exercise
Latest
Nike Training Club for Apple Watch helps you focus on your workout
Workout-centric apps like Nike Training Club can help you refine your gym routine. There's one main problem, though: they typically ask you to stare at your phone, which can disrupt your flow and waste time between sets. Nike, at least, knows it can do better. It's releasing a version of its Training Club app for the Apple Watch with the aim of keeping your focus on the workout, rather than reaching for your handset. You have to start a workout on your iPhone, but after that you can concentrate on getting fit.
You can't nail the perfect squat with just an iPhone app
The Squat. Capital 's'. With or without weight, it's widely regarded as the best exercise you can do. But one that's easy to get a little bit wrong and ruin all those benefits. So here's Kaia Health's Perfect Squat Challenge app, developed with input from both physiotherapists and sport scientists to help you nail the form. Notably, there's no wearable, no special hardware. It's just your iPhone camera and roughly seven feet of space.
Fitbit's Xbox coaching app helps you work out between games
If you're a gamer, you know it can be difficult to tear yourself away from the screen to get in some exercise. Fitbit, however, doesn't think you have to. It's trotting out an Xbox One version of its Coach app (released on mobile and PCs in the fall) that lets you squeak in guided fitness routines after your game sessions. You'll get a range of audio and video workouts, personalized training programs and custom streaming music to keep you going. And logically, there are tie-ins if you have a Fitbit device. The app will show your heart rate on the screen, and recommend workouts based on your current activity levels.
Black Box VR plans to open a boutique, high-tech gym
When I was in high school, my workout regimen involved marching band, Denise Austin VHS tapes and copious rounds of Dance Dance Revolution. Not only did I play DDR in bowling alleys and arcades whenever I had the chance, but I had a metal dance pad at home (PlayStation 2 with a converter to make it run on my Xbox 360). Late last year, a decade after graduating from high school, I bought a plastic dance pad and busted out my PS3 just to play DDR again, with the idea of incorporating it into my workout routine. Which is to say, I'm no stranger to the idea of video games as exercise. Neither is Black Box VR.
Apple Watch GymKit syncing arrives in exactly one US gym
GymKit syncing on the Apple Watch technically arrived with watchOS 4.1, but there's been one main obstacle to using it: actually finding a gym that supports it. Only one fitness center each in Australia and the UK have enabled it so far, while Americans have had to go without. At last, though, it's available stateside... sort of. One solitary gym in New York City, Life Time Athletic at Sky, now has 13 GymKit-capable machines (including treadmills, bikes, ellipticals and stair steppers) that will pair with your smartwatch.
MyFitnessPal's founders leave Under Armour
Under Armour's $475 million buyout of MyFitnessPal in 2015 may have put a major health app under its wing, but it didn't secure the undying loyalty of the smaller company's founders. Albert Lee and Mike Lee are leaving Under Armour in January to "pursue their next entrepreneurial ventures." Just what they're doing next isn't clear (unsurprisingly, both Albert and Mike still show on LinkedIn as working for UA). With that said, it's safe to say that their next project will draw attention.
How Peggy Whitson stayed in shape for nine months aboard the ISS
Space is no place for battles of the bulge. That's why NASA insists on getting its astronauts into peak physical condition before sending them offworld. But aboard the ISS, in a living space the size of a football field, the human body will readily go to pot. So how did Peggy Whitson, the longest-orbiting astronaut in American history, manage an astonishing nine and a half months in microgravity without having her body and mind atrophy? She hit the astronaut gym. Yes, of course, there's a gym on the ISS -- just, no lap pool.
Self-powered patch monitors glucose levels during exercise
Diabetics could soon have an effective, non-invasive way to measure glucose levels during exercise, thanks to a patch designed by researchers at the State University of New York. The paper-based patch sticks directly onto the skin like a Band-Aid, and wicks sweat into a reservoir where it's converted into electrical energy, powering a biosensor that monitors glucose without the need for external power.
Apple's fitness lab has collected 66,000 hours of exercise data
Men's Health writer Ben Court got to take a look around Apple's not-so-secret-anymore exercise lab and the company's director of fitness for health technologies had some bold claims about the work the lab has done. Apple's Jay Blahnik told Court, "Our lab has collected more data on activity and exercise than any other human performance study in history. Over the past five years, we've logged 33,000 sessions with over 66,000 hours of data, involving more than 10,000 unique participants."
Apple Watch will soon support a huge variety of workouts
Apple already mentioned that watchOS 4 will do more to accommodate fitness fans, but it's now clear that there's more coming for the exercise crowd... a lot more. Thanks to some sleuthing in the latest iOS 11 beta's code, iHelp BR has found assets hinting that the Apple Watch will support virtually every workout under the Sun. Some of them are common sports or fitness activities, such as boxing, football, core training and pilates, but others aren't what you'd normally expect in a fitness-savvy watch. Ever wanted to monitor your bowling or sailing? Your Apple Watch will help.
Exercise stick trains your muscles with light-based feedback
Of all the products ripe for technological gimmicks, training gizmos take the (low-fat, sugar-free) cake. That said, a new gadget called Axon does look pretty cool, if you're willing to risk Kickstarter. It's a stick that resembles a stout pool cue, with sensors and lights that measure the force you apply when pushing it against a wall, floor, ceiling, rock or tree. You can then train your body to match the lights, helping you improve muscle and back strength.
A tiny sensor turns any stationary bike into a VR workout machine
A $400 VR exercise bike might be a tough sell for VirZOOM, but the company has a new option that could make working out in virtual reality more compelling. At E3 2017, the company is showing off its new VZ Sensor, a small device that attaches to the crank of any stationary bike. For $99, you can turn a bike that you may already have into a VR workout center.
Garmin's new Vivosmart tracks reps and stress
Garmin's vivosmart 3 is here and it's packing guided breathing exercises, automatic rep counting in the gym and a supposed five-day battery life. Working in concert with the Garmin Connect mobile app, the vivosmart 3 will automatically label the exercises you've done in addition to counting them. But for now it sounds a bit on the limited side. Ars Technica reports that Connect isn't the best at telling between two different weight-training exercises yet, but given enough time (and app training) it will be able to discern between deadlifts and dumbbell curls.
Microsoft's Twitch competitor can remind you to stretch
Microsoft's Twitch competitor, Beam, has arrived on Xbox One. And seemingly in an effort to keep streamers healthy, there are a few tools in the back-end to remind folks to do things like eat and stretch. Simply check the "Enable Health Reminders" box and at a user-defined intervals you can get pings to stand up and shove some food in your face.
Fitbit updates help you meet fitness goals through your friends
Fitbit knows that maintaining a good exercise regimen is as much about motivation as anything else. To that end, it's launching multiple updates to help you stay focused. To start, its core mobile app now has a Community area that makes it easier to keep yourself going. There's a social feed where you and your fitness-minded peers can compete, find nearby workouts, join groups and share achievements. You'll also get advice from Fitbit experts to help refine your routines, and there's a Personal Goal Setting option in the app to help set realistic goals based on your activity.
Google Calendar helps with fitness goals by logging workouts
With its Goals function, Google's Calendar finds you space to squeeze in some exercise, but like a lazy coach, it doesn't follow up to see if you did it. Now, it'll take in data from either Google Fit and Apple Health, automatically mark an exercise session as "done" and, depending on your success, suggest different times.
These VR-enhanced exercise bikes are coming to an arcade near you
VirZOOM's stationary, VR-friendly exercise bike is a little out there, but I (and my thighs) can confirm it's a fun, seemingly effective way to squeeze in a workout. The best part of the experience is firing up the multiplayer mode and going head-to-head against other fitness buffs careening through a virtual forest on the back of a virtual pegasus, and it won't be long until you can do just that in the comfort of your local arcade. That might sound like a strangely tech-savvy spin class, but it's actually a push to make so-called "vSports" a thing.
Apple Watch goads you into getting some post-holiday exercise
Guilt over holiday eating might just convince you to hit the gym in the coming weeks, but Apple wants to offer some motivation of its own. On December 28th, the company pushed a notification to every Apple Watch owner encouraging them to participate in a Ring in the New Year Challenge starting January 2nd, 2017. If you complete all three of your activity goals (Move, Exercise, Stand) every day for at least one week in January, you'll get a special achievement medal (above) and an iMessage sticker pack to help you brag about your performance.
Study: 'Pokémon Go' boosts physical activity, but not for long
It was obvious when the need to catch 'em all first hit smartphones all over the world, more people were getting out of the house more to hit Gyms and Pokéstops. According to a recent study published by The BMJ (formerly the British Medical Journal), Pokémon Go increased physical activity for players ages 18 to 35 in the US, but the change didn't last long. Researchers found what within six weeks of first installing the game, users had gone back to their pre-Pokémon activity levels based on the iPhone's step tracking totals.
Runkeeper uses Apple Watch GPS to keep track of your route
Apple Watch Series 2 arrived with two notable updates: waterproofing and built-in GPS. Even though the popular jogging app has been letting users run without their iPhone since last fall, Runkeeper now tasks the wearable's own GPS for better tracking of your routes. An update to the company's Apple Watch software takes advantage of the built-in feature for "richer stats" and a detailed map you can view on your phone.
