13
Using A Gpsr For Exercise Feedback
Category: CommunicationsA Global Positioning System Receiver (GPSr) has many important applications and functions that help us in our daily lives. They can track people, places and things. They are used to find addresses and your way around cities. In the mountains, they are used to maintain awareness of positions. A GPSr with a breadcrumb function can show the route traveled and it can be used to backtrack to where you left your car or to a particular place. Recreationally, they are used for a game, geocaching. Outside of a small community, most people are unaware they can be used to monitor and provide instant feedback during exercises or when you are moving for place-to-place.
A portable GPSr is extremely useful when coupled with activities like biking, hiking, running and walking. Even the inexpensive versions of the GPSr have a trip function. This can be used to provide instant feedback and also a comparison against a plan. The trip function can show total time elapsed, total time moving, total time stopped, average speed and instantaneous speed. All these functions are helpful when one exercises or competes in various sports.
In walking, there are inexpensive counters and timers that count steps using the length of steps and some show time. They are hard to calibrate and very inaccurate. These are crude when compared to a GPSr because there are so many variables even when walking. The GPSr doesn’t need to know the length of your steps because it uses satellites to understand your position and your movement to a new position. If you want to maintain a certain speed during your walk, a quick glance at the average speed display will show how you are doing. Or perhaps, you might want to walk a certain distance and then return. Another glance will tell you how far you have come and when the halfway point has been reached. You can also tell if you are now moving at a speed faster or slower than the average that has been recorded so far. Instantly, you will know if you need to speed up or slow down. By glancing at the map function, you will see where you are and the route you have traveled.
How about bike racing or training where you want to be at specific points or do specific times? By adding another function of the GPSr, the waypoint, your route can be plotted in advance. A waypoint is a bookmark that the GPSr stores by its coordinate system. Then, when you’re in-route, the GPSr can tell you how you are doing using the trip functions and it can tell you how far you need to go to the next waypoint, check point, turning point, or other important feature. These are handled simply and automatically. All that is required is a little preparation before you leave and then some glances as you move along.
If you are tracking your exercise program, the GPSr keeps the record of what was done so that you may transfer the information onto your tracking forms. It is painless to record total times, distances and average speeds. The next time you exercise, try using the GPSr to track what you are accomplishing. You will be surprised at the feedback it will provide.
Michael Russell
Your Independent guide to GPS