Train Smarter, Not Harder — How to Boost Your Training Regimen!
If you had to sit down and determine what might be the so called “in-things” of 2016 in the health and fitness industry, your mind probably races in 100 different directions. But I want to draw your attention to the explosion of functional training and, by extension, tracking one’s fitness data properly. Sure enough, browse any fitness magazine or site, and both subjects are trending. Wouldn’t it therefore make sense to utilise a platform that combined the two efficiently?
SMG’s pioneering new product FitBox is an exciting software platform that’s specifically designed to focus on this market.
Knowing where you started and how far you have come is crucial when embarking upon any fitness journey. It not only provides motivation for future workouts but also a knowledge base for where you need to be aiming — this is where FitBox comes in. Analysing your performance data and results, FitBox tracks your performance progress. It also assists in goal setting, aiming to increase for example, the amount of reps you might complete over a minute. That way you know how many reps you need to do in order to improve on yesterday’s, last week’s and last months’ performances — and that’s a vital tool in any coach’s realm, whether you’re a total rookie or an old-hand at the sport.
One thing some think of when they hear functional training is, injury. That’s just the nature of the beast.
No matter your fitness level, exercises affect individuals different. Any trainer will tell you that due to the intense nature of the exercise, injury can potentially occur when movements are not completed correctly — perhaps more so than other sports.
FitBox focuses on the health and wellness of all athletes to determine things like, motivation levels, specified muscle soreness and recovery rating data. This can provide an accurate snapshot of both pre and post-injury data, which is vital in determining when standardised training can resume. Through vigilant reporting of wellness data into the platform, the athlete can now gain an immediate visual snapshot of where they sit in comparison to their pre-injury self. In the same way, FitBox monitors completed exercises, allowing either the coach or individual to accurately determine which movement or program caused soreness or any further injuries. From this informed position, training sessions can then be tailored or recalibrated to determine movements to work on and those to avoid if possible.
Visual measures such as visual leaderboards are not only good indicators of where you sit physically in your box, but also provides the individual with a figure or goal to work towards. Likewise, FitBox monitors where the individual has been ranked on a leaderboard and how far they have progressed (or slipped). Results are published daily on the FitBox platform for all in the box to see, inspiring growth and motivation within the community. However, if you don’t like to see yourself up on a leaderboard, don’t worry. FitBox allows you to turn this functionality off, for you to continue working at your own pace.
So, next time you set foot in a gym, remember to ask if they are affiliated with FitBox — because if they have embraced the new technology it is likely to make your time in the box a lot more effective. As the saying goes “train smarter, not harder” and FitBox definitely allows you to do this. And who knows, you might even be able to teach your trainer a thing or two for a change if he or she isn’t already across the latest technology.
Naomi Wallis
Product Manager
Naomi speaks all things functional movement. She loves it so much, she adopted it into her daily fitness routine. To say sport was ingrained in Naomi is an understatement.
In fact, she loved it so much, she went on to study sports science at university and has worked for some of the best NRL teams in the country.
Her world is revolved around the sport and she brings this enthusiasm to the table every single day.
