Get Fit! Technology That Moves You June 28, 2008
Posted by Mike in Blogging, exercise, family, geocaching, Hardware, health, iPod, Reviews, Software, Technology, Worth the Money.trackback
What other technology products out there are designed to help you exercise or enjoy the outdoors?
The excitement surrounding the release of the Nintendo Wii Fit got me thinking about this question.
I spent a little time browsing Amazon.com and came up with a few technology gadgets — with many positive user reviews — that will help you get off your couch and get outside (or at least break a sweat inside):
Wii Fit
Exercise without leaving the comfy confines of your own living room. With Nintendo’s addictively fun Wii game system, this new software package will get you exercising in four key areas: Strength Training, Aerobics, Yoga and Balance Games. The games and activities are designed to appeal to all ages, so Mom and Dad can enjoy it just as much as the kids.
Price: $171 on Amazon.com
Apple Nik
e + iPod Sport Kit for iPod nano 1G, 2G, 3G
This is actually an add-on package for an iPod Nano. You’ll need to buy the Nano iPod separately.
“Consisting of a wireless sensor and receiver, the Nike + iPod Sport Kit works exclusively with your Nike+ shoes and iPod nano to give you real-time feedback during workouts.” – Amazon product description.
Price: $29.00 on Amazon.com
Garmin eTrex H Handheld GPS with High Sensitivity GPS
This one intrigues me. GPS devices like this one have led to an explosion in popularity of a game called geocaching. In a nutshell, geocaching is a game of high tech treasure hunting. Players hide “caches” in various places, like parks or camp sites or even urban locations. The map coordinates of the cache are then posted online and other players can go and search for it using a handheld GPS.
For a full description of geocaching, please visit The Official Global GPS Cache Hunt Site
Geocaching sounds like a great family activity. I fully intend to play when my sons get a little older. When the time comes, I’ll take my friend Chris up on his offer to join him on a treasure hunt one day.
While there are a great many varieties of handheld GPS devices, this one is under $100 and should fit the budget of most families.
Price: $93.16 on Amazon.com
Omron HJ-112 Digital Premium Pedometer
Amazon Product Description:
“The HJ-112 accurately measures your steps, as well as aerobic steps and minutes. You can also use it to measure calorie consumption during your workout, as well as the distance you’ve traveled.”
Price: $19.82 on Amazon.com
So, now you can have your “tech” and exercise too. I’ll see you outdoors. Don’t worry about that big ball of light in the sky. That’s called the sun. It’s a good thing. Have fun!
My Tech Talk 
[…] Original post by My Tech Talk […]
Getting technology incorporated with exercise has been a challenge for summer tech camps for years. Cybercamps (cybercamps.com) has done a good job of including active things to do (like GPS scavenger hunt sort of things, I believe), but with technologies like this coming out, they can do much more in the future!
[…] lepton wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerptThe excitement surrounding the release of the Nintendo Wii Fit got me thinking about this question. I spent a little time browsing Amazon.com and came up with a few technology gadgets — with many positive user reviews — that will help … […]
[…] Mike wrote an interesting post today on Get Fit! Technology That Moves You. Here’s a quick excerpt: […]
[…] Get Fit! Technology That Moves You Players hide "caches" in various places, like parks or camp sites or even urban locations. The map coordinates of the cache are then posted… […]
This is just the sweetest little toy. I wear it every day.
I love this little thing. I wear it every day. I even record the number of steps I take each day on my computer, so it has become kind of a game to see how far I can walk each day. Wearing it encourages me to walk each and every day, and to increase the distance I walk.
Anything that encourages me to exercise is good in my eyes. I found that I had walked 21 miles the first week, 25 miles the second, and over 30 miles each week since.
When you first get it, you have to “program it” by entering in your weight, and the length of your stride. That enables it to display not only your steps, but also the distance you walked and the calories you burned. It also automatically resets its daily totals at midnight each day, so you don’t have to remember to do that.
Things I like about it…
1) It really works very well, no false readings.
2) Small and yet easy to read.
3) It gives steps and also aerobic steps (whatever that means – I NEVER read the directions)
4) It clips on anything and works very well (belt-shirt-pocket-anything)
5) It comes with a neat little safety clip so that if you somehow knock it off your belt, the safety clip keeps it attached to you.)
6) It has 7 days memory in it that keeps track of your steps, your aerobic steps, your calories burned, and the miles you walked.
7) Its Price. It is very inexpensive and fairly priced.
I really recommend this product.
Hi Andre!
Thanks for taking the time to add a comment. I appreciate the feedback on the product. It’ll be very helpful to other readers.