Opinion post by

Roger Fingas

It’s no secret that the fitness tracking offered by Fitbit, Samsung, Google, Apple, and the like aims to help users begin and sustain their fitness journey, rather than turning them into a sprinter or a powerlifter. In this respect, their health platforms are pretty well-designed — you’ll regularly see people claiming that their Fitbit or Apple Watch helped them lose weight or gain a little muscle.

An industry-wide flaw, however, is the absence of rest days. There’s a nudge (or outright shove) to be active every day, which is admirable on the surface but can potentially create problems — whether you’re trying to burn fat or be a competitive athlete.