There are so many fancy machines in the gym these days. Treadmills can track calories and fat burned, remember your last workout so you can monitor your progress or even let you watch TV while you walk. The newest stationary bicycles allow you to feel like you’re riding over hills in Italy or along the beach in Florida. Some machines even let you hook up your laptop! Is all this really necessary? Maybe, maybe not.
Some of the newest things in digital fitness are actually quite helpful. The iPhone can now be used as a heart rate monitor and can help track your fitness. “We wanted to make the fitness tracking experience cool, fun, simple and custom” said Michael C. Williams, founder and CEO of iTMP Technology, Inc., which developed the monitoring module. The heart rate monitor works by collecting data from heart rate chest straps or cycling sensors on bikes. Williams also says the phone can track and store workouts and even send the data to medical assessment websites. You can track the fat and carbohydrates burned based on the personal information you supply. The program runs around $155 dollars and of course you have to buy the phone. Or you can always check your heart the old fashioned way by holding two fingers over the back of your wrist and count the beats.
One other thing that I personally love is podcasts. They are great! They’re workouts that you can download to an iPod or MP3 player. You can download everything from walking programs to aerobics classes and yoga. You can even download a session with a personal trainer. Once the workout is in your iPod or MP3 player, you can take it anywhere. You can bring it to the gym for motivation or take it with you on vacation. You can also just use it in the privacy of your own home. Check out Workouts on Demand or even iTunes. You can type in the kind of exercise you are interested in such as Pilates or jogging and downloadable videos will be available for purchase. If you need more motivation check out Cardio Coach. There you can download workouts from a cardio coach who will help keep you motivated. If you don’t want to download an exercise video or podcast, you can always just download music to help keep you motivated.
Another recent fitness development that is very cool is from the American Heart Association. At www.heart360.org you can enter your blood pressure, cholesterol, glucose, physical activity, weight and medications to get a complete overview of your health. The website will then help you make and reach fitness and wellness goals. All of your personal information is password protected on the site. You can also get tons of other information from the AHA website.
These are just a few of the great new things in the fitness industry. What do you think? Is all this digital fitness necessary? Probably not, but it sure makes working out a little more fun and interesting. It can also make exercising more convenient. Digital fitness is here to stay so why not embrace it and start getting the most out of our new technology.
- Jennifer
Labels: Fitness, Jennifer
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