Diet & fitness
Don’t let your new year resolutions flounder – with the right tech and apps, you can get your goals over the finishing line
Almost everyone dreams of getting into shape after the Christmas excess. According to a recent study by Sundried, 95% of new year resolutions are fitness-related. Sadly, nearly half of those people who set themselves a January health target give it up after just one month.
Common reasons for this steep decline in motivation include boredom (many people seem to think that the only way of getting into shape is by pounding the treadmill for hours on end) and a lack of guidance.
The good news is that there are loads of apps and gadgets out there that are designed to make your workouts fun, give you detailed analysis on your progress – and ultimately keep your fitness goals on track.
If you’re looking for a workout that doesn’t actually feel like work, you’ll probably find it on the Rabble network – where high-intensity workouts are shoehorned into fun team games such as dodgeball, British bulldog and rounders. Searchable by geographical area via the Rabble app (Android/iOS), the competitively priced activities are designed to improve your speed, endurance, co-ordination, strength and agility. There’s every chance they’ll boost your social life, too.
personal trainer
Another fitness app, Sworkit (Android/iOS), aims to keep you motivated by giving you the power to customise your own video workouts. Tell it whether you want to be leaner, fitter or stronger, and how long you’d like your session to be (from five to 60 minutes), and you’ll be issued with your own personalised exercise routine, which you can follow in the comfort of your own home.
With a VR headset at your disposal, there are myriad ways you can make your workout more entertaining. Sprint Vector (£22.99, Oculus/PSVR/Steam) sees you partaking in thrilling intergalactic parkour races that require you to bend your legs and pump your arms until they ache. Boxing fans can work up a sweat as they spar their way to glory in the arcade-style Knockout League (prices vary, Oculus/PSVR/Steam). Or put on your virtual gloves for a game of GoalkeepVR (prices vary, Steam/Oculus/HTC Vive), a title that requires you to squat and lunge in an attempt to keep out a stream of footballs.
Keeping track of your progress is another way to maintain your interest levels for the long term, and few pieces of kit do the job better than Athos’s range of compression garments for men and women (prices vary,
liveathos.com). Clip a tiny Athos Core device to the sweatshirts, shorts or leggings, and it’ll communicate with sensors built into the clothing, before feeding back biometric data to your iOS device.
Doing a similar job, but in your bathroom, is the QardioBase 2 (£129.99, getqardio.com).
This smart scale will recognise whichever member of the family stands on it, and automatically display their current weight, BMI and full body composition. It’ll even flash up a smiley or unhappy face depending on how well they’re keeping to their goals.
Tennis is a fun and effective way of keeping in shape, and Zepp’s Tennis 2 gadget ($100/£78, zepp.com) will empower you to play better for longer. Attaching to your racket handle, this device will appraise your every shot to help you keep those unforced errors to a minimum. It’ll even record highlights of your rallies, so you can relive that Federer-style drop shot again and again.
Finally, you’re more likely to keep up your fitness if you have some decent footwear. Saucony’s Guide ISO trainers (£120, saucony.
com) are packed with tech to keep your feet comfy and bring out the athlete in you. A revolutionary Isofit system moulds to your tootsies for a custom fit. An 8mm offset ensures that your body remains balanced with every foot strike. And Everun cushioning provides stronger take-offs and smoother landings.