Tracking: Don’t Leave Home Without It
If you're a runner, cyclist or fitness enthusiast, or just someone who's getting started on a new health/nutrition/exercise regimen, it might feel like a no-brainer to use an app to track your progress. I'm here to tell you that even if you don't fall into any of these categories (which is most likely the case), tracking your movement can provide major benefits.
That's because when we measure something in our everyday life and then watch it change over time we have more control over the situation. So while there may be some confusion as to what data means on the surface level, repeating this exercise enough times will lead us directly back to insight and understanding.
But before we get there, let's take a look at why it's so important to put some thought into the type of data you want to track.
1) You Get to Save Time & Save Money
The most important question you can ask yourself when considering a new tracking strategy is: "How will this save me time and money?" There are so many apps out there that it can be overwhelming to find the one that fits your needs, but thinking through this point will help you avoid burying your wallet in cash and give you better results. Most important are things like logging food or water intake, or completing other exercise activity for activity tracker apps. For example, you could log your daily food intake or water consumption to track calories, proteins and carbohydrates. Or, you could use a running app like RunKeeper to track your steps each day.
2) Tracking Gets You Started on Something New
Maybe your New Year's resolution was to lose weight and get in shape, but when you look in the mirror you feel discouraged. This can be disheartening for some who want to change their lives for the better but don't know how. But by simply tracking the right data points per day and then comparing it later on you can see if you're actually improving or not (which hopefully you will be). And if not, then there's no reason not to try another strategy.
3) You Can See What's Working and What's Not
Trying to eat healthier? Logging your daily calories will show you where you can make changes to your routine. Feeling sluggish at the end of the day? Keeping tabs on how many steps you take each day will help get you back on track. This is why tracking data is so important in several aspects of our lives, because it allows us to set goals in a way that we can measure and understand if we're reaching them or not. The act of tracking data will never be enough, but it helps put us in the right mindset for making changes that are both meaningful and motivating for ourselves.
4) It Makes You Better At Self-Tracking
When you're trying to improve yourself it's best to keep track of exactly what you're doing. The more you track, the better at it you'll be. And if we're talking about tracking movement in general, I'd like to think that tracking your own data will help give you a better understanding of what's going on inside your body and how certain exercises can make your body feel better or worse. For example, logging whether or not an exercise was hard and if your heart rate increased or decreased afterward. We can all benefit from this information because it will help us understand the basics of those exercises and compare them over time. If a move you've been trying to do for awhile can't quite seem to get you there, this is a good time to reflect on why.
5) It Helps You Pick What's Best For You
You might be able to just tell someone walking or running around that they need to start wearing a pedometer or use an app, but it's difficult for others to understand what exactly it is that you're doing. That's why having data on the amount of steps you hit and how long your activity lasts will give others a better idea of what they can do if they want to be healthier as well. With data, we can see how we compare with the rest of our country or even the world.
6) It Will Lead To Greater Knowledge & Understanding
It's easier to gain knowledge and understanding when we take an active role in our own development. We can do this by tracking our data, creating a personal record of our progress. If you've never tracked your movement before, the above-mentioned points may have caught your attention and made you ask: "Why not?" Some might say that the goal of a determination is to be able to compare yourself with others around the world and see where you are in relation to other people who've been doing things similar to what you're doing. But I'd say getting back to a place of understanding is equally important, and tracking data is just one of the ways we can do this.
7) It's A Good Way To Keep Motivated & On Track
One of the biggest reasons for tracking your movement is to keep yourself on track, whether you're doing it for exercise or to lose weight. Most people agree that making lifestyle changes is easier when we have a plan set out in front of us and stick with it. And that's why using an app like RunKeeper to track your daily exercise could be a great way to stay motivated. Even if you're not tracking your data, doing simple things every day like moving your body is important because it helps us keep our life moving.
8) It's Something You Can Do On The Go
The biggest hurdle to tracking data is definitely the idea of actually walking around with a device on your wrist all day. Sure, the phone can track our movement for the majority of the time, but there are only so many times we can stand up from desk or couch and then say "I think I'll go for a walk now." But what if you don't want to walk? What if you feel like having some water? Or maybe you want to run as fast as possible down to the local grocery store. We all have these moments where the opportunity to move about is available, but we don't always take it. That's why it's great to have apps like RunKeeper that allow us to track our data within minutes. You can log your exercise activity in under 60 seconds, and then go on with your day without having to worry about long data entry sessions.
9) It Can Help Your Doctor Understand Your Health
Doctors want what's best for their patients, and they know that people are more likely to be healthier when they're more active. But even doctors struggle with coming up with solutions for patients who live a sedentary lifestyle and could use a change in their lives. One of the best ways doctors can help their patients is to keep track of their own data as well. Seeing where you're starting off will allow your doctor to understand what areas you're struggling with. Then, with a little bit of encouragement and knowledge, both you and your doctor can create a plan to improve your overall health.
This is great way to help keep yourself motivated and on track by having someone in your corner that wants the same things as you do – which is ultimately better health.
10) You Can Find Inspiration From Others
The main reason I think it's important to track our own movement is so we can see what inspires us and what doesn't.
Conclusion
I think it's easy to look toward the future and see many benefits with tracking data and keeping a record of our activity, but there are a lot of other ways this can be useful for you now. I mentioned earlier that sharing your data is an important part of the process. It can be just as fulfilling to show your friends how much you've been doing on your own, or to share your data with someone who could use some inspiration in their lives as well.
If you're curious about where to start with tracking data, I'd recommend RunKeeper because it's extremely easy to use and understand.