New gadgets and technology are making fitness easier to monitor – and achieve
Map My Tracks
Fitness websites are springing up all over the net. But how do you know whether they’re worth clicking on? One excellent example is Map My Tracks (www.mapmytracks.com). It’s easy to navigate, quicker – much quicker – to load than rival Training Peaks, and the onus seems to be squarely on the social side of things. It’s a site compatible with most bits of GPS hardware, but there is related app – Map My Tracks OutFront – for the iPhone (an Android app is on the way, but in the meantime a phone loaded with the OruxMaps app worked just fine). Once you’ve uploaded your data you can track your ‘activities’ in a number of different ways.
The Training Room area displays your progress by activity or calendar, counting each individual performance to tot up your total distance, duration, average speed and calories burned, as well as any comments you’ve made. Clubs and groups of friends can use the ever-so-handy ‘Teams zone’ to share workouts and compare statistics – which is an excellent tool for coaches to keep tabs on their charges. There’s also a leader-board, underlining the social aspect of the site, where you see your total standing in terms of most distance, most activities and most duration. There’s no pride in lurking at 817th overall, but it is enough encouragement to log absolutely everything I do and spend more time poring over the stats.
Fitocracy
There is a new sway of resources currently combining the ethos of videogames with the realities of fitness. In these virtual worlds running and training means points and points mean prizes: not real ones – just brightly coloured trophy icons on a screen. Fitocracy (fitocracy.com) is the closest to realising this vision. Although still in development, the website sticks to a videogame blueprint – you complete quests to earn points and move up levels. Logging your normal workout activities – whether running, walking, weights, or just about any other sport – will help in completing the various imaginatively titled quests. The more you complete the faster you beat the levels, the first of which are easy to get past – I reached level five by training like I normally would. The higher the level though, the harder you have to work to beat it. There’s also a social element to the game, allowing you to compete with friends, while a Facebook style feed on the homepage shows status updates, achievements and comments. There are also groups to join and forums to swap tips and indulge in the odd bit of bragging.
There’s a certain amount of trust involved – trust that you’ll be honest with yourself and the people in your community, because you’re logging all the data manually. More integration with the numerous bits of GPS hardware available would be a good step forward, and would make Fitocracy essential in an ever growing market of statistic heavy running and fitness sites.
Striiv ($99);
2012 looks like the year self-tracking gadgets will break into the mainstream of the consumer electronics market. The Striiv is aimed at beginners and for something that’s the size of a matchbox it packs in an unbelievable amount of functionality. It counts steps (both running and walking), stairs climbed, miles covered, calories burnt, sets you challenges, records stats, and donates money to charity. Your activity levels power the in-built game – MyLand (the more active you are, the more you unlock – that includes ostriches). It’s a subtle motivator disguised as a fancy pedometer. And it does the job – I found myself doing more exercise than normal for what might be considered ridiculous reasons. I wanted to progress in MyLand – I wanted to win an ostrich, build a Lemur Mansion and a Fountain of Youth.
Fitbit Ultra ($99)
The other neo-pedometer I’ve been testing is the Fitbit Ultra ($99.95) – a natty bit of kit perfect for beginners and intermediates. This wireless activity tracker is roughly the size of a USB stick, and tracks your steps, stairs climbed, calories burnt, as well as your sleep patterns. The unit is limited in what it displays – the real beauty emerges when checking your stats on the website. It wirelessly uploads data onto your personal page and you can view all the stats on easy-to-understand graphs, which show your activity intensity levels, how well you slept and much, much more. You can also add what food you’ve eaten to get a more accurate daily calorie count.
The Definitive Guide to Pilates Exercises The complete Pilates programme includes more than 100 mat and standing exercises for absolutely everyone – beginners to..
There is a new sway of resources currently combining the ethos of videogames with the realities of fitness. In these virtual worlds running and training means points and points mean prizes: not real ones – just brightly coloured trophy icons on a screen. Fitocracy (fitocracy.com) is the closest to realising this vision. Although still in development, the website sticks to a videogame blueprint – you complete quests to earn points and move up levels. Logging your normal workout activities – whether running, walking, weights, or just about any other sport – will help in completing the various imaginatively titled quests. The more you complete the faster you beat the levels, the first of which are easy to get past – I reached level five by training like I normally would. The higher the level though, the harder you have to work to beat it. There’s also a social element to the game, allowing you to compete with friends, while a Facebook style feed on the homepage shows status updates, achievements and comments. There are also groups to join and forums to swap tips and indulge in the odd bit of bragging.
2012 looks like the year self-tracking gadgets will break into the mainstream of the consumer electronics market. The Striiv is aimed at beginners and for something that’s the size of a matchbox it packs in an unbelievable amount of functionality. It counts steps (both running and walking), stairs climbed, miles covered, calories burnt, sets you challenges, records stats, and donates money to charity. Your activity levels power the in-built game – MyLand (the more active you are, the more you unlock – that includes ostriches). It’s a subtle motivator disguised as a fancy pedometer. And it does the job – I found myself doing more exercise than normal for what might be considered ridiculous reasons. I wanted to progress in MyLand – I wanted to win an ostrich, build a Lemur Mansion and a Fountain of Youth.
