There are so many apps and add ons out there and hundreds being created each day. We are a society that does not do life without our phones in our hand, and we use every app and wearable imaginable to help us track everything from the number of steps we take, to the amount of calories we burn, to our heart rate.
In this book, Unplugged, Brian, Andy, and Phil take a look at what has transpired over the last 5-10 years and gives us an in depth look at how to leverage technology properly while at the same time getting back to out innate instincts that God gave us.
Brian Mackenzie is a performance Specialist who founded Power Speed Endurance, and he is an expert on breathing and performance. He has trained Olympic Gold Medalists, CrossFit Games Champions and professional athletes from football, to surfing, to MMA.
Andy Gaplin is a kinesiology professor at the center of sport performance and California State University Fullerton. Andy also has a podcast called Body of Knowledge that is pretty awesome.
Phil White is the coauthor of Waterman 2.0 and Flight Plan.
The book is written from Brian’s perspective and he says that we are sacrificing genuine deep interactions with real humans to the artificial community that online apps provide.
This is so true, and is a problem that needs to be fixed. From the words of Tim Ferris:
“Technology is an excellent tool, but a terrible master.”
Lets talk about the good part of technology:
- Motivation – anytime we have a new “toy” we want to play.
- Insightful – helps us see what we are doing
- Goals – gives us a goal to strive for or beat.
Now lets look at the negative part of technology
- Can keep us from being totally in tune with our bodies when we rely on the technology for too much guidance.
- Newness always wears off of our “toys”
- Too much DATA can be overwhelming and cause people to quit.
Now, there are pages and pages of more in-depth reasons on this in the book. The thing I love is how it opened my eyes to what is happening in our society and how we can use technology and still stay true to how God made us.
My final thoughts: Great book with great examples and studies to back up the claims. There were tons of research hours taken to make this book what it is. It could be a text book in any exercise science class in any university,but it is also an amazing read with tons of knowledge.
The problem you get when you read a book written by someone with a mind like Andy and Brain, is that it is sometimes over your head. Not this one. They have done an excellent job at writing it in a way that everyone can understand. If you care anything about your longevity of life and overall health you need to read this book.
Let us know in the comments if you read Unplugged, and what you think!
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