A better name would be "Google Cardio" (or Met Con if you want to be trendy).
Cardio != Fit. Strength is as much or more an aspect of fitness.
Cardio != Fit. Strength is as much or more an aspect of fitness.
And don't get me wrong, cardio works to a good extent. For most of sedentary folks, doing anything will be better than doing nothing, and their fitness level will improve.
But real fitness is about a lot more: strength training, interval training, sports, etc. Bodyweight workouts and HIIT are a much better return for your effort than "just tracking". And so will shifting your diet towards something like paleo or low-carb, instead of just tracking calories.
Part of my frustration with the fitness ecosystem is what made me start up http://8fit.com. It's a mobile app that offers HIIT do-it-at-home workouts and low-carb meal plans.
We don't track your steps. We don't integrate fancy wi-fi scales or wearables. But you know what? If eff-ing works, and our 60k-strong userbase loves the hell out of it for the results they're seeing.
People need a coach, not a tracker.
I remember an Under Armor commercial demoing some sort of envisioned prototype of this kind of tech.
edit: They also have something called Armor39, a strap that goes around your chest. I am now curious. Anyone used this?
Thing is although, it costs $300-$400 dollars. Runkeeper works with the phone you already have, and you can optionally add a couple of $50-$150 accessories. Very different price points.
Because that's easy to measure with accelerometers and gyros, and easy to display some numbers. Go do some stuff with your device along for the ride, see a pretty graph when you're done. Did I do more than yesterday? Hurray! Now to post it to Facebook with the handy "Share" button. I think I'm doing something (and I am, even if not optimal for fitness goals), and I don't have to think very hard about it.
The type of user your site is attracting are the people who don't pay attention to all of the step/calories stuff anyway. I'm a pretty hard-core runner (yeah, I should lift more), and step count is a mere novelty for me. There's nothing about Google Fit that attracts me (Garmin Connect keeps track of most of that stuff anyway). But I'm not their market.
Perceptions of weightlifting and strength put exercises like that outside the realm of the upper-middle class fitness realm. http://www.psmag.com/navigation/health-and-behavior/half-lif...
There was a time when I was lifting 3 times a week, every week, bench pressing 100kg, etc. And I tried to ride a bike uphill (pretty long ride) and nearly puked my guts out.
You need both strength and endurance. And some fine motor skills, like playing ping-pong or throwing a frizbee.
And some R&R interspersed in there, regularly, otherwise you'll collapse from stress sooner or later.
It's probably impossible to have a perfect exercise regime and live a modern busy life, but the bottom line is - diversity is good.
p.s the average man in a gym can't bench 100kg. maybe a rep or two with some generous spotting
You clearly must be using a much smaller unit of measure, perhaps grams (1.6 kg, or roughly 3 pounds) or ounces (105 pounds). Either way, that amount of weight is considered below average for a male of average height who has been weight training for more than a few months.
That 1102 bench is with a multiply bench shirt.
So, the name Google Fit makes quite a lot of sense.