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Why fitness trackers are for suckers: Quantified Self weekly links

1. SHADOW: The App that Hopes to Dream up the “Understood Self”

The SHADOW team is currently raising funds on Kickstarter to create an app that uses an escalating alarm to gently wake you up, and then prompt you to record your dreams. They’ve already reached their goal, with more than three weeks remaining on the campaign.

The goal is to make a massive dream database that can be used to analyze our collective subconscious thoughts and potentially be an information source for scientists who study dreams.

The Kickstarter project has an interesting angle for rewards: those who back the project get to vote on which platform it will release on first, from iOS, Android and Windows Phone.

2. LifeTrak announces the Zone C410

This is definitely the next fitness tracker on my wishlist.

The Zone C410 automatically tracks your activity during the day and night! Sleep, calories burned, steps taken and distance traveled are all recorded. Dynamic distance calibration is used for improved accuracy, while your sleep efficiency is automatically monitored based on actigraphy (micro movements). This advanced activity tracker is the only product in the marketplace to incorporate your heart rate into the calorie calculation, displaying your data right on your wrist.

Read more about the features in this press release.

3. Fitness-tracking app ARGUS has been updated for iOS7 and the M7 motion co-processor

Only a few apps have added support for the M7 so far, and ARGUS is one of them. If you like having a fitness tracker on your phone instead of a dedicated device, ARGUS is definitely worth a look (iPhone only).

4. Fitbit’s new tracker - the Fitbit Force

In case you missed it, details about Fitbit’s newest tracker to hit the market were leaked last week.

The Force will be very similar to the Flex, though it adds an altimeter and a digital watch face. It hasn’t been officially announced yet, but hopefully it will be available for purchase soon.

5. Why fitness trackers are for suckers (except when they’re not)

A nice run-down of how exactly fitness trackers help us, and how they can be misleading in the wrong situations.

The good:

“Smart pedometers are great for getting started,” says Jason Buckley, a personal trainer in Beverly Hills “especially for people who are relatively new to working out and who don’t know a lot about fitness, because they help people see progress.”

And the bad:

Dr. Seltzer also believes that smart pedometer goals have limited usefulness for people who are trying to improve their overall fitness. Goals and achievements typically involve step counts, miles walked, and stairs climbed. “Instead of increasing your step count, you should be trying to increase your intensity,” he says. “For example, you should focus on getting faster or stronger—not just doing more, regardless of intensity.”