Twenty years ago, there were hardly any tech gadgets available on the market for you to use during your daily workout. In today’s world of advanced technology, however, there is an abundance of gadgets that you can purchase in all shapes, sizes and colors. Which gadgets are worthy of your money and the most effective for your cardio workouts?
- Philips Activa
- The Nike+ Sport Band
- The Adidas miCoach Pacer
- The Fitbit
- The Wii Fit System
- Exercise Accessories from the Digital Age
MP3 players are extremely popular and used by millions of people every day during their exercise routines. It is both relaxing and motivating to be able to hear your favorite songs playing in your ear while you are running on the treadmill, lifting weights or even riding your bike. But, how many MP3 players do you know of that are able to automatically match the song being played with the type of workout that you are doing while you do it? The Philips Activa does just that with the assistance of its popular, integrated feature known as “Tempo Music”. This feature is programmed to go through your music library and choose the perfect song that matches the intensity of your aerobic workout. This eliminates the inconvenience that other music players put you through of having to take the time to either create the perfect playlist before your workout or take time from your workout to manually select the perfect song while you are exercising.
If you wanted to be able to record the timing of your exercise, pace of your cardio workouts and the distance of your runs, you would normally need to have access to several different tools or devices and maybe even another person to assist you. However, the Nike+ Sport Band was designed to combine all of those things in one device that runs automatically on its own. This Sport Band electronically communicates with a sensor that is in your sneakers. It works while you work out, calculating all of the details of your cardio workouts that you would need to look at several different devices to get otherwise. By using this Sport Band, you are able to focus simply on completing your workout without having to worry about manually gathering this data yourself.
Adidas wanted to take advantage of the market that Nike tapped into with their Nike+ Sport Band. Therefore, they designed the miCoach Pacer which also does the job of several different devices all at the same time. It is a pedometer, a calorie counter and a heart rate monitor that can be synced with your MP3 player and work for you as the ultimate tech gadget during your workout. Like the Nike+ Sport Band, the miCoach Pacer also has an integrated voice feature that coaches you through your workouts – making sure that you stay within your targeted heart rate zone and are getting the most out of your workout.
If you do not need something as hi-tech as the Nike+ Sport Band or the Adidas miCoach Pacer, you can go with a simple monitoring device such as the Fitbit. The Fitbit is a slim clip gadget that you can clip to your belt, shirt or even armband with you at any time. It has a motion-detecting sensor that still keeps track of everything that you need to know during the day about your workouts – how far you have walked or run, how many calories you have burned and it is even capable of monitoring your sleep patterns.
There has been a lot of positive reviews and overall feedback about the effectiveness of working out with the Wii Fit system. This is an expansion system for the Nintendo Wii that provides you with a balance board to use with a Wii Fit exercise video game that allows you to complete aerobic exercises, yoga routines, jogging and a list of other exercises as well. In addition to these cardio workouts, the Wii Fit system will also track the number of calories that you were able to burn while simply playing a video game.
With all of the advances that have been made in the past couple of decades in technology, the world of exercise accessories has definitely been changed forever. There is a long list of devices available for you to choose from. It all depends on what you are looking for and what you need in order to get exactly what you expect from your workouts.
Videojug provides free and professionally-produced “how to” videos and guides covering every conceivable topic, giving expert solutions and advice on getting good at life. In 2012 there are a lot of options to choose your favourite tech gadgets for your cardio workouts. This article was written by a guest author. Would you like to write for us?