TUAW Resolutions: Get in Shape
Looking to get in shape in 2007? Your new iPod makes a great workout companion. Yes, you still have to "just do it", but your iPod can help you "do it" if you let it.
Consider the Nike+iPod sports kit. It lets you track your training progress in real time by connecting a transmitter in your sneakers to a receiver on your iPod nano. This is great for people who want to start easy and work on pushing themselves a little at a time towards more and more progress on their goals.
Tangerine from the Potion Factory is another great workout tool. It allows you to build workout playlists from the music in your iTunes library, creating training sets at either a steady BPM or using BPM profiles that ramp up and down for interval training.
You can also download any number of training podcasts that provide a personal electronic trainer. Here are some of my favorites, both with and without coaching.
Marina's Walking and Aerobics Marina offers 10-15 minute workout sets that range from 126-150 bpm. The free samples available at the iTunes link are pretty lame. You have to go to her website to purchase and download actual work-outs. You put together four or five of them and you get a full hours' workout. Marina is a love-her or don't-love-her phenomenon. I personally love her style, her reminders to breathe, her focus on walking for fitness. If you like the music but not the coaching, you can purchase the workouts without instructions.
Podrunner Great music at varying BPM, running about an hour each in length. Fantastic stuff, easy to work out to. No coaching or voice-overs, though. If you're looking for nicely paced high intensity music, this is the podcast to turn to.
My Pod Bod This is a mix of audio and video how-tos, including coached exercises and interval training. The audio sessions run about twenty minutes and the video how-to's are just a few minutes in length.
Muscle Audio Workouts David Greenwalt's "world class" muscle workout training involves weight lifting and resistance training. I find these work best over speakers so your headphones don't get tangled in the equipment.
Workout On The Web Short how-to video fitness info. Good reference material.
Fitness Attack Amy McIntyre's 60-second fitness inspirations. For when you're looking for a little fitness boost in your life.
