{"id":100073,"date":"2026-02-23T23:31:00","date_gmt":"2026-02-24T02:31:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tech.einnews.com\/article\/894952486"},"modified":"2026-02-23T23:31:00","modified_gmt":"2026-02-24T02:31:00","slug":"how-i-beat-the-excesses-of-the-silly-season-with-fitness-tech","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/2026\/02\/23\/how-i-beat-the-excesses-of-the-silly-season-with-fitness-tech\/","title":{"rendered":"How I beat the excesses of the silly season with fitness tech"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n
<\/a>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n

The silly season has been and gone, leaving many of us in our health and fitness journey worse for wear.  For someone like me, it was particularly tough.  Christmas has all of my favourite foods \u2013 plum pudding, fruit cake, mince pies, ice cream, and custard.  Did I mention plum pudding?<\/p>\n

This year, I did my best not to overindulge, as we all should, but most of all, I stayed active.  I continued my Zwift bike workouts and tracked my sleep and workouts with WHOOP, paying close attention to my sleep, recovery, and readiness for intense workouts.<\/p>\n

For a week or two, though, I did avoid the scales \u2013 let\u2019s face it, not much good can come from weighing yourself immediately after binge eating.  A couple of weeks into January, and I was back on track.<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/figure>\n
\n
\n
<\/a>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n

Renpho MorphoScan Nova Smart Scales<\/h2>\n

In case you missed the review last week, I am in love with the Renpho scales.  With them, I have been able to track not just my weight but more importantly, my body composition.  Although I did have a small blip over the holiday period, it took me just a few weeks to start seeing some progress again.<\/p>\n

The Renpho MorphoScan Nova scales have shown me that my muscle mass is increasing slightly, my fat mass is decreasing, and my overall weight is dropping \u2013 albeit slowly.   Most of all it can give me an indication of just where I am with my diet, my exercise and my overall health.<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/figure>\n

Renpho Lynx Smart Ring<\/h2>\n

At this stage, I am still using the Renpho Lynx Smart Ring<\/a>, but I feel it is a bit basic for my purposes.  For the average person, it\u2019s good, but compared to the WHOOP MG I am using, it pales in comparison. For this reason, using both is overkill, and if you have a WHOOP, you do not need the Lynx smart ring. The Lynx Smart Ring will not give you the details that the WHOOP will, but a much more basic outline.  <\/p>\n

<\/a><\/figure>\n

WHOOP MG<\/h2>\n

WHOOP is everywhere.  You see athletes everywhere wearing them, and now it seems WHOOP is pushing them into the influencer space. I am seeing many folks on YouTube wearing them \u2013 and I can see why. I don\u2019t get paid to wear one nor endorse them, but I can 100% say that if you are serious about your health and fitness, then WHOOP is the way to go \u2013 maybe not the full MG version but the level underneath that is the sweet spot for most folks.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
<\/a>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n
<\/a><\/figure>\n

WHOOP is able to give me so many different health and fitness measurements and not just the measurements but put them into meaningful formats and explain what they mean.  Still not sure?  Just ask the AI Coach built into the WHOOP app and it will explain it to you and offer suggestions to improve whatever you asked about.<\/p>\n

Now you do need to be careful, I\u2019ve neglected to manually input anything into my WHOOP app for a few weeks now and the results show \u2014 it hasn\u2019t been picking up some of my workouts, especially the resistance workouts in the gym. As such, the WHOOP app thinks I am being more sedentary than I actually am and has adjusted my WHOOP age accordingly. I need to pay more attention to that. It goes to show, though, that even the best tech still needs you to pay attention to it and not rely on it entirely if you want accurate results.<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/figure>\n
<\/a><\/figure>\n

Zwift Ride<\/h2>\n

Let\u2019s not forget about the Zwift Ride<\/a>.   Sure the gym is good for some things but sitting on a bike or treadmill at the gym is just plain old boring.  I\u2019ve been trying out different workouts and courses on the Zwift app to help keep me fresh.<\/p>\n

The sheer number of possible challenges you can try, the groups you can join, and the included workouts are astounding.  I am still a fan of using my own custom-created workout, as I can get a good workout with it in under 25 minutes.  <\/p>\n

\n
<\/a><\/figure>\n
<\/a><\/figure>\n
<\/a><\/figure>\n
<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n

This has allowed me to keep my cardio workouts consistent at three times per week \u2013 being able to wake up and stumble down to the garage to jump on the bike for a quick workout has been a big help.<\/p>\n

\n
<\/a><\/figure>\n
<\/a><\/figure>\n
<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n

I was recently having issues with getting the WHOOP connected to the Zwift app \u2013 no more.  Of course, the WHOOP band is only able to connect to a single device at a time so I had to turn Bluetooth off on my phone for it to then become available to connect to the Zwift app.  Win.<\/p>\n

At this stage, my only issue with Zwift is the cost \u2013 it is not cheap, and although the entire ecosystem is impressive, the outlay for the bike plus a subscription is prohibitive.  This is for serious folks and cyclists only.<\/p>\n

\n
<\/figure>\n
<\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n

So, where am I with my health and fitness?<\/h2>\n

Although I have not lost as much weight as I would have hoped to by now, I\u2019ve done it safely, navigated the excesses of the holiday season, and managed to still lose some weight.<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/figure>\n

What this all means is that I\u2019ve lost nearly 5kg since I started the fitness kick in Early December, my body fat percentage has gone down and my muscle mass has increased. That\u2019s a win in my opinion. I do need to get my bloods tested again but I dare say, with the focus I\u2019ve had in these last few months, that they will also be improved. Using the scales, I was able to print out a report, and although the formatting needs some work by Renpho, this is something you can forward to your doctors, physician or trainer.<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/figure>\n

This sounds great but it seems that my WHOOP MG has other thoughts. According to it, my health age is now 54 (I am only 52) but looking closer sat it, it hasn\u2019t been automatically recording my workouts for some reason. The Zwift bike workouts are not included, even though the WHOOP was connected to the app. Gym workouts were not detected, but maybe that is because I have been wearing it on my forearm, as it gets in the way on my wrist, and the bicep sleeve is annoying. I\u2019ll start wearing it on my bicep again and see if that helps the workouts pick up.<\/p>\n

Not as scary as I first thought. It\u2019s strange that the WHOOP MG automatically picked up my golf sessions but not a workout \u2014 obviously, the forearm location does not work for that. That doesn\u2019t explain the Zwift cycling workout in the morning though \u2014 I\u2019ll have to ask WHOOP about that. Maybe it\u2019s because there\u2019s very little arm movement, just an increase in heart rate?<\/p>\n

<\/a>
Not me, but WHOOP bicep placement<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Final Conclusion<\/h2>\n

There are many different fitness products on the market and many of them have features that overlap to some degree. As you may have noticed in my fitness posts, not all of them are altogether useful. In the end, it depends on what you need from your products and what you think will help you along your health and fitness journey.<\/p>\n

For me, a high-end tracker is essential. By this I mean: <\/p>\n