Data Centers Quietly Inspiring Fitness Everywhere

A little while ago a friend and I were discussing the many pros and cons of business travel when the conversation shifted to the topic of ‘what do you do to stay fit when you are on the road so much?” A question that led me to think of how much we have become reliant on data centers in our personal lives and the electronic devices and services they enable. I’ve discussed the explosion of edge-based devices before. Today we will take a deeper look at how everything from smart phones to GPS enabled devices, and all manner of applications enable us to reach higher levels of fitness, despite our travels.

Truth be told, I am a bit of a gadget junkie especially when it relates to recreational sports activities. And the last twenty years have seen an amazing influx of science, medicine, andtechnology into the sports field with perhaps the most pervasive, at least at the recreational level, with the explosion of applications for smart phones and other devices. These applications are demanding ever increasing network bandwidth, storage, and even computational power all of which drives greater demand for energy efficient data centers.

So back to the original question, how to stay fit on the road, and how all of this ties together. It should come as no surprise that about the best you can hope for when travelling is to maintain your existing level of base fitness, not put on any weight, stay hydrated, stay limber (stretching), and if the hotel facilities can accommodate your exercise program keep you cardio, core, and base muscles in-tune. I check out all of my hotels to confirm specificequipment and times of operation in advance.  And no matter what, make time for yourselfespecially when traveling.

Just like data centers when it comes to personal fitness it all starts with a few basic metrics. You can only improve that which you can measure and the starting point for most people is weight.  Well that isn’t good enough anymore. Enter modern technology: we now have digital scales that provide weight, percent body fat, and percent H20 (useful to gauge hydration levels).  A good friend, CK, recently introduced me to electronic scales and the data really opened up my eyes! (Note: yes, my wife uses it too and NO, we do not compare results. % BF, like data center PUE is all relative.) One can expect it is only a matter of time before these scales include blue-tooth or Wi-Fi connectivity to export data directly to a smart device so you can upload the data into your personal training plan or other application.

This brings us to the next aspect of personal fitness where the neat stuff and data centers come together. Everything from weight management, calorie counting,  and booking tee times to mapping rides, walks, runs, finding new places to explore and more can be downloaded as applications. Sports publications, like Bicycling, even offer search tools so no matter where you go you can enjoy your sport. (one of my rides) For the sport-specific training enthusiast there are all manner of GPS enabled devices now that include heart rate monitors (a must for serious cyclists), percent of grade (and all manner of climbing data), temperature, power, and some include virtual trainers to push you that little bit harder.

Okay, so you established a mass/body fat baseline, know your current fitness level and set your sites on a mid-year goal like a local century fund raiser (100 miles), a club race, or other competitive activity, but haven’t built the training plan to get there. Well much like using theData Center Maturity Model to build a road map for your data center there are numerous on-line (SAS/Cloud) based applications that will guide you to meeting and exceeding your personal goals. Personally I start with a journal (never any connectivity issues) then map my written plan over to a few on-line training sites (CTS, TP, etc.) complete with coaching assistance, evaluation tools, and friendly reminders to keep me on plan.

Once you engage with an on-line service you become the data center industries best friend as the data proliferation starts slowly then builds as you add profile information, graphics, photos (need to prove you really were at that summit), videos, event reports, etc. And if that isn’t enough the social media world has exploded creating numerous forums for post event commiserating, bragging, and even competitive comparisons (enter Strava) over user selected segments.

So there you have it, fitness improved through the power and services of data centers (and communication networks) everywhere. I’m doing my bit with photos, videos, and training plans. Don’t worry about data center capacity, we’ll bulld more!

What electronic resources are you using to fuel your recreational activities? Email me so we can compare notes.

And if you’re interested in fine-tuning the performance of your data center, look for me at The Green Grid Forum in San Jose, March 6 & 7.