Dynamic Dialogue with Danny Matranga - 358: The Latest in Fitness/Health Tech in 2024

Episode Date: February 1, 2024

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Starting point is 00:00:00 Hey, everybody, welcome in to another episode of the Dynamic Dialogue podcast. As always, I'm your host, Danny Matranga. And in this episode, we're going to be discussing the latest in fitness tech, gadgetry, apps, recovery tools, activity trackers, and more. I think that technology has become an interesting partner in our goal of living healthier, oftentimes to our benefit, of course, but very clearly to our detriment at times as well. So how is it that you can take advantage of tech and take advantage of these incredible advancements, really, in various different technologies to improve your health without becoming a slave
Starting point is 00:00:53 to the data, so to speak. So I think you guys will really enjoy the episode as we kind of unpack what really is happening as we transition into a more futuristic world of fitness. Enjoy. as we transition into a more futuristic world of fitness. Enjoy. This episode is brought to you in special part thanks to our awesome partners over at Ice Barrel. If you're like me, you want to get the absolute most you can out of your fitness and out of what it is that you're doing in life. I like to make sure that I'm recovering well and prepped for hard workouts. I like to make sure that my cognition is sharp, and I like to make sure that I'm doing what I can to maintain my long-term health. And cold water immersion is a phenomenal tool I use and have used for a while to help me do this. Cold water immersion or taking
Starting point is 00:01:34 ice baths is a great way to improve your recovery and performance. Just a few short sessions a week can really make a difference in how you recover. It can increase and improve your heart rate variability. It can enhance performance. It improves mood and brain function. It also provides an awesome boost of energy and focus because when you hop in an ice bath and you get this amazing vasoconstriction effect and your body starts releasing epinephrine and norepinephrine, it kind of lets you reenter the world awake, energized, excited, and enthused. And I would much rather take an ice bath in the mid-afternoon, especially if I had a hard training session in the morning, than consume more caffeine. Ice Barrel allows me to do this in a super sleek, aesthetically pleasing packaging. It's a beautiful barrel that comes
Starting point is 00:02:18 with a matching lid for keeping the ice cold and water inside clean, a nice step-up stool, a cover. It's portable and durable, and it comes in a beautiful matte black and a gorgeous tan. I have the matte black out on my patio, and I absolutely love the way it looks with the fencing I have around the yard, but you can put this inside, outside, on the front porch, on the back porch, in the side yard. It's quite portable. It's very durable. Like I said, the design is super, super sleek, and it's very easy to drain to make sure that you are only getting in to cold, clean water designed to help you improve your performance, improve your recovery, enhance the way your brain feels and functions throughout the
Starting point is 00:02:54 day. This is an amazing one-time cost tool that once you have it, you use it a couple times a week. It is one of the best investments you can make in your health. And again, if you want to improve your cognition and performance, and you have those midday lulls, or you want to be more present for your family or for your friends when you get off of work, and you don't want to caffeinate, temperature modulation like ice baths or cold exposure or sauna heat exposure can be really valuable for increasing that subjective sense of well-being and bringing you back to a place of alertness in a really chaotic world. It's also great for just cultivating resilience. I find I'm much tougher. Again, this is a more anecdotal thing, but I find that I am much tougher, ready to face the day's tasks when I am
Starting point is 00:03:35 consistently exposing myself to the elements. Call it bromeopathy, call it anecdote, but I will tell you one thing is for sure, cold water immersion has made a huge difference for my health and wellbeing and just a few short sessions a week. And ice barrel is the sleekest, best looking, cleanest, and most affordable way to do it reliably. You can head over to icebarrel.com slash Danny to take advantage of their 100% satisfaction guaranteed with again, a 30 day money back guarantee and save 125 bucks on your ice barrel using the promo code Danny. So again, icebarrel.com slash Danny and check out using the promo code Danny to save 125 bucks. First and foremost, you know, I'm excited about the technology that's changing our lives. I think that we are at a junction with, you know, social media,
Starting point is 00:04:27 where things have become a little sticky. And, you know, I believe we went through a similar cycle with the internet. And I think now with, you know, the large language models, the chat GPTs of the world, the Google Geminis of the world, we're going to see changes. Again, I think it's like a third wave technological revolution. I think the internet revolutionized how we interact with technology. It made access to information no longer an issue. Social media, in a way, revolutionized like a second wave how we interface with technology. It made things more interconnected and social. And with it, It made things more interconnected and social. And with it, there are consequences. As somebody who has a presence on social media, I would say that even though social media does give you
Starting point is 00:05:14 a lot of exposure to well-intentioned, high-quality purveyors of information across various fields, if you listen to this podcast, it's because you like my critiques and my opinions and punditry about fitness, living healthier, getting the most out of your time in fitness so that the other areas of your life that matter can really thrive. I'm just struck by the negativity and the weight of social media, despite the Andrew Hubermans of the world, despite the Jeff Nippards of the world, the Mike Israels of the world, and then people who I think just contribute so positively, who social media allows us to have access to. There's so many people I'm not naming that make great health and fitness content. But my point is, all of the access is weighed down by the actual negative health effects of using the product. I think we know now that
Starting point is 00:06:17 chronic use of social media is quite bad for us. But I still think it's an interesting technology. But here we are again with a third wave of artificial intelligence and seeing how people are beginning to use it already and thinking about how that will ultimately enhance people's health and fitness. I am hopeful, dare I even say excited, because people have really been struggling with their health. It's getting worse. I think we have the access to the information. I think most people have access to the information that they need to make the changes to live healthier. It's just very hard to integrate the habits and behaviors long-term and avoid the more seductive elements of our culture like enjoying the shit out of food and alcohol and engaging in sedentary behaviors that are super dopaminergic like video
Starting point is 00:07:14 games or streaming or all the things that make us more sedentary than we know we should be. So I'm hopeful that technology can pull us from this. That said, I understand that there's probably a lot of skepticism from many of you who listen with regards to technology and fitness and artificial intelligence. So I will try to stick on the simple and practical line here. We won't get too into the weeds. Everybody has an opinion on these things. I'm just letting you know, Um, you know, everybody has an opinion on these things. I'm just letting you know, I am fairly optimistic. That will be kind of my position as we talk about fitness tech and all that. So, you know, my goal is to just look at the accessible tech, uh, that, you know, nothing crazy or out of the realm of what's practical. I think these will be things that you're either familiar with,
Starting point is 00:08:11 or if you're not, the learning curve with regards to usage and integration shouldn't be all that steep. So I think the first point to really touch on here, or the first category, are wearables. And what wearables may or may not be worth your time in 2024 as we kind of, you know, continue to integrate technology. And wearables are not new. There actually are, you know, wearable companies and wearable brands and, you know, just wearable technologies that have existed for much longer than even, you know, Fitbit, which in my opinion, as a brand, is kind of being phased out just by the dominance of Apple in the tech world. We'll talk about Apple throughout the podcast today. But long before there was Fitbit, there was Polar, and there were companies before Polar that specialized in monitoring heart rate
Starting point is 00:09:05 and then, you know, delivering that information directly to you, um, in the form of data, usually to a wrist wearable. So you could see your heart rate, you could see your rough caloric expenditure. And then Fitbit came along and added steps and prompts and, you know, text message integration, smartphone integration, which was great. But when everybody transitioned to, you know, an iPhone, I'd say this is like circa 2000 and maybe 2015. You know, I don't remember when the first Apple iPhone came out. I think it was 2007. Let's find out here. Original Apple iPhone release. 2007. Yeah. June 29th, 2007. So I think it took a while, but I'd say around 2015, like the percentage of people using an iPhone,
Starting point is 00:10:00 like really, really tipped so that the majority of the smartphone market was using iOS. And when they launched the Apple Watch, because of how seamless the integration is between those two products, Apple Watch kind of took over. And, you know, Apple is in itself a luxury brand more than it is anything else. You know, it is, of course, a technology company, but it is a technology company with a substantial amount of status, particularly luxury status, associated with it. It means something to have an iPhone. It means something to have a MacBook. It's a prestigious brand with a heavy price tag tag and it is good technology. There's no denying it, especially the UI. Like they're very easy to use technologies, but, um, you know, Apple watch
Starting point is 00:10:52 was a sexier, more, uh, clearly marketable product. I, and of course the fitness aesthetic that is AirPods, we're not going to talk about that, but it is rather interesting when you, you know, critique the kind of current fitness aesthetic. Apple Watch and AirPods are like a kind of very frequent component of the traditional fitness chick aesthetic. You know, you have the AirPods and you have the Apple Watch and you track your workout and your steps and your rings and all of this. And it is just become totally ingrained. So from a like wearable wrist tracker thing, I think we'll talk mostly about Apple watch and you know, that technology we'll talk about straps like whoop, which are a little bit different. Um, they offer more features.
Starting point is 00:11:43 Uh, we'll talk about Aura Ring and kind of keep it there. So those are kind of the big wearable technologies that I get the most questions about and that I think really stand out in terms of like, okay, who are the brand leaders? Who are the big names, the product engineers that are making stuff that's really sticking? engineers that are making stuff that's really sticking. Is this the most affordable stuff? No, but this is the most popular, most asked about, et cetera. So starting with Apple Watch, how do I feel about an Apple Watch? Do I think you should have an Apple Watch? Do I think there's utility to an Apple Watch? First off, I don't have one. I've been thinking about getting one, but I don't have one. And what I'm interested in is the aerobic tracking capabilities and the step
Starting point is 00:12:33 counting capabilities because I do enjoy seeing that data. I am a data head in that way. I don't have one because I don't like the idea of more notifications coming at me. I live with kind of notification overload as many of you do. And I don't love the idea of constantly getting the buzzes in my pocket when my phone's in there on my wrist as well. It makes me a little bit uneasy. I feel like I'm, like I said, notification overload as is. So turning the notifications off and just using it for the steps and the aerobic tracking is interesting to me. That said, I haven't made the decision to opt into having one because those are the two data points I would use and caloric expenditure with these particular devices is pretty inaccurate in my opinion. So if I'm only really using it for two data points, it's not for me. And I would argue if
Starting point is 00:13:35 you're only going to be using it for steps and tracking your cardiovascular activity, and you're going to actually enjoy the feature of having notifications pass through to another device, then it may be worth it. Because I think there is something to gamifying and quantifying different micro behaviors that can drive up a good or positive or desired outcome. So you want to be fitter. Having the Apple Watch cost money, putting it on your wrist shows some form of status. I believe those things immediately give you a jolt in motivation and maybe identifying with like, I am doing the thing. I invested some money in this. Investing your money into a particular outcome is for sure a good idea if you want to
Starting point is 00:14:22 increase your likelihood of sticking with it. I think having metaphorical skin in the game really makes a difference. So it's like buying an Apple Watch with the intention of using all of the fitness features that it's capable of is probably a net positive for most people, despite the cost associated with it. And if you can get past the fact that the calorie tracking leaves a lot to be desired, let's say, and the inaccuracies there aren't the fault of the manufacturer, it's just more the difficulty in assessing humans and how dynamic metabolism is, then I think it's a good product. Now, Whoop is similar and I think has many, if not all of the same capabilities, but it also generates various scores and different data sets to help you get a greater
Starting point is 00:15:13 kind of look at your recovery. I don't think most people need that much data. So this is, in my opinion, where I kind of will draw the line on what I believe is practical. I have clients who have whoops. I know many people who have whoops. I've never had a whoop or used a whoop. I do think that some of the data, additional data like HRV and perhaps the sleep data specifically can really add a lot of value to assessing your health. And I think for most of you, that is data that would be of benefit, but you can also simplify it and just be like, how do I feel? And one, what time did I fall asleep? And what time did I wake up? Or what time did I go to bed? And what time did I wake up? You can fairly accurately gauge sleep and in my opinion, readiness without this level of technology.
Starting point is 00:16:11 That said, if you're a data nerd, if you love data and you're all about it, I think a Whoop could be a cool addition to your routine. And I think it could drive some positive outcomes and give you even more information than an Apple Watch, which is designed to function as an activity tracker, but that's not its entire kind of job, so to speak. Whereas Whoop is clearly a fitness product designed to kind of give all of its firepower, let's say, to the generation of fitness data. The last one, also very popular in the wearable space, is Oura Ring, another product, again, I have not yet used. I know people who have used them. I have many clients who have them. I would think about it as similar to a Whoop in that it can generate great data beyond that, that I think you could get from an Apple watch. Um, and it is a ring instead of being a strap. So that might be aesthetically
Starting point is 00:17:13 more up your alley. Um, you know, that might bring with it again, a sense of status. They come in these shiny, bright colors, you know, cool metals, just like jewelry. So, you know, it's something you can wear and maybe that elevates your buy-in or your commitment. I think that's where a lot of these technologies really drive change is just in the level of investment from the person who has chosen to purchase the technology, right? So if you made the decision to get the technology, in this case, it's the Oura Ring or the Apple Watch or the Whoop, that represents a greater level of investment than not. And that will, for most people, drive outcomes greater than when there is no skin in the game.
Starting point is 00:18:01 You're going to use the data. And a lot of people, after a couple months, they just say, fuck it, I'm not going to use it anymore. So be it. But for some, hey, I have this thing. Let's see what it can do. I'm going to put it to use. I paid good money for it. Let's maximize it. Hey, I'm really wanting to make a change. I'm going to invest in a wearable. That's where these things drive changes. I think for people who like the data, who can use the data, who aren't intimidated by the data, who don't get paralysis by analysis, these are cool tools. Of course, native to smartphones is the technology that is applications. There's so many apps in the fitness space. There's so many different things on your phone specifically that you can use to improve your fitness, nutrition, and your routines. I do think smartphone use is
Starting point is 00:18:53 obviously ubiquitous with anyone listening because I think 98% of the listens to this podcast are on smartphones. So I know one thing about you guys, and that's that there's an extremely high chance you're listening to this on a smartphone. So what technologies, what apps, what products exist for smartphones that are not wearable per se, but that I think can really meaningfully enhance fitness? The first is a quality macro tracking or nutrition tracking app. I really like MacroFactor, which I've used. I really like Macrofactor, which I've used. I really like MyFitnessPal, which I have used. These are really great high UI, meaning easy to use UI and user interface with food scanning, with weighing, with huge libraries of food to help you better understand your caloric
Starting point is 00:19:47 intake. I don't think there is anything you can do that will better improve the quality of your training, the quality of your health, the quality of your weight loss journey, or your just general journey to better health and productivity and having energy, etc., than knowing what you put in your mouth. What's going on, guys? Coach Danny here, taking a break from the episode to tell you about my coaching company, Core Coaching Method, and more specifically, our one-on-one, fully tailored online coaching program. My online coaching program has kind of been the flagship for core coaching method for a while. Of course, we do have PDF programming and we have app-based programming. But if you want a truly tailored one-on-one experience with a coach like myself or a member
Starting point is 00:20:33 of my coaching team, someone who is certified, somebody who has multiple years of experience working with clients in person online, somebody who is licensed to provide a macro nutrition plan, somebody who is actually good at communicating with clients because they've done it for years, whether that be via phone call, email, text, right? This one-on-one coaching program is really designed to give you all the support you need. With custom training designed for you, whether you're training from home, the gym, around your limitations, and your goals, nothing cookie cutter here, as well as easy to follow macro nutrition programs that are non-restrictive.
Starting point is 00:21:09 You'll get customized support directly from your coach's email or they'll text you or they'll WhatsApp you. We'll find the communication medium that best supports your goals as well as provides you with accountability in the expertise you need to succeed, as well as biofeedback monitoring, baked-in accountability support, and all of the stuff that you need from your coach when you check in. We keep our rosters relatively small so that we can make sure you get the best support possible. But you can apply today by going over to corecoachingmethod.com, selecting the online coaching option. And if we have spots available, we'll definitely reach out to you to see if you're a good candidate. And if we don't,
Starting point is 00:21:49 we'll put you on a waiting list, but we'll be sure to give you the best shot at the best coaching in the industry. So head over to corecoachingmethod.com and apply for one-on-one coaching with me and my team today. The nutrients, both macro and micro and the calories. That is, and always, in my opinion, will be the greatest input you have to improve your health outside, of course, of things like maybe exercise and sleep, which even then I still think I'd give the nod to nutrition. Nutrition is key. And there are some amazing apps that make tracking what you eat, journaling and logging what you eat very easy. And I'm of the impression that anybody who's looking to get a handle on their weight or to feel better,
Starting point is 00:22:29 you know, or to move a little better, you need to spend some time diarying, if that's even a verb, logging, tracking, and being mindful and calculated and intentional about what it is you're eating. Striving for targets is awesome. But even if you're not, and you're trying to eat more intuitively, which is all the rage, or maybe it's, you know, with a focus on protein and fiber, which I always recommend, even just tracking some targets or tracking and seeing how high of the protein intake or fiber intake you can get, or if you can keep your calories below 2000 or below 1700 or below 2500 or whatever, maybe you want to gain some muscle and you want to eat a little more.
Starting point is 00:23:11 It can be that too. But I still think that the fitness app tracking, calorie tracking apps are quite good. And I'm a big fan of MyFitnessPal and MacroFactor. I'm also a huge fan of the Notes app on my phone and Google Calendar and any of the various calendar or reminder apps on your phones for scheduling workouts. I find that keeping a digital calendar is really, really helpful for me. And it makes me feel quite a bit better about not missing workouts, making sure things get done, giving me a place to coordinate and put thoughts specific to my fitness. I have a note category for my fitness, for my training. I log all of my training in the Train Heroic app. We'll talk about that in a minute, but specifically calendar tracking, time blocking, efficiency optimizing, the way in which you can
Starting point is 00:24:09 seamlessly integrate calendars from work, from personal, on these various calendar apps, whether it's Apple Calendar, it could be Google Calendar, it could be Reminders, it could be whatever. There's really a built-in layer of structure to our lives now digitally with these technologies that can make, hey, you keep telling me that you do not have time to work out. And it's like, maybe you don't, but I call bullshit until we can sit down, look at a calendar and block out some time. And if at no point we can make that work, it's just not going to happen. can make that work. Like it's just not going to happen. Like I'm like, we go through all 24 hours of the day and no matter what we do, we can't carve out time to work out like, okay, then I believe it. But with a lot of these technologies, they allow for easy time blocking. You can
Starting point is 00:24:57 schedule your whole workday, your whole commute, your time with your family, your time with kids and see if just generally there is a window in which these, you know, things can happen. Like they can still, um, you know, get done. And there's almost always gaps. There's almost always blocks. There's opportunities for sure, for sure for workouts to happen, but it's much harder if you don't have a plan. And I find if you have people sit down in front of one of these unbelievably easy to use calendar apps and just block things out, like, oh my goodness, does it like all of a sudden reveal, oh, I didn't think I had time, but you know, there's a huge chunk right there. Okay. Well, what do you usually do in that huge chunk? Oh, I scroll TikTok or, oh, I stream time, but there's a huge chunk right there. Okay. Well, what do you usually do in that huge chunk? Oh, I scroll TikTok or oh, I stream. Those are the moments where the workouts get done,
Starting point is 00:25:52 maybe where the meal preps get done, the small granular habits that so many people say they don't have time for. So apps that allow you to better manage your time and allocate time and block time are huge. I think there's some great fitness tracking apps. There's the Strong app. I log all my training that I'm doing right now in Train Heroic, which is my app. I use Train Heroic to host three different group training programs, all of which are awesome. Train Heroic has great user interface. So it's super easy. It keeps track of data. It actually tells you when you hit specific PRs on various volumes. Very easy to use. Very fun. All the tutorials for every exercise, the sets, the reps, it's all in there.
Starting point is 00:26:39 And I'm just following the Forever Fit program right now. That's what I'm now. When I go to the gym, I do a workout from Forever Fit because basically my live programming is in that program. So I like Train Heroic. I like actually using pen and paper. I like logging workouts in notes. I think there's so many great tools for logging your workouts. Like I said, you can use the Strong app. There's really no reason not to log that. If you don't want to be on your phone, which I totally respect, and for most people, I do think maybe that's the right move because goodness gracious, it's hard to be on your phone in the gym all the time and not get distracted. But you could use a composition book in that case and just log your workouts by hand. And I think that's really
Starting point is 00:27:28 important too, but it's not quite on the smartphone. I'm also a super big fan of apps like TickTick, which allow not TikTok TickTick. It's like a scheduling optimization app, very helpful for time management. I use reminders on my phone quite a bit. So I can actually have Siri remind me of something I'd like to get done or that I've made time for. Apple Health, something that all phones have. Even if you do not have an Apple Watch, you can just go to your phone and check health and you'll find quite a bit of information about your sleep, your steps, your movement. You'll even find headphone audio levels and suggested headphone audio levels for your auditory help, shall we say, I think it's really important in the long run to pay attention to various different components of your health. And there's some fairly robust health tracking. You can use this app, for example, to track your cycle. If you do have an Apple Watch,
Starting point is 00:28:38 there's some pretty interesting integration for the heart rate data and such. And the tracking there, there's a mental well-being tracker. There's a respiratory well-being tracker. Some pretty interesting stuff that gets worked in at the higher levels when you have the Apple Watch. But Apple Health at its base has some cool stuff that might be encouraging to check out. Another category of things I wanted to hit on that I thought was interesting is like the integration of virtual reality and likely soon augmented reality in fitness and kind of just the gamification of fitness through these tools. Like it's pretty remarkable to me just how, you know, rapid these technologies are advancing. Like, I'm not sure if many of you are familiar, but like in the original video gaming days, there were VR headsets
Starting point is 00:29:35 that you could put on and they like made everybody super dizzy and like want to throw up and fucked up their emotion. Like I said, like, it was just super funny to watch like the infancy of vr because vr came to us as a technology through gaming and like growing up i quite enjoyed playing video games legend of zelda pokemon when i first started um and then transitioned more into like xbox and playstation and out of nintendo with the exception of Pokemon and Zelda, which I've always played and will still play to this day even. But the technologies for home video game was Microsoft and Sony making Xbox and PlayStation, and they both went very heavy at VR, but it was just not easy to generate for home use. And it still hasn't totally blown up in the gaming space,
Starting point is 00:30:26 but I see more and more VR in the fitness space and finding ways to enhance workouts for people by making it less boring. And you're not using true VR on a Peloton or something or a Nordic track, but I see so many technologies where now they will simulate the space around you on your spin bike so as to improve the journey that is the class and make it feel like you're riding in the Alps or something. And I constantly see things for VR with fitness now for ads. You put this on and it will generate a bunch of different programs. Maybe it's a boxing program where you see your opponent, or it's a weightlifting program where as you go up and down,
Starting point is 00:31:11 you're playing a Flappy Bird style game. There's so many interesting things. I think this could be a thing. What I really think is it probably will just, just like it did in the gaming space, appeal to a very small percentage of people, but the technology itself will never hit mass appeal. There are certain home products that I think are really cool because most of this would be done at home. Things like Peloton and products like Peloton are very popular. They have a very popular community. Good way to get your aerobic fitness a little on the pricey side. Again, another kind of status brand, um, things like tonal or mirror, which are kind of, uh, you know, they're not VR
Starting point is 00:31:58 true VR, but there is a component of resistance training baked into a little bit of like, Hey, this, this television interface will show you how to do the exercise with the cables, which use these really interesting systems that are more minimalist. So they would go better in a small home space than a free motion cable machine. But there's all these unique home cable machines. There's been a huge boon in just having a home gym. That's very normal. And there's a lot of interesting home gym technologies that are kind of cool, whether it's adjustable dumbbells, adjustable kettlebells, all kinds of different things. Nike is now making home fitness equipment. And Nike is kind of a hybrid lifestyle clothing technology brand. So you will very shortly see Nike's strength. They call it Nike strength. Their
Starting point is 00:32:51 home gym equipment start to integrate various technologies. And I would not be surprised if they ultimately try to compete or absorb a brand like Peloton and work that into their existing brand. We already know that they kind of synced up with Apple with one of their watch products a long time ago. They used to have Nike Plus. That never really worked out for them with their running tracking, but I would never count that brand out of the space. So there's going to be more stuff for home. Um, but I think that the wearables right now and the app stuff is probably better than a lot of the VR stuff. And some of the at-home stuff is encouraging. Now, another thing that you'll see a lot of is like tech recovery tools and, um, you know, tech pain reduction tools. And I've seen foam roller, smartphone, smart rollers, vibrating rollers, percussion guns, massage guns,
Starting point is 00:33:54 you know, Norma tech boots, uh, all kinds of stuff. I mean, I'll, I'll use this kind of visual or story to drive my point home. I was walking through Best Buy a couple of months ago. I don't even remember what I was there for. I think it was some type of speaker component, um, or no, it was an extension cord. And I walked all the way to the back. And when I was walking all the way to the back, I saw adjustable dumbbells. I said, what the hell are that at Best Buy, which I think of as a total technology store, I guess they also sell certain manufacturers' washer and dryer and kitchen products because those are kitchen technologies or home technology, so to speak. I saw a rower
Starting point is 00:34:41 and a spin bike and Normate tech boots and all these different massage guns. And I was like, wait a minute, these are all technologies in a way. And they're all fitness related. And I was like, damn, this is taking up like this section, like a substantial amount of square footage in Best Buy, um, was allocated to these recovery tools, these technology enabled fitness, health enhancing recovery tools, these technology enabled fitness health enhancing recovery tools. So I thought that that was very, very interesting. Um, you know, it was,
Starting point is 00:35:12 it made me stop and kind of take pause and think, okay, there's definitely a market for this that isn't just in the fitness community. Like there's plenty of people, um, who, you know, community. There's plenty of people who are in a situation where they would be walking through Best Buy and they say, oh, that massage gun is cool. I have some chronic pain in various different parts of my body and this will help me manage it. Or they might see those adjustable dumbbells and go, oh, that would be cool. I'm going to maybe get these and start working out. That's an entry point for a lot of people just sitting in Best Buy. And maybe what gets you into fitness is the massage gun that makes your back feel better or the dumbbells that you can adjust at home or the really cool bike with the great screen and you see it in the store. I don't know, but I do see a lot of those technologies, those specifically recovery
Starting point is 00:36:06 technologies. I know I mentioned Best Buy has dumbbells and other stuff, but it was the recovery tech that made me go, wow, okay, so there's definitely a market for this. Not only that, there's a market for this with the general population, which I think is huge when you talk about, are we actually going to get traction with this at scale? And I think with fitness brands, it's like, okay, you can make a lot of money selling to fitness people, but you can make a boatload of money selling fitness to non-fitness people because most people are non-fitness people. So it's like, if you just realize the non-fitness people and go like, damn, okay, we know the fitness people would get like, if you just realize the non-fitness people and go like, damn, would the,
Starting point is 00:36:47 okay, we know the fitness people would get like, enjoy this product, but would the non-fitness people enjoy this product? And if the answer is yes, then it'll probably be great. And I think we're seeing a little bit of that with some of these recovery technologies, especially the percussion guns, because those started as sideline NBA kind of sports science tools. And then very quickly they got to gym rats. And then very quickly they got into Costco. It's like they're everywhere. And so many people have one at their house and it's like, okay, percussion massage. Is it great for health and fitness? No, it's probably not going to make a big difference, but it is an entry point product to feeling better and having your body feel better. And that is a big deal. So that's kind of my review of the current landscape of tech. I'm interested to see AI and how AI, you know, integrates itself into the fold here and all of that. But, you know, I think we're
Starting point is 00:37:47 still really early on that. I hope that technology doesn't drag us any further down or into any further decay. It seems like our connection to technology has been largely making us more sedentary and obese and depressed and anxious. So that worries me, but we're heading the direction we're heading and my podcast isn't going to stop the kind of rotation of the earth in the direction that we're going culturally. So this is my read on the tech and what I think you should do, what's worth your money. It really does come down mostly to wearables, some apps and some home tech, and there's some brands that are doing good and we'll see how how that goes with the inner wovenness of ai to come but if you like the episode be sure to hit subscribe
Starting point is 00:38:31 like uh leave a five star rating share this with somebody share to your instagram story and tag me those things all actually help the show grow a ton and the more you guys do it the faster it grows uh which makes me very happy. And I'm super grateful that you choose to listen to begin with. So, you know, knowing you can help me grow, it means even more. So I'll catch you guys on the next episode and stay healthy, keep making good decisions. And, you know, don't think you need these technologies. They're just cool to have. All right. Have a good one.

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