Being a ‘geek girl’ I love using technology to motivate me for my daily exercise. Having a FitBit has really made a difference in being active every day, especially when often I am sitting working at my computer or iPad. With the advent of wearable technology, you can now collect data as you exercise and send it to apps such as My Fitness Pal, Map My Run, or whatever your app of choice happens to be!
Below is a quick round-up of some of the wearable technology available for various sports.
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Multi-use Devices
Looking for wearable tech that can track more than one sport/activity? Moov is being released in spring 2014 and at the bargain pre-order price of $79.95, although it will go up to $120 when it’s released. It covers five different workouts: running, weight training, cardio boxing, swimming, and biking. It’s a nice alternative to most of the existing wearable tech is that it is only focused on one sport, such as running or cycling.
Swimming
When I used to train 3-4 times a week–often swimming at least 2 kilometres a training session–the biggest problem that I had was boredom. I love music at the best of times and being able to listen to music would have definitely made training much easier. Pyle audio has released waterproof neckband headphones that can store and play up to 4GB of music. It also comes with 3 x waterproof earbuds and 3 x land based ear buds to change over when needed.
Hiking (or Tramping, for the Kiwis!)
One of my family friend’s sons had to activate a EPIRB (Digital Radiobeacon) in winter last year after falling out of a whitewater raft while down the Franklin River in Southern Tasmania. They had to be rescued by helicopter as the location was so remote. It was a lucky thing for both of them that they had this device and were able to activate it.
Another friend of mine who lives on the South Island, NZ who does a lot of hiking (or tramping, if you prefer) also uses a GPS Satellite Messenger. He had to activate his after a snowstorm swept through one of the places that they were walking through, and was promptly rescued. Often, you don’t realise technology can save lives until you know someone whose life has been saved!
Running
photo credit: robpegoraro
My aim for 2014/2015 is to set a goal for some running (and actually doing a Fun Run) so something like the Magellan Echo watch would work really well. This particular smartwatch syncs with other great apps such as Map My Run, Wahoo, iSmooth Run and iMobile Intervals. I also love that it can be also bought with a matching heart rate monitor for those who are serious about their cardiac workouts or running.
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Skiing
While researching for this article, I came across the Recon Engage, which looks like an amazing product. This is following on from the footsteps of Google Glasses with information being viewed out from a pair of eyewear (in this case, customised Ski googles). With this product you can see where you went during your run (map) , the images during the ski run, who you were with and more, alongside key performance stats. All this information is overlaid on Google Maps.
What sort of wearable technology do you own? Does it encourage you to exercise? Would you wear wearable clothing? We’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments!
Featured Image: Stephan Geyer