes willpower out of the equation. When my watch, scales, and food tracker all sync up, I don’t have to rely on motivation to stay on track. The numbers don’t lie (and if they do, at least they keep me moving). I can see whether my deficit is working. I know if I need to adjust. And that means no more stabbing in the dark. Or rifling the food cupboard in the dark.
So if you’re looking for an edge in your fitness journey, don’t ditch technology. Just use it better.
Oh, and steer yourself away from the scroll-holes…
