Here’s a quick overview of what we spoke about on Dublin City FM today (Saturday 6th April).
First up, some Apps. All these can be found in their various app stores.
RunKeeper – One of the hardest things about running is finding a good run — when you’re bogged down in setting up logistics for how long, how fast and how much you’re hitting the streets, it’s difficult to actually enjoy it and keep it going. Runkeeper, easily one of the most popular fitness tools online today, can help you with all of it by using your smartphone’s GPS to gather helpful information about your daily run.
You can also take advantage of Runkeeper’s dashboard to see how your runs improve over time, run with a specified program (like their popular 5k trainer), and allow friends to send you encouraging messages while you run.
Samsung Run App – We mentioned this before. This is an app for the upcoming Samsung Run Dublin @ Night which takes place on the 28th of April. The app houses a host of specially created content to help the user prepare for the race at the end of April. Featuring hundreds of race routes around the country, runners also have access to training tips, a personal tracker option with social media sharing facilities as well as updates on the Samsung Run Dublin @ Night event itself. Race ambassadors Bryan Cullen, Dublin GAA Footballer and his wife Ailís McSweeney, accomplished Irish sprinter and current 100m record holder, will provide exclusive tips and their own training diary for the upcoming 10KM race.
GymPact – http://www.gym-pact.com/ – This is a great app. You put set when you want to work out and then set how much your willing to pay if you don’t go. You need to check into the gym in the app. If you go, you make money from those who don’t and if you don’t go, you loose your money and those who went, get your money! it’s a great motivational tool and during their trials it had a 90% success rate for people going to the gym
Fitness Buddy – this one is great if you’re not sure how to use the gym properly. If you want to build muscle and enjoy strength workouts, you are going to love Fitness Buddy. Gizmodo called it “one of the best apps ever,” while Lifehacker gave the app high ratings as “a comprehensive exercise planner.”
For only 0.99euro, Fitness Buddy features over 1,700 exercises, over 1,000 HD photos and videos, an exercise by muscles feature, a muscles map and over 45 full-length workouts. The paid version also allows you to listen to music while you workout.
It’s one of the only apps, especially in this price range, with workouts utilizing gym equipment like cable machines and barbells, kettlebells and resistance bands. Plus, you can choose from sports conditioning workouts like baseball, hockey and tennis, or create you own workout using the library of exercises.
Fitness Buddy breaks down each exercise with a series of photos and very good instructions, making it great for strength training exercises. It’s not going to get your heart rate up with cardio, but you will build muscle with workouts like the “Ripped Back Program”. It’s an excellent app for strength training, especially if you want to build a program to take to the gym.
Input your body weight, reps and the weight you used for each exercise, and the app allows you to track and graph your progress. There is even an option for keeping track of your blood pressure.
Now to the Gadgets:
Fitbit One – i use this my self. It’s basically an advance pedometer. it’s a little ‘bit’, about the size of a USB stick. It tracks your steps, stairs climbed, distance, calories burned (and consumed if you use the app) and even tracks your sleep. I find it a great motivational tool myself. It tells me when I get home if I’ve met my daily goal or how far off it I am. I find myself going back out again for a while more to meet my goal if I haven’t already met it.
Nike Fuel – This is an interesting one. It’s a gadget that you wear on your wrist like a watch. It tracks your movements and you earl fuel for it. You set your goal and like the Fitbit, try to reach it. you can see the indicators on the band go from empty to full through out the day so you know how you’re doing. Again, it’s a great motivational tool.
Console based fitness:
Obviously, the Wii fit got alot of this going, but it’s really moved on since then. You’ve got things like Nike+ Kinect training on Xbox. With this you really do get a good workout. Unlike the Wii, the Xbox Kinect can track your whole body and let you know if you’re doing it right / fast enough / should be doing it better. It gives you a proper whole body workout.
You’ve also got the like of EA Sports Active 2. this is available on all consoles. The Original Sports Active on the Wii was one of the best fitness systems for the Wii (way better than the WiiFit stuff) and Sports Active 2 expands on this. If you have an Xbox, it will use the Kinect and if you have a PS3 it will use the Move controllers. Again, these actually give a great whole bodywork out at home.
A more advanced system is the UFC Personal Trainer. This is an extreme workout and trains you up on the various UFC Moves and Techniques. This could help with the White Collar boxing traning. It’s on Xbox Kinect.
‘Pro’ Stuff
Garmin Forerunner: This is a watch range with GPS built in. They range in price from 130 to 400 with the top end models tracking swimming. That is strokes, stroke type, etc… These are very accurate and very popular with pro runners.
Polar Range. These again are watch based. They range in price from 80 up to 500+. The benifit of these is alot of them will communicate your heart rate to most of the gym equipment out there. These are basically an industry standard that range from helping you improve your fitness to help you cycle better!
All these should show you If you don’t have time to go to the gym, you really don’t have an excuse any more to not keep in shape, there’s so many options out there, and really one to suit eveyone
