workouts
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The Peloton Guide wouldn’t let me skip a single push-up
We had an early workout with Peloton's latest hardware addition: a connected camera that monitors your form, aimed at strength training.
Barry’s latest fitness app supports on-camera workouts
Barry's new fitness app comes with on-demand and live workouts, as well as a camera feature that allows your instructor to see how you're doing.
Bose Sport Open Earbuds review: Great for workouts, but not much else
Bose Sport Open Earbuds keep your ears open to your environment while you exercise, which can increase safety for runners and other workout situations. However, the design limits performance elsewhere, so you have to accept sacrifices that could be deal breakers.
A personal trainer app guilt-tripped me into exercising (and it worked)
Read Engadget's review of the personal training app Future Fit.
Carbon's Trainer is a smart mirror designed to deliver guided workouts
Carbon’s Trainer smart mirror is now available for pre-order at $1,750 on Indiegogo.
Peloton will stream live classes from instructors' homes
Peloton will begin streaming live classes from its instructors’ homes beginning tomorrow, April 22nd.
Fitness pros on how to give your lockdown workouts a tech upgrade
Home fitness has come a long way since Richard Simmons' "Sweating to the Oldies." Be it expensive Peloton bikes, affordable workout apps or free YouTube videos, there's a plethora of fitness tech to choose from. Now, anyone can keep fit from the comfort of their living room, especially helpful when you're forced to stay home due to a global pandemic. But with so many options available, it's tough to figure out where to start. So we asked several physical trainers and fitness experts on the kind of tech they use to get fit at home, as well as what they recommend for most people.
Jaybird's Tarah are $100 wireless earbuds built for sweaty workouts
Jaybird has been a solid option for wireless earbuds for years now, and today the company is debuting yet another model for your workouts. The Tarah Wireless Sport Headphones are built for the gym, complete with an IPX7 rating to ensure you don't run into moisture troubles when things get sweaty. With a design similar to the company's X4 that debuted in August, the Tarah is $30 cheaper at $100. That's also $50 less than the Beats X.
The NBA's fitness app gives you training tips from the pros
The options for fitness apps are seemingly endless these days, and now the National Basketball Association (NBA) is adding yet another. Thanks to a hand from Under Armour, the pro basketball league now has it's own exercise and training app: NBA Fit. The NBA says the mobile software combines Under Armour's Connected Fitness platform with fitness tips and videos from players in the league and the WNBA. There's also pointers from strength and conditioning coaches.
Runtastic Results wants to be the P90X of mobile apps
There are currently a total of 15 Runtastic apps available across iOS, Android and Windows Phone. But the Austrian startup, recently acquired by sportswear giant Adidas, doesn't want to stop there. Today, it is introducing Results, an application that focuses solely on body training. This is Runtastic's version of the popular P90X fitness program, designed for the mobile era and to complement its other fitness-friendly software. Even though the app's available at no cost on iOS and Android, a premium, $50-per-year membership is going to unlock a dynamic 12-week workout plan. Here, you will get support from the Runtastic community, a personal nutrition guide and more than 120 exercise videos -- those, by the way, have been shot at 6K resolution, making them easier on the eye.
Serious about getting in shape? Get Custom Fit
This free universal app is not intended for those of us who work out occasionally but are not really all that serious about getting in top shape. Custom Fit and Custom Fit Pro, a US$1.99 upgrade are aimed at the people who are dedicated to working out regularly and targeting specific muscle groups or parts of their bodies. Both apps require iOS 6.1 or later. Custom Fit allows you to choose your workout goals and duration of the workout. Then you target the body parts you want to train and improve. Custom Fit is limited to two goals, two workout lengths, and the opportunity to work on just two body parts at a time. To get more choices in all of these areas you need to purchase the upgrade to Custom Fit Pro. I set up a workout program first choosing between losing fat or building muscle. I decided on improving my muscle tone and then picked from 20 or 30 minute workouts, and finally decided to work on just one body part, my biceps. Custom Fit laid out five specific workout stages, first doing 5 minutes of moderate intensity on the treadmill followed by four different weight exercises with recommended reps and numbers of sets for each. No weight recommendations are given since the app doesn't know if you are working with free weights or other machines. Each exercise comes with a detailed animation showing how you are to do the exercise. Custom Fit offers the usual social media connections if you want to share your workout regime and progress with friends. You also can track your progress in the app with sections devoted to specific areas such as height, weight, arm and leg measurements in the Progress Tracker, your Diet Log allows you to list what you ate and when, and in your Exercise Log you can list the specifics of each of your workouts and track the number of sets you do with how many reps, rest between, and how long your workout lasted. If you purchase the upgrade to Custom Fit Pro, you also get a BMI tracker. BMI stands for Body Mass Index and is a measurement of body fat based on height, weight, and age. The paid version of the app also allows you to access more than 2400 individual workouts. If you are really committed to getting your body in top shape, Custom Fit would be a good app to use to start you on that path and once you make noticeable progress you can upgrade to the paid version.
iBike Powerhouse starts shipping: a workout coach for your set of wheels
Velocomp's iBike Powerhouse, the cycling computer that integrates with your wheels to bring you workouts such as the descriptively named Brazilian Butt, is finally ready to ship. Introduced back in January, the Powerhouse works with an app for the iPhone or iPod touch (hence the iMoniker) to measure your pedal rates and other health stats, with preset workouts guiding you through 45- to 90-minute rides targeted toward your fitness level. The regimens also include tips and video demos from cycling pro Hunter Allen. The $279 package, available through the iBike site, includes a case for the iPhone or iPod touch, the Powerhouse computer itself, the app, a wireless speed sensor and a handle bar mounting system. Though the system comes with two pre-loaded workouts, you can buy more for $9.99 a pop through the iOS app. Head on down to the PR for more info.
Garmin Swim watch tracks your water workouts, we hit the pool (hands-on)
Garmin is adding a new product to its line-up of fitness watches, and this one is dedicated to workouts of the aquatic variety. The $150 Garmin Swim tracks your distance swum, average pace, workout time and more, and it uploads those stats to the web to help monitor your progress. Though it's meant to be a part of your exercise routine, the Garmin Swim watch looks like your average plastic digi-timepiece. The watch has six buttons with functions for viewing the time of day, scrolling through the menu options, controlling the timer, viewing the menu and entering workout mode. The setup takes some getting used to, but the illustrative icons on the watch helped us get into the rhythm quickly. Getting started with the Swim simply entails entering the size of your pool, with options to measure in yards or meters. Once that info is uploaded, you press the swim button and are ready to get splashing. We spent a solid half-hour doing laps, and the Swim duly recognized and recorded that we varied our strokes. Stopping the timer each time we took a break created a new interval for our workout, with a rundown of the elapsed time, distance in meters, number of strokes, type of stroke, total laps, average speed and calories burned. That's a lot of data to pore over, and Garmin lets you wirelessly upload it all to the Garmin Connect site. To do this, you have to pair the watch with your computer using a USB ANT stick: once it works, it's an efficient, easy way to review your workout, but it took us a few tries before our laptop recognized the watch. Garmin says the watch's battery will last a full year, which is plenty of time to log some serious laps. For more about the Swim, check out the press info past the break. %Gallery-159003%
Breakfast Topic: How do you make time for working out?
This Breakfast Topic has been brought to you by Seed, the Aol guest writer program that brings your words to WoW Insider's pages. A recent NPC comic strip touched on an issue I find very near and not quite dear to my ... mid section. It has one of the main characters admitting he's gained some weight; he then suggests that a rule be enacted that he cannot play WoW until he has worked out. Sounds simple, right? Some would say that depends on your level of self-control and willpower. Having tried this rule myself, I also say it depends on your raid schedule, your work schedule and any unexpected overtime, the traffic levels on your drive home, what's for dinner ... There is so much to this balancing act that such a rule is tough to keep in place. Do you make 24 people counting on you to be in a raid wait for you or replace you while you do your workout regimen? An obvious rebuttal: Work out in the morning! Well, as the comic strip characters find out, that doesn't always pan out either. On a regular day I get up at 5 a.m., which is plenty early enough for me without a workout on top of it. How do you balance your gaming habits and health concerns? Do you work out in the morning? Do you have a rule in place as the comic characters did, that you can't play til you work out? Or perhaps you're one of the lucky people who just have a high metabolism? /jealous
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.
Nike+iPod Sport Kit review roundup
Even if the the Nike+iPod Sport Kit were inaccurate, unintuitive, and uncomfortable to wear -- which it doesn't seem to be -- the handful of reviews we've read so far all agree that it possesses at least one attribute that might still make it a worthy purchase: it actually motivated the reviewers to run harder and more often than normal. Fortunately for people who also like their gear to function properly, the wireless pedometer cum personal trainer sounds like it does indeed perform as advertised, offering runners and joggers an easy setup, useful mid-workout statistics and updates, and perhaps most helpfully, a polished online interface to plot one's progress against personal goals or compare esoteric stats with exercise enthusiasts around the world. There are a few downsides here, though, not the least of which is the fact that this is basically a disposable product; the non-rechargeable, non-replaceable battery will supposedly crap out after about 1,000 miles or a year of regular use (and that's assuming you remember to reach into your stinky shoes and turn off the transmitter after each run). You'll also have to shell out for a new armband to secure your nano, as most currently available options (except for those from Nike, of course) won't hold the combination of iPod plus wireless receiver. Overall, it doesn't seem like the kit alone is compelling enough to encourage more folks to snatch up a nano, but if you already own one of these diminutive DAPs, it's a cheap way to give it some extra functionality -- especially if you forgo the special pair of $100+ Nike sneakers for a quick and easy DIY mod to your current kicks.Read - CNETRead - Shiny ShinyRead - TewksRead - iLounge Read - WSJ
