By Thomas Pretty
Special to NurseZone
Sports might be about getting fit, but that doesn't mean it's not without its gadgets. Whether you're running, cycling, snowboarding or swimming, gadgets can help you get the most out of training. Here are a couple of great gadgets that will maximize your training, helping you on the road to victory.
Nike+ SportBand
The Nike+ SportBand allows runners to get real-time performance feedback during a run--giving them information on their distance, pace, time and calories burned, in addition to gaining access to all of the features and tools on the NikePlus Web site.
The Nike+ SportBand watch face is a detachable link that captures all the run data from a sensor located in the runner's Nike+ ready footwear and once a run is completed, the link plugs into a computer's USB drive, so data can be tracked. The system also offers Nike+ Coach so beginners and intermediate runners can access existing programs to train for a 5k, 10k, half-marathon or full marathon.
Orange e-diet
Launching later in the year, the Orange e-diet is a text service in the UK that will allow you to monitor calories in the food you eat on the go. Users wanting to monitor what they eat will be able to text orange and get the calorie count back giving them the information of whether its good or bad for them before they buy.
Samsung miCoach Fitness Mobile Phone
We've had camera-focused phones; we've had music-focused phones; and now Samsung is to launch a fitness-focused phone. Called the miCoach (F110), the quad-band slider handset will offer a dedicated fitness button that once connected to a heart rate monitor and a step counter will give you information about your heart beat, distance covered and time running when out on a run.
But rather than just record your information to download to a computer later, the phone, through the headphones, will give you running information on the fly by simply tapping the screen. Measuring your heartbeat, the phone will also tell you if you are running too fast or too slow, based on the fitness program you have selected. The miCoach will offer over 220 training programs via a fitness Web site--ranging from plans focused towards you losing weight or running a marathon in addition to measuring your running speed within four zones to best suit your training based on an initial assessment run.
Wii Fit
The computer game from Nintendo means you can play computer games and get fit at the same time. The Wii Fit comes bundled with the Wii Balance Board. It senses weight and shift in balance in any direction and therefore by standing on the Wii Balance Board during activities allows players to follow along to movements ensuring they have full control of the on-screen activities.
There are four training categories including Aerobic Exercises, Muscle Workouts, Yoga and Balance Games that Nintendo claim will help you (and your friends/family) to develop bodily balance control ability, burn fat in the body, help tone and condition muscles, as well as help increase aerobic stamina. Within those categories there are over 40 different activities such as Hula Hoop, Ski Jump, Press-up Challenge, Rhythm Boxing, Rowing Squat, Lunge and classic Yoga poses such as Half Moon, Tree and Crocodile Twist.
H20 Audio headphones
The H20 Audio headphones aren't any old headphones, but waterproof headphones that let you listen to your iPod to a depth of up to 10 feet or 3 meters, thanks to waterproof housing and waterproof speakers. Robust enough for "active water sports" thanks to a behind-the-neck design, silicone earplugs and a durable neck wrap to keep them in place, you'll be singing underwater as you do length after length.
In the past technology has been accused of making us lazier. Clearly with the development of technologies such as these the move is towards using equipment to improve our fitness.
Technology expert Thomas Pretty looks into how sports fitness news programs are increasingly reporting devices that work towards improving the user's health and well-being. To find out more please access ,www.pocket-lint.co.uk/sportsfitness
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