fitness
Latest
Riiflex Wiimote weights up for pre-order
Look out, vulnerable televisions -- your worst nightmare is already up for pre-order. The two- and four-pound Riiflex Wiimote weights have escaped the "yeah right" stage and are now just months away from piercing all manners of living room fixtures. The pair (one for your Wiimote, one for your nunchuck) of two pounders will set you back $34.95, while the heftier ones run $5 more pet set. Wait, are you seriously considering these? Be honest.[Thanks, Jon]Update: Riiflex pinged us to say that pre-orders will get 30 percent off.
Wacky Yurex odometer grabbing thighs on April 24th
Without question, Maywa Denki's Yurex is the oddest, most bizarre odometer that we've ever had the pleasure of seeing. The USB-enabled garter actually straps to one's leg in order to gather pertinent statistics, and while we highly doubt that serious athletes will even give this a shot, we're darn sure 3,000 nerds will snap up the limited supply when they become available on April 24th. There's still no word on price, but go ahead and start saving just in case it's far, far more than you had previously imagined.
NYC schools testing Wii Fit for Phys Ed.
Some New York city schools are testing a new program for physical education, one that utilizes Nintendo's popular Wii Fit package. Trading in dodge balls for Balance Boards, several different schools received free bundles from Nintendo, but Lori Rose Benson, head of the Department of Education's Office of Fitness and Health Education, admits she wasn't on board at first. It didn't take her long to get with the program, however, as she realized that "students learn in lots of different ways and that we can engage students in physical activity through gaming and through interactive techniques," which is really what's important. Well, that and making sure you block all of those soccer balls.%Gallery-23865%
Personal Trainer: Walking bringing pedometers to Nintendo DSi
Nintendo's DSi may have just launched, but if you figured your wallet would be safe from buying any other related hardware in the near future, you clearly aren't in tune with the rabid peripheral market. Our best buds over at Joystiq sat down with David Young, the assistant PR manager for Nintendo of America, in order to talk shop and get a glimpse into the DSi's future. Of note, Mr. Young stated that DSi interaction with the Wii was "certainly a possibility," but he failed to elaborate much beyond that. What he did confess, however, was that the DSi will soon be interacting with a pair of pedometers (or "activity meters"), which will ship with the Personal Trainer: Walking title. We're told that the devices will connect wirelessly with the console, and the game itself will be the first where you can import a Mii character from the Wii. Heck, users can even affix one of the meters to their dog in order to log Fido's exercise habits. Consider us (and our pets) highly intrigued.
See the accessories included in EA Sports Active
Peripheral gaming is in. Exergaming is in. So, EA Sports Active really should rake in the bucks. It'll support (but won't require) the Wii Fit balance board and to make the package even more attractive, it'll include two peripherals in the box. The leg strap (after the cut) will allow you to attach the Wii Remote to your leg. The game will then keep track of your movement, allowing you to run and jump without feeling too tethered down by a physical object. The resistance band (above) will allow you to do other exercises that work out the upper body -- a rarity in the Wii exercise genre. These two peripherals are small, and really do allow for some freeform movement. Will you be picking them up? %Gallery-36802%
Tanita's BC-1000 Body Composition Monitor wirelessly sends embarrassing weight details
Remember all those ANT+ wireless peripherals that were supposed to come flooding out after the introduction of Garmin's FR60 Fitness Watch? We suppose said flood has to start somewhere, and this is it. Tanita's BC-1000 Body Composition Monitor is hardly more than a sophisticated scale, designed to hold humans for just moments at a time while collecting measurements on muscle mass, overall physique, daily caloric intake, metabolic age, bone mass and visceral fat. From there, the unit can either send those details wireless to the aforesaid watch, or it can beam them to any PC with an appropriate dongle. The device is slated to ship this summer for $279.99 with a USB stick or $399.99 with an FR60 watch.
'Wii Fit girl' resurfaces as EA Sports Active spokesmodel
In these two videos, EA's Jen Riley walks us (and a live audience) through EA Sports Active, the Wii exercise program that includes the crazy-looking resistance band gear. Helping her out is a familiar face, Lauren Bernat, better known to perverted Nintendo fans as "the Wii Fit girl." Yes, she has a face. Bernat seems to have made the best out of what could have been the most horrifyingly embarrassing situation ever, so good for her. She is also sensibly dressed for this EA Sports Active demo. Good for her. The videos are available after the break, for those of you interested in EA's cardio-centric take on Wii exercise. %Gallery-36788%
Here are the sports in EA Sports Active
If you're anything like us, you've been staring ruefully at your gut thinking, "Just you wait until EA Sports Active comes out Mr. Tumnus, then we'll see who's the boss!" Meanwhile, your belly's remembering similar conversations before the release of Wii Fit and My Fitness Coach and sporting as much of a smile as stomachs can manage, which is really more of a smirk. Now, thanks to the game's official site, we've got a full list of actual sports contained within the game to help you give your tummy threats a little more impact, including "Squat Jump, Fast Dance and Punch Bag," which (assuming the rules haven't changed from our days at St. Victoria's School for Troubled Boys) has us hoping for an included Wii Cup. Check out the full list of activities after the break.
Fitness 'expert' prepares class-action lawsuit against Nintendo
Michael Torchia, "fitness expert" and host of the upcoming AM talk radio show "Shape Up, America," has announced plans for a class-action lawsuit against Nintendo, claiming that people are injuring themselves playing Wii games. Torchia says that many players injure themselves on the Wii because Nintendo has not properly warned consumers that warming up is necessary before exercise. Torchia's press release claims that the proliferation of Wii Fit has led to players sustaining "injuries in their knees, back and wrists because of overuse and improper warm- up."In addition, Torchia claims that Nintendo is misrepresenting the Wii's effectiveness as an exercise tool. " ... Nintendo is contributing to the epidemic of obesity. Young and old are putting away their gym clothes and shying away from going outdoors to play sports, because the addictive appeal to the Wii game products." In Torchia's estimation, then, Wii games are both poor exercise and excessively strenuous exercise. Like eating a pizza tied to the back of a moving car![Via What They Play]
Garmin's FR60 Fitness Watch won't help if you're lost, might help you lose weight
We're not quite sure what's up with Garmin, a company known almost exclusively for its navigation technology, releasing watches that lack GPS, but it seems to be a trend on alternate years. Back in 2007 there was the receiver-less Forerunner 50, then the happily GPS-enabled Forerunner 405 made made an appearance last year, and now we have the FR60, new but again bereft of any ability to tell you where you are. It sounds much the same as the older 50, including wireless connectivity with ANT+ devices to monitor heart rate, running pace, cycling cadence, and cycling speed, as well as the ability to sync automatically and wirelessly with a PC or Mac. New is the slim and (debatably) fashionable package -- that's the men's above, women's model in lovely lilac shown below. No word on availability or price, but we certainly hope the company won't charge a premium for a styling tweak and a shorter name. Update: Looks like they're up for pre-order at $129, shipping next quarter.[Via gizmag, thx Noodlehead]
jOG gives you a newer, more annoying way to get fit on your Wii
How would you like to pay about $40 for a gadget that makes you jump up and down like a six-year-old hopped up on Pixy Stix to play your Wii games? That's the idea behind the jOG, an accelerometer that connects in-line between the Wiimote and the Nunchuck, making sure you're not having any fun unless you're running in place -- thereby decreasing the amount of fun you could be having otherwise. The little heart-shaped gadget also has a pedometer to count your steps and one particularly brilliant feature that might just make it usable: a button to turn the thing off. Video of the good-times jogging action after the break.
Riiflex Wiimote weights add extra mass, extra momentum
If you thought your flying Wiimotes weren't harmful enough stock, perhaps you'd like to add a little more inertia into the mix? Additional danger is probably not the idea behind Riiflex, snap-on weights for your controller that will come in 2- and 5-pound increments, but we think that will probably be the net result in many cases. After all, if a flimsy plastic Wiimote can pierce a television or mortally wound a small dog, what kind of damage could a 5-pound version inflict? We look forward to seeing pictures of the aftermath if and when these ever ship.
First Look: Health Cubby for iPhone / iPod touch
App Cubby announced that a new iPhone app, Health Cubby (click opens iTunes) arrived in the App Store today. Health Cubby (US$4.99) is a personal fitness tracking app with a difference -- it adds a social networking element for working with friends and family members to keep motivated to exercise more and eat less.The social features connect you with up to 7 other people, share your progress in achieving fitness goals, and even send motivational messages. To do that, you set up a private account with App Cubby for data syncing and sending messages. Health Cubby has a great online user manual complete with screenshots. Instead of tracking meals with points or calories, the app has you enter a 1 to 5 rating. Rating a meal a 1 means you put the all-you-can-eat buffet out of business, while a 5 is a low-calorie, healthy meal. You also set goals for strength, cardio and...vices! While the first two involve exercise, the third item makes you set goals to reduce the number of times you indulge in a vice. My goal is to reduce my beer drinking to one a day (yeah, right...).I've put Health Cubby on my iPhone right next to Weight Watchers Mobile. It'll be interesting to see which app I use most often. Check the gallery below for screenshots of Health Cubby in action. %Gallery-42198%
'Nintendo Active Health' trademark inspires idle speculation
Siliconera's Spencer noticed a trademark in the European trademark database, filed on January 8, for something called "Nintendo Active Health". He correctly eliminated Nintendo's DS walking game Personal Trainer: Walking, which is called Walk With Me: Do you know your walking routine? in Europe.Unfortunately, that leaves us with the problem of what Nintendo Active Health is. It could be an upcoming fitness-based game, perhaps a sequel to Wii Fit; or maybe something with more of an emphasis on other health-related topics besides exercise, like eating habits. Or it could just be an abandoned name for Wii Fit (like "Health Pack") that Nintendo didn't want anyone else using. Less likely, it could be some kind of hardware warranty program, for the health of your console!%Gallery-4745%[Via Joystiq]
EA Sports Active: Call Now
If you're going to try to sell a fitness item to people, you might as well use the marketing methods employed by other fitness items. At least, that's the philosophy seemingly behind this new trailer for EA Sports Active, which would be right at home in the late-night Paid Programming television block. Bob Greene, whom you might know from his work with Oprah, demonstrates the fitness title in much the same way as we could imagine, say, Chuck Norris and Christie Brinkley, or Fitness Celebrity John Basedow doing. Except, rather than the spaces between segments of HGTV shows, these trailers are going to end up being shown mostly on gaming websites like this one, to people who probably wouldn't be receptive of the advertising even if we did like the game (which we kind of do!) %Gallery-36802%
Nokia hooking up with Polar for fitness monitoring?
Nokia's been pushing its exercise logging solution, Sports Tracker, for a while now -- but compared to dedicated fitness computers from companies like Suunto, Garmin, and Polar, it's not quite as useful since you can't automatically record your heart rate. For serious health nuts, that's a deal-breaker right there, but rumor has it that Nokia has now teamed up with Polar (another Finnish company, coincidentally) to deliver everything the average runner needs to start sending vital stats straight to their phones. It gets better: besides Bluetooth chest straps, we're hearing there'll be compatible cadence sensors (for bikers) and barometer / altimeters, too. The whole initiative is apparently in the final stages of development, so we wouldn't be surprised to see it officially announced either at CES or MWC. Ugh, this means we no longer have an excuse not to get off our lazy asses and jog, doesn't it?
Gamerox gamer chair keeps you on your toes, so to speak
We've been acquainted with all sorts of strange exercise / gaming apparatuses, and while the Gamerox is far from being the strangest, it's pretty high up there. Rather than just letting your kid grab any nearby stool and have a seat while melting their brain on games for hours on end, why not force their nates into this contraption? Put simply, it forces kids to continually balance and adjust in order to stay seated. Will it really tone muscles and improve posture? Doubtful, but it's practically guaranteed to frustrate and / or enrage your offspring.[Via Slashgear]
Keepin' it real fake, part CLXXII: Wu Fit -- it's Wii Fit, without the supply chain issues
So far as we can tell, the Wü Fit (see what they did there?) doesn't actually come with the Wii Fit software. But unless we're being badly deceived, the knockoff balance board should operate just fine with the official game (seriously!) -- assuming that you can find it by its lonesome, which you can't. The best (er, "only good") part? It's actually in stock for $92.95, which is more than the Big N can say about its genuine counterpart in much of the world. It's okay, we know you're seriously considering this over that eBay auction -- we promise not to tell.[Thanks, anonymouse]
In the UK? Get Wii Fit for 50 this Friday
You can file this one in the "almost too good to be true" pile -- in fact, while you read this post, we advise repeatedly pinching yourself. If you're a Brit searching for a copy of Wii Fit in time for Christmas, you'll already know that nowhere has it. As we see it, you have three options: You can buy your loved ones something that isn't Wii Fit and ruin Christmas for everybody like a big jerk. You can fork out obscene amounts of cash for a copy from some eBay scalper who bought the last 25 units at GameStation in November. You can visit BuyItPlayIt this Friday and press F5 a lot. The site has a big old pile of Wii Fits that will be on sale from 1:00pm GMT, with the first fifty going for the unbelievable price of £50 (in probably less than fifty seconds). That's £20 lower than the standard price. We are quite certain that the site could charge twice that and clear its inventory in minutes, but there you go. We've never used BuyItPlayIt ourselves, incidentally, so can't pass comment on its standard of service. Have any readers shopped there before?%Gallery-23454%[Via press release]
Sony unveils five new audio accessories: headphones, speakers and remote
Rather than just introducing these five items individually, Sony reckoned the world at large may pay more attention if they were unveiled in one fell swoop. To that end, we're left staring at a new pair of noise canceling headphones (MDR-NC7; $50), travel speakers (SRS-M50; $50), a universal remote (RM-VL610; $30), EX Series earbuds (MDR-EX36V; $30) and stereo Bluetooth headphones (DR-BT160AS; $160). While the first two are pretty self-explanatory, color lovers will appreciate the three swappable back plates for the remote, and the water-resistant BT 'phones pack a built-in microphone, rechargeable Li-ion cells and A2DP support. Everything should be available now if you look hard enough, and the full release with all the gory details is waiting just after the break.%Gallery-37129%
