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Some of us are natural-born gym rats. We love the thud of the dumbbell as it hits the floor. We break a sweat just ogling the rows of shiny equipment. And we wouldn’t trade the musty funk of the weight room for a bouquet of fresh-cut roses.
For the rest of us, there’s wireless fitness. Whether you favor playing virtual tennis with a handheld remote or trekking through the desert guided by a GPS-linked pedometer, there’s a gadget to suit everyone’s needs. According to technology trend watcher ABI Research, more than 400 million wearable wireless gadgets will be up for grabs in the next four years. Right now, an estimated 90 percent of these techno tools are geared for fitness.
 “They are changing how we view exercise, the available options we have for exercise, and how we can track our progress, set goals and interact with others,” says Carol Torgan, PhD, an exercise physiologist in Bethesda, Maryland, and Fellow of the American College of Sports Medicine.
Those of us who want to step out in style and boost our health can try one of the new walking gizmos, according to a recent study in The Journal of the American Medical Association that reports walkers who wore pedometers walked a mile more than walkers who didn’t wear a device.
“Pedometers are very simple to use, and go with us anywhere, any time,” Torgan says. “And they provide easy and immediate feedback.”
The SportBrain iStep X1 is a cool doodad that you clip to your waist while you work out. This brainy contraption displays steps, distance and calories burned. In fact, it does just about everything except serve up an icy cold sports drink. Another fun perk allows you to upload your workout data to the Sportbrain website, where you can view your workouts and chat with other Sportbrain users.
Want to monitor your ticker? The Garmin Forerunner 305 GPS personal training unit not only gauges your distance and speed, it includes a chest-strap heart monitor. Plus, it lets you download and overlay your workout onto a map. And you can train indoors with the Foot Pod shoe attachment, which zaps workout data to your Forerunner when GPS reception is unavailable. Another piece of gear that checks your pulse is the WalkStyles DashTrak Pedometer. With the use of a chest strap, this snazzy device displays your heart rate as you walk, and can track your steps, distance, and calories burned which you can download to a wellness worksheet.
 If you prefer donning a sports watch, the Mio Drive Heart Rate Monitor Watch measures your heart rate without a chest strap, plus tracks calories burned and alerts you when you’ve reached your daily max. More than just wrist candy, this timepiece buys you a membership to the 3500 Calorie Club Program, which encourages you to burn 500 calories more than you consume each day. That’s an extra pound shed each week!
Anyone who’s hesitant to shell out extreme coinage for a personal trainer or even a gym membership can simply grab their cell phone and check out the latest fitness apps. They won’t break the piggy bank, and they offer a broad range of fitness features.
Take the iFitness app available on the iPhone. It illustrates a dozen fitness routines targeting everything from weight loss to strength training. If you want to focus on a specific muscle group, you can access a database of 230 exercises, each featuring photos and instructional videos. There’s also a fitness log to record your progress.
Got phone? Then zoom into shape with the latest app from Bones in Motion called BiM Active. Stoked with GPS tracking technology, this service allows you to capture in real-time your distance, speed, location, elevation and calories burned while walking, cycling or running. It gives you audible feedback while you’re exercising and beams goal completion alerts to your cell. You can also upload workout data to your mainframe to track your stats and toss around ideas with other fitness folks online. Who said working out was boring?
Leigh Farr is a freelance writer living in Tempe. She has contributed articles to Self, Men’s Health, Woman’s Day and Woman’s World.
Rock the Remote
Some days it’s hard to get up off the couch. That’s where interactive video games come in. While they don’t replace traditional aerobic exercise, such as walking or cycling, they do serve up some health benefits. Recent research published in Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise revealed that time spent playing motion- and gesture-controlled video games can count towards the daily amount of exercise necessary to boost heart health according to guidelines set forth by the American College of Sports Medicine.
But don’t overdo it, experts caution. “In order to get the benefits of this great technology, you need to use these tools in moderation,” according to Deby Harper, a fitness strategist in Scottsdale and founder of The Fitness Company. “Learn to use them correctly and avoid excessively repeating the same exercise.”
Try these activities from Nintendo’s latest gaggle of fitness products:
Tune in and tone up: Wii Fit Plus offers a potpourri of activities designed to help improve your balance and lose weight. In Wii Aerobics, you can jog around Wuhu island or practice spinning the hula hoop. Learn how to strike a half moon pose in Wii Yoga and get feedback from a trainer.
Get sporty. Get your heart pumping in a Wii Sports game, like tennis, baseball, golf or boxing, and use the Wii Remote controller to mimic the movements of a swinging racket,
bat or club. Even virtual bowling boosts heart health. Researchers at the University of West Florida found that people playing Wii Bowling experienced significantly increased heart rates when rolling the ball down the lane.
Challenge the plumber. Think exercise is just a game? Fire up Nintendo’s Mario Power Tennis and you can challenge the infamous plumber on the court. Have a ball playing in a virtual tennis tournament and shed pounds at the same time.
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