What do you think?
Rate this book
Unplugged: Evolve from Technology to Upgrade Your Fitness, Performance & Consciousness
In the first quarter of 2016, Americans bought 19.7 million fitness wearables, an increase of 67 percent over the previous year. By 2020, the global market for fitness-focused apps and devices is expected to grow to $30 billion. This means that more than ever, we’re looking at our wrists not only to check the time but also to see how much we’ve moved, monitor our heart rate, and see how we’re stacking up against yesterday’s tallies. As a result of our fitness tech addiction, we’ve lost awareness of what we’re doing, how we’re feeling, and what’s going on around us. This is bad enough in the gym, but when we get outside, the constant checking of a tiny screen truly wreaks havoc, downgrading what should be a rich experience into yet another task we need to complete to meet our daily goals. And if we fall short, we feel inadequate. There’s also the issue of data inaccuracy, with many device makers now admitting that their gadgets provide only estimates. So why do we continue to obsess over data and treat it as gospel truth? It’s time to stop, take a breath, and hit the reset button in a big way.
Unplugged provides a blueprint for using technology to meet your health and performance goals in a much smarter way, while reconnecting to your instincts and the natural world. In addition to sharing the performance expertise of Brian Mackenzie and the scientific insight of Dr. Andy Galpin, Unplugged features exclusive stories and advice from elite athletes and world-renowned experts like Laird Hamilton, Tim Ferriss, Kai Lenny, Kelly Starrett, Steven Kotler, Erin Cafaro, Lenny Wiersma, Dr. Frank Merritt, and Brandon Rager. Reading Unplugged will enable you to
• Understand both the value and the limitations of technology in athletic performance, fitness, health, and lifestyle situations
• Know how and when to utilize physical activity technologies in your everyday life—and when not to
• Avoid the common mistakes that most people make with wearables and tracking apps
• Understand which technologies and tests are most effective and which are a waste of money
• End your addiction to fitness technology and start utilizing it as a tool for cueing, learning, and sensing instead of as a taskmaster that stresses you out
• Improve self-awareness and increase self-reliance
• Re-engage with nature by spending less time indoors and more time outside
• Rediscover the value of coaches’ expertise, curation, and intuition, which technology can’t replace
• Take back control of your health, fitness, and performance with the Unplugged training protocol
Unplugged provides a blueprint for using technology to meet your health and performance goals in a much smarter way, while reconnecting to your instincts and the natural world. In addition to sharing the performance expertise of Brian Mackenzie and the scientific insight of Dr. Andy Galpin, Unplugged features exclusive stories and advice from elite athletes and world-renowned experts like Laird Hamilton, Tim Ferriss, Kai Lenny, Kelly Starrett, Steven Kotler, Erin Cafaro, Lenny Wiersma, Dr. Frank Merritt, and Brandon Rager. Reading Unplugged will enable you to
• Understand both the value and the limitations of technology in athletic performance, fitness, health, and lifestyle situations
• Know how and when to utilize physical activity technologies in your everyday life—and when not to
• Avoid the common mistakes that most people make with wearables and tracking apps
• Understand which technologies and tests are most effective and which are a waste of money
• End your addiction to fitness technology and start utilizing it as a tool for cueing, learning, and sensing instead of as a taskmaster that stresses you out
• Improve self-awareness and increase self-reliance
• Re-engage with nature by spending less time indoors and more time outside
• Rediscover the value of coaches’ expertise, curation, and intuition, which technology can’t replace
• Take back control of your health, fitness, and performance with the Unplugged training protocol
272 pages, Hardcover
Published July 11, 2017
99 people are currently reading
941 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
July 24, 2018
I liked some of the ideas and in general, agree with the author(s) premise. I didn't like the writing style nor format of the book. Most of the points were anecdotal and not backed up by strong arguments, data, etc. In addition, some of the stories in the book I couldn't even understand without looking up jargon related to surfing.
At the end of the day, while I liked some of the ideas, I couldn't buy into the author's credibility and didn't take much from the book.
At the end of the day, while I liked some of the ideas, I couldn't buy into the author's credibility and didn't take much from the book.
September 28, 2021
Some good suggestions but at times too extreme for me. Kudos to those who have the freedom to live as suggested.
Read
September 28, 2017don't let the weekend warrior / total fitness perspective turn you off! this is a reasonable balanced approach to incorporating tech into a healthy active lifestyle that doesn't presume that weight loss is the highest good and that rejects "all tech is evil" It is completely on the individual approach to health however, if you can't "take a 6$ Uber to the park" it can grate a lot with it's white boy former competitor privilege. (seriously, so many men, some token white women, argglbjfudhe) uh, a good pick if you have ppl in your life that obsess a little too much over the numbers in health and fitness - I can't currently convince myself to indulge in any of the fitness gear so obv. that is not my problem but reminding myself not to stay indoors all day? reasonable. maybe trying one or two of the deprivation challenges? maybe I could learn that I won't die if I don't eat for 18hrs, I guess.
July 15, 2017
After listening to Dr. Andy Galpin on Barbell Shrugged the past few years and then his Body of Knowledge podcast, I was eager to read this book. I think the novel would be perfect for anyone who is dependent on their wearables for fitness or feels identity attachment to social media/fitness. The novel is all about its title, unplugging from the technology saturated world in which we live and becoming attuned with nature once again and making fitness fun.
October 23, 2017
My trainer just ordered this book and encouraged me to read it with him. I can attest that you do not need to be one to align with the message and enjoy it as a whole. I connected with all of the principles and had several key take always. An incredible read for anyone that wants to get further unplugged and values physical and mental health. Great wealth of knowledge and highlighted science to back it up. Loved it!
October 22, 2022
I was the epitome of the quantified self, and this book made me question why. To what end was this obsessive data collection serving me? Since I had no good reason - I’ve set my Apple Watch and Oura ring aside. I am now more mindful when I do activities and am in tune with how they make me feel instead of checking my metrics straight after and letting technology drive that emotion.
This is not to say that technology isn’t useful. If it weren’t for some preliminary tracking, I wouldn’t have some of the baseline understanding I have of my body, such as how close to bedtime I should stop eating, what 90% of my max HR feels like, and more. However, I concur that tech should be used sparingly to enforce good patterns instead of an always-on monitoring system.
Ultimately, so many of the assumptions factored into fitness tech products will be proven over simplistic in the long term, just like how our present-day understanding of physiology and exercise science has debunked widely-heralded “facts” from just 20 years ago. I’m learning that we shouldn’t over-rely on tech for this reason and learn to be attuned to our bodies.
Finally, I appreciated the author’s nudge towards being out in nature more and doing things that your brain is inherently wired to enjoy, such as finding “flow” state through being one with your body in creative endeavours.
This is not to say that technology isn’t useful. If it weren’t for some preliminary tracking, I wouldn’t have some of the baseline understanding I have of my body, such as how close to bedtime I should stop eating, what 90% of my max HR feels like, and more. However, I concur that tech should be used sparingly to enforce good patterns instead of an always-on monitoring system.
Ultimately, so many of the assumptions factored into fitness tech products will be proven over simplistic in the long term, just like how our present-day understanding of physiology and exercise science has debunked widely-heralded “facts” from just 20 years ago. I’m learning that we shouldn’t over-rely on tech for this reason and learn to be attuned to our bodies.
Finally, I appreciated the author’s nudge towards being out in nature more and doing things that your brain is inherently wired to enjoy, such as finding “flow” state through being one with your body in creative endeavours.
August 23, 2018
Interesting and balanced overview of our current fitness landscape. It’s presented in an appealing way and I’m a fan of Dr. Galpin to begin with. There’s a lot of great references for further reading and some enlightening quotes from highly recognizable influencers of today’s day and age.
Highly recommend if you’ve got a fascination bordering on obsession with new age fitness tech used to track everything.
But if you’re like me and you never cared for any of that to begin with, well then this is simply a refreshing read to help reinforce your current stance. And I have to admit, the book does a great job putting into words a lot of the resistance I’ve always felt to wearable fitness technology and tracking devices.
Highly recommend if you’ve got a fascination bordering on obsession with new age fitness tech used to track everything.
But if you’re like me and you never cared for any of that to begin with, well then this is simply a refreshing read to help reinforce your current stance. And I have to admit, the book does a great job putting into words a lot of the resistance I’ve always felt to wearable fitness technology and tracking devices.
April 30, 2021
I thought the authors' suggestions in this book were a little extreme. The major takeaway from this book is to "unplug" from technology and be in nature more. I surely won't be spending a weekend camping by myself or climbing a mountain by myself. I'm not going to not drink water for a day or two to make myself uncomfortable and push my limits. What is reasonable for me is to go outside and not track my hike on my fitness tracker.
November 9, 2020
A collection of ideas that were very repetitive and quite poorly organised in this paving slab of a book. This should’ve been cut down in size, been a paperback and had more obviously sourced material, rather than “it has proven technology causes this”. Tell me where, what study, when etc, include it in the text!
March 30, 2022
Really easy to read book!
A little more experience than science but I enjoyed the book and it has made me want to run more and detach from my phone.
Would recommend!
A little more experience than science but I enjoyed the book and it has made me want to run more and detach from my phone.
Would recommend!
November 22, 2023
This book had some intriguing ideas and led to some reflection. I feel like the areas it fell short is that it was extremely redundant, at some points contradictory, and it was largely subjective and opinion based. Some anecdotal points seemed downright silly, like one guy saying he couldnt run faster because his watch showed his heart way was high enough that he apparently thought he would blow up. I don't know. I mean, I've worn a fitbit for over 9 years and I haven't experienced what he did. Nor has my husband who has worn one for the same amount of time. It's a good way to check if we were active through the day and also see how good we have been on getting enough sleep, but beyond that, it doesn't really have a large effect on our day. Not to discount his experiences, it's just he is writing a book to a general audience and I don't think his experiences are that of the general audience. I do agree with his emphasis on nature and being in tune with your body and do think screen time and social media can definitely have a negative effect, but the other devices just seemed to be overemphasized, and then he alternatively justified use of others. Overall I did enjoy the book, it just fell in execution somewhat. Still a worthwhile and thought provoking read.
August 11, 2017
Unplugged is an articulate, informative, and well-researched book on the current relationship between technology and health/fitness. The authors describe potential limitations and harms of technology, while also considering its benefits. This book provides new insight into the sometimes paradoxical relationship between gadgets and our health.
As an exercise physiology researcher in San Francisco, I'm involved in testing new technology related to fitness tracking and analysis. The book shows examples of how these tools can either be a help or a hindrance for long term health, and provides great recommendations for improving your own fitness.
This advice goes beyond fitness though, it also applies to many other emerging technologies that interact with human physiology/psychology. The intro explains, "…we're not saying that we're against fitness technology or that you should stop using it completely –technology can solve problems– but rather that you should take a more careful approach to how you use it, when, and why." I highly recommend Unplugged for anyone interested in fitness, wellness, technology, motivation, and/or sport performance.
As an exercise physiology researcher in San Francisco, I'm involved in testing new technology related to fitness tracking and analysis. The book shows examples of how these tools can either be a help or a hindrance for long term health, and provides great recommendations for improving your own fitness.
This advice goes beyond fitness though, it also applies to many other emerging technologies that interact with human physiology/psychology. The intro explains, "…we're not saying that we're against fitness technology or that you should stop using it completely –technology can solve problems– but rather that you should take a more careful approach to how you use it, when, and why." I highly recommend Unplugged for anyone interested in fitness, wellness, technology, motivation, and/or sport performance.
August 11, 2017
Unplugged is an articulate, informative, and well-researched book on the current relationship between technology and health/fitness. The authors describe potential limitations and harms of technology, while also considering its benefits. This book provides new insight into the sometimes paradoxical relationship between gadgets and our health.
As an exercise physiology researcher in San Francisco, I'm involved in testing new technology related to fitness tracking and analysis. The book shows examples of how these tools can either be a help or a hindrance for long term health, and provides great recommendations for improving your own fitness.
This advice goes beyond fitness though, it also applies to many other emerging technologies that interact with human physiology/psychology. The intro explains, "…we're not saying that we're against fitness technology or that you should stop using it completely –technology can solve problems– but rather that you should take a more careful approach to how you use it, when, and why." I highly recommend Unplugged for anyone interested in fitness, wellness, technology, motivation, and/or sport performance.
As an exercise physiology researcher in San Francisco, I'm involved in testing new technology related to fitness tracking and analysis. The book shows examples of how these tools can either be a help or a hindrance for long term health, and provides great recommendations for improving your own fitness.
This advice goes beyond fitness though, it also applies to many other emerging technologies that interact with human physiology/psychology. The intro explains, "…we're not saying that we're against fitness technology or that you should stop using it completely –technology can solve problems– but rather that you should take a more careful approach to how you use it, when, and why." I highly recommend Unplugged for anyone interested in fitness, wellness, technology, motivation, and/or sport performance.
November 14, 2023
If you want to pay for collection of high quality Brian's MacKenzie's vacation photos, you can buy a hard copy of this book. The hard cover is phisically ridiculous and you pay for empty space and colored pictures ( not for the information ).
For the content. I felt a lot of weakness in general idea. They say that the technology is bad for your fitness and they provide evidence for it, hoverwer they still say that it is ok to use it. Sure, I agree with that, but dont repeat it 1000 times please. I expected more, but got repetition of simple ideas and "motivation".
For the content. I felt a lot of weakness in general idea. They say that the technology is bad for your fitness and they provide evidence for it, hoverwer they still say that it is ok to use it. Sure, I agree with that, but dont repeat it 1000 times please. I expected more, but got repetition of simple ideas and "motivation".
August 12, 2017
Inspiring and we'll written book!
Before you're half way thru this book, you will feel the need to stop using technology for your daily living. I cleared out so many apps off my devices, just by doing that initial house cleaning, my life improved for the best. My lifestyle has taken a 180 degree turn for the best. Great job guys!
Before you're half way thru this book, you will feel the need to stop using technology for your daily living. I cleared out so many apps off my devices, just by doing that initial house cleaning, my life improved for the best. My lifestyle has taken a 180 degree turn for the best. Great job guys!
February 15, 2018
A very interesting read, my major takeaway for me is going outside and doing things in nature. There are some really good little stories from the likes of Kai Lenny and Laid Hamilton too which I found both amusing and exciting. Worth a read if you are interested in fitness and how fitness monitoring can actually be detrimental to you health.
July 17, 2017
Enlightening and informative, this book changed my perspective on exercise, awareness, and going outside. A must read for both the serious athlete and the mall-walker.
April 14, 2018
This is a good book for learning the basics behind human optimization. I was surprised by the use hylomorphic langue, making it a book on building virtue as well as athletic performance.
March 17, 2022
10/10. A book everyone should read. I will incorporate bits and pieces of this book into a lesson plan some day. Unplug! Let’s live more.
Read
January 6, 2024127568
bibliophile
January 6, 2024127568
January 25, 2018
-Helpful in identifying the metrics that matter most for health and longevity, recommending inexpensive tools to measure this data and encouraging readers to recognize how their bodies feel when these measurements are optimized
-Shift toward Mackenzie's perspective at the expense of Galpin’s scientific knowledge and research experience
-Poorly labeled charts
-Useful training plan and good overall message
My complete review at https://www.kinesophy.com/unplugged.
-Shift toward Mackenzie's perspective at the expense of Galpin’s scientific knowledge and research experience
-Poorly labeled charts
-Useful training plan and good overall message
My complete review at https://www.kinesophy.com/unplugged.
November 2, 2017
this book contains many lessons that we should all keep in mind as technology becomes more and more pervasive in everyday life. Harness the power of tech for your own good and don't become a slave to blue screens and beeps.
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews