Google Fit: An effortless, comprehensive view of your fitness
officialandroid.blogspot.com
officialandroid.blogspot.com
If I can't record squats, then what's the point?
The point is to be one front end to "[a]n open platform that lets users control their fitness data" and "lets developers build smarter apps and manufacturers focus on creating amazing devices." [1]
> You can manually add activities but the only options are: Walking, Running, Biking, Other.
The backend is aware of more activity types [2], so I suspect its either getting the right UX for that is the issue, or that developing the what to do with other activities to make the data meaningful that is holding back putting more into the app UI.
[1] https://developers.google.com/fit/ -- the page that, for me, comes up as the first web (not news) result for a Google search for "Google Fit".
[2] https://developers.google.com/fit/rest/v1/reference/activity...
They don't seem to have mentioned "and lets us sell all the data to the highest bidder"
Does it mean that when Google created Keep, they were looking for a way of making money off our notes and to-do lists?
You should expect that keep data is being tracked the same way gmail and calendar data is. With this your health will also be in the data package.
(1) Part of the infrastructure is tied to Android, so it promotes Android and their many ways of monetizing the Android ecosystem, (2) Its grows the market for cloud services, for which Google is an infrastructure provider.
Both of these are fairly indirect, but that's not uncommon for Google. Google has lots of projects that aren't directly monetized, but support products that are.
If Google would not store emails on their servers, people would leave Gmail and go to a service that does. If Google would store emails, but end-to-end encrypt it, people would leave gmail and put their data to a service with a working spam filter.
Google Now is very popular and a reason why people use Google services.
For Googles revenue it is far more important that people use their services (and therefore watch ads), then it is to create "better ads". I say that because nobody seems to get "smart ads" that are actually interesting to them. Googles gmail ads are little more than "if word is used in conversation, show product related to word".
Except the blog post doesn't allude to anything more than what's already present. I can already input weight and run time and it looks like it tracks heartbeat.
Maybe the phone app has problems loading widgets with the webservice currently being flakey.
If I track a 2 mile 20 minute run with another app, Google Fit (so far) only exposes the data as "Ran 20 minutes" completely eliminating the useful information. And if they have a hidden feature that does track distance as well, why isn't that exposed to me to manually enter?
[1] https://developers.google.com/fit/android/data-types or https://developers.google.com/fit/rest/v1/data-types
There are surprisingly few, if any at all sites/apps fulfilling my very modest basic criteria.
-weight log
-calorie log
-gym and cardio progress log and plan
-not using Liberian units of measurements.
GDoc spreadsheet still seems like the best option.
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Don't they do any market research at all at Google? No one interested in tracking anything will find this useful. Even the people only using a pedometers won't use it. This is a horrible interface getting that one number tracked that they are interested in.
Now I'm upset. So much money to spend and one lackluster product after another.
I would use that but they don't integrate with Witherings scale.
It's hard to think of this as useful with Strava as it's so damn good, but there are many other apps for other activities that are not as nice to use, but users are locked into them as losing all your data means starting with a new app is frustrating.
I do wish I could hide segments though, it's annoying how everyone makes their favorite 0.2 miles their own sprint.
It seems more like a clone of Moves.
They get more accurate data if you aren't allowed to input it.
I understand the need to offer competing products on their own platform, but I've come to doubt the long term usefulness/support of products in that second category.
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.
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...
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.
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.
However, as soon as I got it installed, all my previous months' data was simply gone. Not imported into Google Fit, but just gone.
Fitbit wasn't perfect, but it was better than this.
- Time your rest periods
- Track your progress
- Remember what weight you did last time
- Count your sets
Unfortunately for lifting and many other forms of exercise, the apparatus is not built into the device you already have or can strap on your belt and forget about. In addition to needing special-purpose measuring equipment, the user would have to incorporate the device into the exercise.
A barbell could know it's been picked up and put down, but how would it know how much weight is on it? RFID in the plates? A tennis racket or baseball bat could track swings and speed, but would anyone even care for that metric?
FitBit, Wear, Microsoft Band, iWatch aren't getting a ton of adoption for these simple metrics, how do you sell the others? Ie 80% of Americans have smart phones, 10% will invest in wear devices, maybe it's just .1% that will invest in bat technology.
If one doesn't have health issues and/or not a professional athlete - why would one want to keep track of fitness so closely?
I just go out and get exercise and enjoy myself and all this fitness app stuff seems like a distraction. Plus, I really don't want to destroy expensive stuff while I'm mountain biking out here in CO just to see my heartbeat.
Is it just an obsessive hobby done out of curiosity or is there some reason I should use a fitness app instead of simply enjoying myself on my bike, hiking, etc. and focusing on that instead?
Again, nothing against those who use these apps and devices, I guess I just don't understand the obsession.
The majority of Americans are overweight -- which is a health issue, and addressing that health issue is one of the major reasons people use fitness trackers.
> I just go out and get exercise and enjoy myself and all this fitness app stuff seems like a distraction.
Lots of people don't enjoy exercise, especially people trying to establish a pattern with it that haven't done so yet.
> Is it just an obsessive hobby done out of curiosity or is there some reason I should use a fitness app instead of simply enjoying myself on my bike, hiking, etc. and focusing on that instead?
I think you are presenting a false dichotomy.
I've been overweight at times when I overwork. Especially after I was in a situation where I was a caregiver for a sick loved one for some years. Even after that spell of time, I lost weight fairly quickly (and healthily) by mountain biking. I've lost weight by exercising via having fun on a mountain bike, hiking, climbing, kayaking, surfing, etc. and eating less (and somewhat healthier) and drinking more water.
I guess I just don't see how a fitness app would have improved my situation. Again, I'm not dissing on those that use them, but I personally don't get it.
I'm still curious after your response. How would a fitness app and device helped me?
>Lots of people don't enjoy exercise, especially people trying to establish a pattern with it that haven't done so yet.
Maybe it's because they set it up like a chore with a computing device instead of doing it for fun and health as a side benefit?
I'm only half-kidding about that...
I personally can't stand sitting inside and getting exercise on some rat wheel in a gym. If it's hot, I bring lots of water and dress appropriately for the weather. If it's cold, I bundle up. I enjoy the challenge that the elements bring to the table outdoors. I also like using my brain trying to navigate trails, etc. instead of doing repetitious, boring (to me) brain-dead indoor exercise machines like treadmills, etc.
I dunno, maybe if people worried less about their fitness tracking devices, trying to treat exercise like work and instead just have more fun, they'd be more apt to exercise?
I wouldn't enjoy exercise either if I treated it like work.
>I think you are presenting a false dichotomy.
Perhaps I am for others. For me personally, I just don't see the enjoyment of meticulously tracking my heart rate, etc. while I'm flying down some trails, hiking my bike up rocks, etc. I know my heart is working because it's pounding with joy (and sometimes fear) and that's enough for me. Or, if someone spots a bear I sure as heck don't need a fitness app to let me know my heart is ticking. ;)
Again, I know what works for me certainly doesn't work for everyone, but as hard as I try, I just don't get the fitness apps and devices being very conducive to enjoyable exercise. Just seems like another distraction from getting busy and having fun in the process.
The only device I like to bring is a little shuffle for music and I often turn that off so I can hear the sounds of nature while I'm out there. A fancy pants fitness device that alerts me that my heart rate has reached some kind of "optimum" zone or whatever just seems like a mechanical killjoy to an otherwise organic, almost tribal/ animalistic/sensual experience getting down and dirty with nature.
Again, this is just me. If other find enjoyment in fitness apps and devices that run them, then more power to them! :D
Who knows, maybe someone can make a good enough argument for me to start using them someday if/when I have health issues, etc. down the road.
It might not have. Not every product on the market is designed for you personally.
Again, you keep saying that you have lots of exercise activities you know about and enjoy, and that the challenge you've had is overwork. Lots of other people don't have lots of exercise activities they enjoy, but measurement, and the feedback and sense of accomplishment from improving their numbers is something that they get positive feelings from which help counteract the negative feelings from an unpleasant activity that doesn't produce immediate tangible results (although, for people whose challenge is overwork, measurement can be an early signal that an imbalance is occurring that might be visible before tangible harm, so it could be useful for people whose situation is more like yours, as well; come to think of it, lots of people I know who have found trackers useful seem to be more like you in that regard -- several, for instance, are usually regular ballroom dancers, but have lots of other commitments and less-fitness-friendly activities in their life, so...)
Sure they are. I am product Gawd.
> Again, you keep saying that you have lots of exercise activities you know about and enjoy, and that the challenge you've had is overwork. Lots of other people don't have lots of exercise activities they enjoy, but measurement, and the feedback and sense of accomplishment from improving their numbers is something that they get positive feelings from which help counteract the negative feelings from an unpleasant activity that doesn't produce immediate tangible results
I see your point.
> although, for people whose challenge is overwork, measurement can be an early signal that an imbalance is occurring that might be visible before tangible harm, so it could be useful for people whose situation is more like yours
So a fitness app could use tracking to alert me when I need to take a break from work and repeatedly prod me to get exercise? I'd smash it and then I'd need an anger management app to help me cope with my fitness app. ;)
So they can blog about the 1k they walked on facebook.
I'm really not a fan of the logo. Makes the app look like a different kind of app. Should be change it to something that's more associated with fitness at first glance.
There's generally no guarantee that any service anyone provides won't be discontinued. Either (1) the service provider is prepared to jettison services that end up becoming net money losers (and thus, its services are at risk of being discontinued voluntarily), or (2) the service provider is not particularly concerned about being able to sustain itself (and thus, its services are at an elevated risk of being discontinued involuntarily).
There is not a third option.
> I am not buying into this unless they make it open source -- so that somebody else can take over when Google loses interest.
Open sourcing the implementation is kind of orthogonal to providing a transition path for the data so that what has been captured for any user can move to a new provider's system. It is neither necessary nor sufficient for that.
The data mining criticisms hold a lot more weight but only in cases where they collect more data than is necessary to run the service. That's why paying for Fastmail doesn't make any sense. You're still trusting somebody else with your unencrypted email data. In this case though, I don't see the value-add that Google provides in having unencrypted access to the fitness data. It looks like a fairly dumb data store, in which case most of the data can be encrypted with a user password before being sent to Google.
I'm not -- they need to have some data aggregation/presentation front-end to encourage manufacturers and source-data-feeding app vendors to integrate with the back-end. Once they do that, there'll be more incentive for more presentation front-end work (both by Google and by third-parties -- that's the whole point of an open platform.)
What about people who do things which require real athleticism or strength?