How the Apple Watch Series 8 helped me ditch the gym for good: The Short Stack #8
Apple’s smartwatch has changed my approach to exercise for the better in 2023
Happy New Year, Shortcut crew! How are those New Year’s resolutions coming along? I started 2023 off the right way – by unceremoniously canceling my gym membership.
And it’s all thanks to the Apple Watch Series 8. In fact, I’m so impressed with how Apple’s smartwatch has revitalized my enthusiasm for fitness, I can’t see myself ever going back to a gym.
Canceling a gym membership after purchasing a smartwatch that tracks your heart rate, burned calories and step count might sound counterintuitive – especially when everyone else is starting their health kick for the umpteenth time. But I could never muster the energy to attend my local gymnasium.
Despite my best intentions, I’ve come to the realization that I don’t enjoy working out with other people in close proximity. I especially hate waiting awkwardly to use a machine that’s been freshly soaked in another human’s sweat. And don’t even get me started on locker room etiquette… Why are old men obsessed with walking around naked?
Covid certainly accelerated the feeling that gyms are kind of gross, but the mere thought of attending a gym during the month of January – when everyone is preaching the “new year, new me” mantra ad nauseam – gets my heart racing more than pounding the treadmill ever could.
Thankfully, the purchase of an Apple Watch Series 8 over Christmas would do more to encourage me to be less sedentary and more active than any gym membership ever could.
As someone who loves gamification, the virtual badges you earn for completing certain goals and challenges are particularly enticing. Examples include beating your move target (which involves burning a set amount of calories each day), with the main aim being to close three activity rings each day, which comprise moving, exercising and standing.
Seeing those three rings close and the delightful animation that plays, as a result, is exactly the type of endorphin hit I need to spur me on. And it’s actually working.
I’ve lost three pounds over the holiday period, which is a feat worth celebrating when you consider I’ve snarfed down more food than a hungry, hungry hippo over the past few weeks.
Gamers will testify how Achievements on Xbox Series X or Trophies on PS5 can make you do things in a game you usually wouldn’t. And I think Apple’s badges achieve the same general result. They just make things that would usually cause me to let out an exasperated sigh a lot more appealing.
Let’s move🚶🏻♂️
However, I think what I love most about the Apple Watch Series 8 (apart from the super handy “ping my iPhone” feature that has saved me countless times) is how it doesn’t shame me into exercising.
Instead, the Apple Watch gently reminds me that yes, it’s probably time to stand up after being plonked in my chair for over an hour. Or that a couple more minutes of light activity will close my exercise ring for the day and keep my streak going.
And Apple’s smartwatch is great at reinforcing good habits in general, simply because of the exhaustive amount of data it collects and provides.
I already knew that I was heavier than I’m used to being after surviving on a steady stream of takeaways during Covid. But seeing the data in black and white helped encourage me to walk the dog a little bit further than I may have before, or to go to bed at a more reasonable hour.
Apple does a great job of explaining what all the metrics mean, where you should ideally aim to be, and how you can go about improving the areas that might need some finessing. It’s a level of accessibility that’s often lacking in the world of fitness.
The next phase 💪
I’ve become so in tune with my Apple Watch Series 8 and impressed with its health tracking that the next step in my fitness journey is Apple Fitness+. I picked up an Apple TV 4K recently (more about that at a later date) to replace my LG CX’s aging UI for streaming apps, and I’m genuinely excited to try working out from home with instructors guiding and encouraging me along the way.
The Apple Watch syncs up to the Fitness+ TV app, showing me my progress on closing all my rings that day, along with other vital statistics such as my heart rate and calories burnt. There’s even a fun competitive element where you can see how your workout compares to other users.
To be successful at anything in life you need to be motivated. The Apple Watch Series 8 has helped me make those first few tentative steps from wanting to get back in shape to actually doing so in a healthy, sustainable way. It’s a refreshing change from my usual approach that many of us follow: force ourselves to go to the gym, spurred on by self-criticism and loathing until eventually it becomes too much to bear and we fall back into bad habits.
The Apple Watch Series 8 is by no means a miracle worker – you’ll still need to put in the work to see any results. But it could be the solution that many of us need to gently kickstart and maintain a healthier lifestyle in 2023 – at least that’s how it’s shaping up for me.
‘Til next time, Shortizens.