That's my main problem with the fitness app industry at large. They are much more focused on steps, running and calories than actual fitness.

And don't get me wrong, cardio works to a good extent. For most of sedentary folks, doing anything will be better than doing nothing, and their fitness level will improve.

But real fitness is about a lot more: strength training, interval training, sports, etc. Bodyweight workouts and HIIT are a much better return for your effort than "just tracking". And so will shifting your diet towards something like paleo or low-carb, instead of just tracking calories.

Part of my frustration with the fitness ecosystem is what made me start up http://8fit.com. It's a mobile app that offers HIIT do-it-at-home workouts and low-carb meal plans.

We don't track your steps. We don't integrate fancy wi-fi scales or wearables. But you know what? If eff-ing works, and our 60k-strong userbase loves the hell out of it for the results they're seeing.

From your website it doesn't tell me anything about what your app actually does. "A fitness app for people who hate fitness" I don't hate fitness, I don't exactly love it either. I think you're pushing people away from the start.

> That's my main problem with the fitness app industry at large. They are much more focused on steps, running and calories than actual fitness.

Because that's easy to measure with accelerometers and gyros, and easy to display some numbers. Go do some stuff with your device along for the ride, see a pretty graph when you're done. Did I do more than yesterday? Hurray! Now to post it to Facebook with the handy "Share" button. I think I'm doing something (and I am, even if not optimal for fitness goals), and I don't have to think very hard about it.

The type of user your site is attracting are the people who don't pay attention to all of the step/calories stuff anyway. I'm a pretty hard-core runner (yeah, I should lift more), and step count is a mere novelty for me. There's nothing about Google Fit that attracts me (Garmin Connect keeps track of most of that stuff anyway). But I'm not their market.

There's also the social status aspect of workouts, and given the source and audience for Google's product, it completely makes sense it would track the running, steps, miles, calories, etc.

Perceptions of weightlifting and strength put exercises like that outside the realm of the upper-middle class fitness realm. http://www.psmag.com/navigation/health-and-behavior/half-lif...

And you can see that strength training or HIIT are completely left out from the announcement. Strava, Withings, Runtastic, Runkeeper and Noom Coach: all of them tracking apps, with very little emphasis on the prescriptive aspect of fitness.

People need a coach, not a tracker.

And the only way I can see that solution happening is some sort of full-body wearable, neck to toe.

I remember an Under Armor commercial demoing some sort of envisioned prototype of this kind of tech.

edit: They also have something called Armor39, a strap that goes around your chest. I am now curious. Anyone used this?

Well you have Athos clothing trackers coming out soon, which tracks muscle exertion.

Thing is although, it costs $300-$400 dollars. Runkeeper works with the phone you already have, and you can optionally add a couple of $50-$150 accessories. Very different price points.

This might have promise to what you're thinking of:

http://www.liveathos.com/

Skip the complex sensors - I'd be happy just to have a low friction interface for recording lifts.

True, but be careful to not fall into the other extreme.

There was a time when I was lifting 3 times a week, every week, bench pressing 100kg, etc. And I tried to ride a bike uphill (pretty long ride) and nearly puked my guts out.

You need both strength and endurance. And some fine motor skills, like playing ping-pong or throwing a frizbee.

And some R&R interspersed in there, regularly, otherwise you'll collapse from stress sooner or later.

It's probably impossible to have a perfect exercise regime and live a modern busy life, but the bottom line is - diversity is good.

In my daily life, I use strenght more often than I use endurance. And typing takes care of my fine motor skills.

He didn't say it was extreme strength. The extreme he was talking about was "only doing strength" as opposed to the extreme of "only doing cardio".

i am shocked that a bunch of dorks with something to prove have used this post as an opportunity to start droning on about strength training, intervals. it's almost like correlation/causation or dunning kruger

p.s the average man in a gym can't bench 100kg. maybe a rep or two with some generous spotting

That is quite an accomplishment, considering that the world record is currently only 1102 pounds, set late last year.

You clearly must be using a much smaller unit of measure, perhaps grams (1.6 kg, or roughly 3 pounds) or ounces (105 pounds). Either way, that amount of weight is considered below average for a male of average height who has been weight training for more than a few months.

A total is the sum of squat, bench press, and deadlift.

That 1102 bench is with a multiply bench shirt.

Its the basic front-end app for the Google Fit platform, an open, extensible platform for fitness data (not at all limited to cardio data.)

So, the name Google Fit makes quite a lot of sense.