Most people who know me, know I love the odd bit of tech. Unfortunately, I also love the odd takeaway and I don’t love the gym. Next month, I turn 29 and I want to make sure I see plenty more of these birthday things. That’s why I’ve started my ‘Motivating Marty’ movement.
What is Motivating Marty all about?
While I don’t enjoy peeling myself off the couch for the gym, I actually like exercise – even the gym. Street running, or running in the park falls in behind 5-a-side football as my preference of exercise. I just don’t do enough of it. Then there’s my terrible diet. Another thing I need to address, but I’ve said it all before. Which is why I need motivation, motivation like the world watching for example. That’s why I’m adopting tech for the job.
How will tech help motivate you?
Well, through the wonders of technology, I’m connecting lots of different devices to social media. Take the Withings Smart Scales that I use to weigh myself. Using IFTTT, I’ve connected my weighing scales to Twitter.
Right now, I'm weighing in at 106.97. #MotivatingMarty
— Motivating Marty (@MotivatingMarty) April 3, 2017
Could you imagine having someone looking over your shoulder at every weigh-in, waiting to tweet out your weight to the world? Believe it or not, that’s exactly what I’m doing. Every time I stand up there, IFTTT fires my weight to my new dedicated Twitter account for the world to see. It might be your worst nightmare, but it’s a huge motivator for me.
I’ve connected my weighing scales to Twitter
Good lord. What else will you be using?
To improve that number that gets tweeted out, I gotta keep moving. I’ll be tracking my efforts using the Jawbone UP app. Jawbone are best known for wearables, but they also have a great app which links to my Huawei Watch. You’ll only get Twitter updates when I hit my daily step goal. No updates either means I’ve had a lazy day or forgot my watch.
But it’s not all about exercise. Actually, I’m sure many would say my diet alone is the easiet win for my health! Using MyFitnessPal, I’ll be tracking what I eat for major meals and of course for snacks. This will then be relayed to Jawbone’s UP app, where IFTTT flings it to Twitter. There’s no hiding at all for me.
Just ate! I had Snacks and that was 89.81 #MotivatingMarty
— Motivating Marty (@MotivatingMarty) April 3, 2017
Think you want to follow or help Motivate Marty?
The dedicated hashtag will be very important over the coming months. Everything I post on Goos3D’s Instagram with #MotivatingMarty will also be shared over to Twitter, again using IFTTT. If you think I’m taking it handy, let me know. The more support I get the better. There’ll be a dedicated Motivating Marty section for reviews of the latest fitness apps on Goos3D.ie in the coming weeks.