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I had a similar experience that I struggled to understand until now. Thanks to the article, I can approach it from a fresh perspective. I enjoy cycling, runnin

I had a similar experience that I struggled to understand until now. Thanks to the article, I can approach it from a fresh perspective. I enjoy cycling, running, swimming, and sports in general. When I bought my first fitness watch and heart rate monitor, I expected to enhance my enjoyment of these activities. However, I found that the focus on achievement diminished my experience. For instance, if I recorded a slightly slower pace than before, it negatively impacted my enjoyment of the workout because I had concrete numbers to compare. Without the tracking, I could simply go for a run and feel good about it, and that was enough for me

cainxinth 1y ago
First I tracked laps when I swam. That got boring so I tracked time instead. I would try to resist the urge, but I would occasionally pop my head up to see the clock and know how much time I had left. One day, I decided to give that up too and just swim as long or as short as I wanted to that day. It was a good decision that has only increased my enjoyment of swimming and hasn’t resulted in a drop in my fitness.
Fire-Dragon-DoL 1y ago
I think it affects people differently, I'm neutral when I can't push hard, but having a tracker helps me push harder and I feel rewarded when I do. So I'm not getting the negative side of it. On the flip side, I train only for health purposes, I don't love anything of what I do, so we react differently to similar stimulus
- QuantumNoodle 1y ago
  > I think it affects people differently Absolutely! I take pleasure in simply exercising because I know how good it is for me and not orienting on performance. I suppose the old adage of "enjoy the journey, not the destination" applies. Though I recognize some folks might really enjoy the destination. It's really how the mind frames it I suppose.
  - Fire-Dragon-DoL 1y ago
    Yeah the only reason why I appreciate exercising is because my body looks good and I can lift both my kids at the same time with little effort (although my knees get affected either way, sadly). I enjoy the journey of other stuff, I wish I could enjoy more the exercise. It's not an absolute, zero, but I'd rather do anything else

cainxinth 1y ago

First I tracked laps when I swam. That got boring so I tracked time instead. I would try to resist the urge, but I would occasionally pop my head up to see the clock and know how much time I had left. One day, I decided to give that up too and just swim as long or as short as I wanted to that day. It was a good decision that has only increased my enjoyment of swimming and hasn’t resulted in a drop in my fitness.

Fire-Dragon-DoL 1y ago

I think it affects people differently, I'm neutral when I can't push hard, but having a tracker helps me push harder and I feel rewarded when I do. So I'm not getting the negative side of it. On the flip side, I train only for health purposes, I don't love anything of what I do, so we react differently to similar stimulus

QuantumNoodle 1y ago
> I think it affects people differently Absolutely! I take pleasure in simply exercising because I know how good it is for me and not orienting on performance. I suppose the old adage of "enjoy the journey, not the destination" applies. Though I recognize some folks might really enjoy the destination. It's really how the mind frames it I suppose.
- Fire-Dragon-DoL 1y ago
  Yeah the only reason why I appreciate exercising is because my body looks good and I can lift both my kids at the same time with little effort (although my knees get affected either way, sadly). I enjoy the journey of other stuff, I wish I could enjoy more the exercise. It's not an absolute, zero, but I'd rather do anything else