WTF! Why do people cheat on fitness apps?

[Mr. Coffee]

I never used fitness apps in m life and don't see why someone would do it, just doens't make any sense

Everybody is different. AFAIK nobody is going to force you to use a fitness app.

There are actual dystopian sci-fi novels that talk about how fitness apps could be used to oppress people. My first thought is that the challenge would be to get everyone to use the same app. And that ain't happening anytime soon.

 

[Chargeride]

Loud exhausts drive me nutty, throughout my petrol head days everyone wanted a loud exhaust, either taking out the innards or removing it completely.
Middle age born a again motorcyclists are the worst, spend 15 grand on bike, then another three on a straight through system that makes the bike run like
a box of spanners.
I would do the exact opposite, fitting large exhausts to noisy bikes and now I think my Haibike is a bit whiny under load .

I bought an ex rally fully prepared turbo ford back in the 80s, it had a completely straight through exhaust, the guy was revving it up like I would be impressed.
I've got the original in the garage he said.
I took it to his surprise and fitted it the next day.
Being European it was a 1600cc four cylinder petrol engine that made 200hp, back in the 80s that was Ferrari beating.

 

[Jeremy McCreary]

I never used fitness apps in m life and don't see why someone would do it, just doens't make any sense

Sure it does. Fitness and athletic performance are primary goals for some, and if they find apps useful for goal-setting, performance tracking, feedback, and the like, why not? Not for me, but I get it.

SoCal has a strong fitness culture and a climate that encourages outdoor exertion without much clothing. Doesn't take long to figure out that a lot of people here take their fitness quite seriously.

Lots of fast unmotorized roadies here, too. I'll be pulling 200W of rider power in lowest assist, and these guys and gals fly right by — even on climbs. They may be working hard, but most of them look pretty happy about it.

It took determination and effective training to ride like that. Not for me, but if that's what they want, and an app helps them get it, why not?

 

[Mr. Coffee]

Training. That brings up another pet peeve I have.

Heart rate monitors have revolutionized training for endurance sports. The fact that they are inexpensive and widely available has also taught us some pretty wild things about physiology as well. Which is always kind of cool.

The fact is that with proper use of a heart rate monitor, you can train much more efficiently and your training can be more personally focused rather than a one-size-fits-all training program. That won't matter just for super athletes, but also normal people. It could mean if you were exercising five hours per week, you could get the same (or often better) health benefits with three hours per week of more precise effort. And that wouldn't necessarily be more intense effort either.

All of that assumes you can use an HRM properly, and have the proper information and tools to make use of it while you exercise. Unfortunately nobody makes the app that puts all of that information together in a format that you can use while you are riding your bike (or running, or swimming, or cross country skiing). And some of the numbers you need to figure out (like your maximum heart rate and VO2 max) are hard to estimate reliably, and measuring them basically involves torturing yourself. And for the whole thing to be effective you need good estimates of those numbers.

It is just kind of a bummer that nobody is making that app.