{"id":453000,"date":"2026-02-02T05:18:12","date_gmt":"2026-02-02T05:18:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/453000\/"},"modified":"2026-02-02T05:18:12","modified_gmt":"2026-02-02T05:18:12","slug":"personal-trainers-use-wearable-tech-to-track-clients-every-move","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/453000\/","title":{"rendered":"Personal trainers use wearable tech to track clients\u2019 every move"},"content":{"rendered":"

Monitoring heart rate, breathing efficiency and recovery to enhance performance is no longer the preserve of professional athletes.<\/p>\n

The rise of wearable tech is helping gyms to turn into Big Brother, as personal trainers analyse their clients\u2019 every move through smartwatches, exercise bikes and heart-monitoring headphones.<\/p>\n

They say it\u2019s the ultimate way to get fit, while acknowledging that clients who agree to be tracked to this extent must place great trust in their coaches.<\/p>\n

Sales of home treadmills and smart bikes with five-figure price tags are booming.<\/p>\n

Gareth Joyce, chief executive of the Wahoo Fitness brand of indoor cycling equipment, said the devices\u2019 popularity was driven by a desire for data over guesswork.<\/p>\n

\"Wahoo<\/p>\n

A Wahoo bluetooth-connected indoor bike<\/p>\n

\u201cTen years ago a coach would ask, \u2018How did that session feel?\u2019 Now they can ask, \u2018What actually happened?\u2019 <\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s a big shift and one we\u2019ve seen amongst all our customers, whether their coaches are people or software platforms. The data coming from wearables, bike computers, heart-rate monitors or smart trainers [wearable tech, as opposed to work-appropriate footwear] gives a much clearer picture of how someone is really training, recovering and adapting. It takes a lot of guesswork out of it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2022 The ultimate wellness wearables<\/a><\/p>\n

Matthew Solomons, a personal trainer in Glasgow, said getting a complete picture of a client\u2019s lifestyle made it easier to help them achieve their goals.<\/p>\n

\u201cUsing tech to track nutrition, fitness and sleep is about getting into better habits and mindsets,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\"Personal<\/p>\n

Solomons works with another client, AJ Glover<\/p>\n

JAMES CHAPELARD FOR THE TIMES<\/p>\n

\u201cIt does require a degree of trust \u2014 handing over your analytics [data] \u2014 but we work under coach confidentiality and believe it or not, my clients like being made accountable. <\/p>\n

\u201cPlus \u2014 if it was a Saturday night, say, and I could see they were out very late, or maybe their resting heart-rate was raised by \u2026 a date, then I wouldn\u2019t comment on that.\u201d <\/p>\n

Solomons, who works at PureGym in Shawlands, says he is interested in a client\u2019s overall wellbeing.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor example, if you\u2019re working out a lot but you\u2019re not getting enough sleep, then you won\u2019t be seeing the results of all your hard work with the exercise \u2014 and that can have a negative effect on mental health,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cBy inputting their macros [consumption of carbohydrates, protein and fats] we can sort out snacking, mood and energy. The more data I can analyse, the more I can create a personal plan.\u201d<\/p>\n

The rise of smartwatches also help to hold gymgoers accountable, tackling the tendency to overestimate the amount they\u2019ve actually exercised.<\/p>\n

Nicola Tosh, 41, a bank worker living in Glasgow, started using a personal trainer after joining PureGym last year. Data on her workouts, steps, nutrition and sleep are shared with the PT\u2019s personal website through Tosh\u2019s Apple Watch and the smartphone app MyFitnessPal.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Solomons tracks his clients\u2019 progress through apps connected to their smartwatches<\/p>\n

\u201cSomeone else seeing when I wasn\u2019t hitting my steps goals, for instance, and calling me out on it really helped,\u201d she said. \u201cYou\u2019re much more aware of your actions when you\u2019ll be held accountable.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tosh said she had wanted to lose some weight but \u201cdidn\u2019t have a clue about\u201d how many calories to consume.<\/p>\n

\u201cHaving my PT analyse everything made it make sense. I could see what I should be aiming for each day,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Can an AI coach really be a better personal trainer than a human?<\/a><\/p>\n

AJ Glover, 31, a student, said she was initially hesitant to let a PT to see everything she was doing. <\/p>\n

\u201cI wanted to get to know my PT first before connecting my Apple Watch to their coaching site but now it\u2019s second nature to have everything analysed,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n

\u201cEven just wearing a smartwatch is motivating \u2014 I move more when I\u2019m wearing it and the analytics help me feel like I have control over my body and habits again. It\u2019s definitely worked.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joyce adds: \u201cPeople don\u2019t just want to just exercise any more. They want to understand what that exercise is doing for them.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can now see in real time how your training, your recovery, even your sleep is shaping your performance. For anyone with an athletic goal, regardless of level, that visibility is incredibly motivating.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Monitoring heart rate, breathing efficiency and recovery to enhance performance is no longer the preserve of professional athletes.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":453001,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[64,63,538,137],"class_list":{"0":"post-453000","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-fitness","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-fitness","11":"tag-health"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/453000","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=453000"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/453000\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/453001"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=453000"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=453000"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=453000"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}