High-tech fitness devices
Hit the road, hit the gym — or just stay at home and sweat with the latest training tech
Determined to get moving this year? Track your progress and up your game with the latest personal training tech, whatever your sport or fitness level.
The gym is the first port of call for most people who want to improve their fitness, and Apple recently unveiled big plans to get into the gym business. But rather than opening a chain of elegantly designed gyms, Apple came up with GymKit, a new piece of software that is included in watchOS 4. GymKit enables treadmills, rowing machines, and other types of fitness equipment to record data about your workout, such as distance, speed, and calories burned, and transmit that data direct to your Apple Watch.
Of course, an iPhone or Apple Watch can already monitor how far or fast you run when you’re jogging or cycling around the park, but they’re less useful if you’re simply running on the spot on a machine at the gym. But a running machine that works with GymKit can use an NFC (near-field communication) chip to record the details of your workout in precise detail, and then simply push that data over onto your Apple Watch.
Apple has announced that it is working with all the main manufacturers of gym equipment to add GymKit support to its products, including Life Fitness, StairMaster, and Nautilus, and some of them have even promised to release their first GymKit-compatible machines by the end of 2018. However, most gyms tend to update their equipment every two or three years, so it could take a while for Apple’s new tech to reach the majority of US gyms.
Work it out
If you want to get started a little sooner, then there are still plenty of options available for taking your training to the next level.
The Apple Watch does include both heart rate and motion sensors, but it’s something of a
A tr ainer c an be used to c onvert a bike int o an exercise ma chine
jack-of-all-trades device, so for many sports people, a more specialized heart sensor can be useful (or just cheaper than buying an Apple Watch). Wahoo is perhaps the most well-known name here, as its Tickr range of sensors is sold in Apple Stores.
The basic Tickr model starts at just $49.99, and provides precise, real-time monitoring of your heart rate and calorie consumption. For more detailed monitoring, there’s the Tickr X for $79.99, which includes additional sensors for running and other sports, as well as a special “treadmill” mode so that you can use it at the gym as well as when you’re running outdoors. Other affordable sports tech that comes in at under $100 includes devices such as the Tangram range of smart jump ropes. The Smart Rope Pure starts at $59.95, and includes magnetic sensors that can monitor your jump rate and calorie consumption, and its Smart Gym app for iOS and Apple Watch enables you to program interval training routines and other types of workout. You can also buy the Smart Rope LED from $79.95, which has a series of LEDs embedded in the rope. These create a lingering after-image that displays your workout data hovering in mid-air as the rope spins round and round.
We’re also fans of the Zepp range of sports sensors. Some of these — such as the tennis, baseball, and golf sensors — focus more on technique, helping you to improve the accuracy and precision of your game, but Zepp also makes a soccer sensor for $99.99 that you can wear inside a special calf sleeve. This monitors your performance during a game, and can record data such as your sprinting speed, kick speed, and the distance covered during a match to see whether
your fitness is up to scratch. Zepp also sells a team edition for just under $3,000, which includes 32 sensors and calf sleeves of different sizes, a team edition charging case, and a carry bag.
Bicycle race
If you’re willing to spend a bit more money, you can buy your own rowing machine or cycling machine for use at home. Concept2 is one of the main manufacturers in this field, and its range of rowing machines, cycling and “ski-erg” machines are great for working on general cardio fitness. They’re a bit pricey, with the Model D rowing machine starting at around $900, and $990 for the BikeErg cycling machine, but Concept2’s products are used in a lot of gyms as well, and there’s a small industry of third-party apps that work with the company’s fitness equipment. This data can be fed into Apple’s Activity and Health apps, of course.
A less expensive option for use at home is a “trainer” — a special stand that you can use to convert an ordinary bike into a stationary exercise machine, which comes complete with Bluetooth connectivity for your iPhone.
Along with its Tickr heart sensors, Wahoo makes a number of Kickr Trainers, starting at $599 for the Kickr Snap. For an additional $599, you can buy the Kickr Climb, an add-on for the Snap that raises and lowers the front of the bike to simulate hill climbs. The company even makes a range of accessories for its fitness gear, such as a “desk” stand you can place in front of your bike so that you can do some work on your laptop while you’re exercising on your bike. And if that’s too expensive for you, both Wahoo and Garmin have a range of affordable “cycling computers,” starting at less than $100, that turn your old rust bucket into a high-tech smart bike with GPS and other useful fitness features.