Google app redefines fitness regimen

No, there’s nothing new in giving a voice command to your phone but
when it involves a wristwatch, accessing all the applications on your
phone, then, you will agree that some wristwatches tell more than time.

The amusement behind the technology of speaking to a wristwatch and
getting results both on your android phone and the wristwatch, was
evident on the gestures and looks of the participants who attended a gym
session organised by search engine giant, Google, themed ‘Fit With
Google’ at Bodyline Fitness and Gym, Ikoyi, Lagos state.

Staggering statistics showed that words like fitness and gym are
least searched globally. The reason is not farfetched. A reasonable
number of persons start the year with full vigour, loading their to-do
list for the year with prospective activities, pledging to lose weight
and get fit, but many, after few weeks, find their resolves slipping.
Gyms that were over flowing with people in the first weeks of the year
became quite empty before March!

Intimating participants on the dwindling exploration of fitness and
gym, Google Communications and Public Relations Manager, West Africa, Mr
Taiwo Kola-Ogunlade, called everyone’s attention to the fitness and gym
trend globally. He explained that Google search trends indicated that
globally, online searches for words like health/fitness/gyms peak
between December and January, while in Nigeria, the trend revealed a
quarterly pattern.

“According to statistics, it has been established that most people
search for words like gym and fitness just twice in a year; January when
they make their New Year’s resolutions, which most people forget about
at the end of the month and December when they realised that the year is
coming to an end and they are well behind in meeting their set goals.

“In Nigeria, statistics revealed that people use the gym more at the
beginning of every quarter. The reasons why people don’t really take
this serious could probably be attributed to pursuit of the issues of
life. Technology has been designed to make life easier and with
believing that technology should be a part of everyday life, Google
organised ‘Get Fit with Google’ to demonstrate how mobile devices can be
incorporated in fitness regimens to improve the efficacy of workout
sessions,” he said.

The introduction of the device is capable of enticing one to use the
gym more often. With the device serving as a personal trainer, stop
watch, fitness motivator, training partner finder among others, going to
gym could in no time transcend into a routine.

And because one’s fitness efforts extend beyond just cardio, Google
Fit app presents a whole lot of smarter options when it comes to
strength training. For instance, if you have an Android Wear watch, you
can start a daily challenge and your timepiece will automatically detect
and count each sit-up, push-up, squat and amount of calories lost. This
info will also now be added to your daily activity, offering a more
complete picture of your overall fitness.

The android wear (wristwatch) is loaded with limitless android
features connected to an android phone and a simple voice command of ‘OK
Google’, the world is just a click away.

While showcasing the modus operadi of the device at a group session,
Analytical Lead at Google, Mr Abdulsalam Abdullateef demonstrated how a
variety of Android apps and Android wearable devices (wristwatch) could
be used during exercise and how they could be used to make daily
activities much easier.

 Activities like checking the weather news, asking for directions,
surfing the internet, taking dictation among other functions, using apps
like Tabata and Fit App, track my fitness, which works with an
accelerometer on Android smart watches to measure distance walked,
calories burned, heart rate, during workouts.

Participants at the events also had the luxury of a firsthand
experience of how the device works when they were put through their
paces with aerobics exercises, including cycling and a Zumba session to
keep fit.