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Working out without my smartphone!?

The other day, I wondered if it was positive or not to train without my smartphone. With all the existing applications for doing physical activity with smart phones, you would think that the impact would be positive on people's workouts. What is it really?


study published in 2016 seems to demonstrate that it is rather the opposite that occurs.

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In the study, college students participated in two workouts. One runner had a smart phone and the other was without a device. During phone training, students were only allowed to text.

The researchers measured heart rate to determine if the students were training at high, medium, or low intensity during a 30-minute workout on a treadmill. They noticed that the time spent at a high intensity was much greater when training without a phone (13 minutes) than when training with a phone (7 minutes). 

So, if you want to train at high intensity and efficiently, it is better to leave your phone at home or in a mode that allows you not to be disturbed!

Another 2016 study analyzed the influence of a step measuring device and the indicator of global physical activity on weight loss. Examples of such devices are fitbits, gps watches and similar apps in phones (iphone and android have them by default).

Over a period of 6 months, 2 groups followed a set of training, advice and supervision related to good nutrition and a physical activity program. During months 7 to 24, all study participants continued to follow a training plan and monitor their nutrition.

Half were loaned an electronic device to use to measure their activity level. The control group reported its training and meals on a site (they entered the information manually). Surprising result, the control group (without electronic training accessory) lost almost twice the weight after 24 months (-5.9kg on average vs -3.5kg). The researchers were unable to provide an explanation for the phenomenon.

A hypothesis: Entering the workouts ourselves could contribute to a feeling of gratification. 

Here is the answer to the question at the beginning: yes, it is possible to train without my smartphone. Not only is it possible, but it could also be more efficient depending on the conditions.

Like what the latest gadget is not necessarily a sign of success and guaranteed motivation! On the other hand, to keep the motivation high for a few months of training, participate in the Corporate Challenge might be a good idea 😉

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