Interview with Will

What first brought you to Gyroscope? What was your original goal?

So, I have to credit my wife Cameron for this one. She is something of an App addict.  Back in, I want to say 2020, she tumbled onto Gyroscope somehow. I was one of the people who took the Covid Pandemic as a sign that I should be taking more direct responsibility for my own health.  I had pretty much let myself go in the years leading up and felt it was time to get back on track.

I tried a few different apps that were out there.  My Fitness Pal, Zero, Strava, 75 Hard, even tried Zombies! Run! at one point.  She was messing with the UX in Gyroscope and thought I would enjoy it.

She turned out to be right.

That’s awesome! In what ways has Gyroscope helped you reach your goals?

So obviously there is no real secret when it comes to health and fitness. There is no shortcut and there is no cheat code.

You have to do the work and you have to do the work every day. I find that the user experience of Gyroscope is something I actually look forward to engaging with. The process of input and feedback is something that provides a satisfaction and engagement that can help give a little extra nudge on days where I might otherwise feel like phoning it in.

What is your favorite aspect of using Gyroscope?  

There are several. One of the simplest ones that is the most satisfying to me is the workout breakdowns. There is something about seeing your activity measured in doughnuts, cookies and pizza that just connects with people (or at least me) on a basic level and says "Check it out, this is a tangible representation of the work you put in." On a day where maybe the scale isn't as kind as you would like, that can be an incentive to look forward to a keepo you putting in the work that day.

The meal scanning from photographs is a huge benefit as well. One of the pitfalls of other apps I've used in the past to track my intake has been the tedium of entering in the data manually. This is made increasingly more difficult if you are trying to not just eat out of cellophane wrappers.  It's easy for an app to track what a Brand X Protein bar is, It's much better to be able to take a photo of your homemade turkey and three bean chili and give a brief description.

Lastly, the AI interface and tools that are available really help make Gyroscope a complete package.  It checks in on my stress and doesn't just say "maybe you should meditate" it offers me built in guided meditations.  It isn't telling me I have an issue and sending me out to look for a solution, it is offering solutions in the App itself.

This is huge because it's easy to close an App and get distracted and then completely forget to get back to what you were looking to do. Keeping it "in house" makes it far easier to actually do what you intended to do and not just get distracted and leave it by the wayside.

Final question... how would you describe Gyroscope to someone new in a couple of sentences? 

Gyroscope is an invitation to learn more about your health, yourself and your habits.

With that knowledge it's there to help you take control of your life and be intentional about what you do with it. At least it is for me. 

Thanks so much, Will!