Athletes use fitness trackers as a tool for performance

The impact wearable technology has on the performance of athletes

Ming Wong, Editor-in-Chief

June 12, 2023

Former cross country coach Blain Willard says that when a race begins distance runners will often begin to start their watches; for cross country and track runner, sophomore Bethany Doggett, this rings true. Doggett, who owns a Garmin, got her fitness tracker as a gift from her parents, and while she doesn’t see it as a necessity, both Doggett and Willard see them as a tool that can help with performance.

For Doggett, the device has helped her push herself when her pace is slower than where she would like to be, making it a tool to keep her focused and motivated.

“I’d say there’s a small advantage for training, like staying on track,” she said. “But when it comes down to it, if I beat someone in a race, it’s not because of the watch. It doesn’t make me faster, but it’s definitely helpful and beneficial in giving me the tools I need to be faster. To train more.”

Swimmer, junior Kyle Whittier, has had a similar experience, saying his Apple Watch has provided him with data that has allowed him to target areas that need improvement in his workouts. This data has also helped him in being more knowledgeable about the intensity of a workout and knowing when to take a break.

“I think that for me personally, if I don’t have a set of numbers in front of me it can be easy to generalize or lose sight of my goals,” he said, “and the numbers for me personally really help me to stay on track and see if I’m improving or not improving.”

While Doggett does say it’s helpful to see her progress and growth in running, she has transitioned from being attentive to the data her fitness tracker provides to using it as a guide, given its lack of capability to record certain workouts.

“I do strength training, stretching, other types of activity that are not just running at a certain pace that all contribute to fitness,” she said, “but you can’t really record it as a number.”

Senior Ky Barksdale, who is also a swimmer, and Whittier allude to the different capabilities of fitness trackers as owners of both an Apple Watch and a Fitbit, saying their Apple Watch provides them with more data.

The Apple Watch will track my VO2 output, which is the number that can be applied to see general cardio fitness, whereas the Fitbit will not track that,” Whittier said, “so it’s much more in depth in the numbers that it allows you to track and what it allows you to see.”

From a coach’s perspective, Willard says that he wants athletes, whether they have a fitness tracker or not, to understand their capabilities while performing.

Prior to wearing my fitness watch to sporting events I would judge my performance based on how it felt and how hard I was breathing and just how tired I was,” Whittier said. “Whereas now I can look at it and see the numbers and see if I feel tired because that workout was harder than other ones or if I feel tired because I’m out of shape. And so I’ve come to view my workouts in a much more statistical sense.”