Running is hard oeuvre . On cold , showery mornings — or after a recollective workday — come up the inspiration to get out the door can be pall . But I ’ve found that , along with nerveless young shoes , there ’s one major technological advancement that spend a penny getting in shape easier these days : the iPod . Thanks to an abundance of seaworthiness - oriented ADHD - ons , your iPod can serve make all kinds of seaworthiness more fun .
Get fit for free
The fastest — and least expensive — way to start using your iPod as a seaworthiness cock is to check out the Podcasts page at the iTunes Store ( tap the Podcasts link in the upper remaining windowpane of the store ’s main page ) . Under Categories , choose Health , and then tap the Fitness & Nutrition connectedness in the More Health window on the Health page . Here you ’ll discover podcasts on everything from running to conditioning and anaerobic exercise .
Yoga fan will find several podcasts , my favorite of which is Yoga Today . Every day of the workweek , Yoga Today publishes a novel time of day - long video podcast of instructor in Jackson Hole , Wyoming , who guide you through durability , flexibility , and meditative exercises .
Another pop workout tool , fitPod’sfitMixesare high - energy music lead design to keep you move during a workout . These mixes focus on cadence - per - minute ( M.M. ) counts . On the fitPod entanglement web site , you ’ll also find user - bring forth playlist and mixes , along with meeting place where users partake in backsheesh and where fitPod staff member post the former iPod- and fitness - tie in news .
Extra steps
For lead runners and off - route cyclists await to tap the iPod even more , Berbie’sTrailRunner 1.3(payment requested ) can send maps to any iPod with a colour cover . diagram your road with this Mac software system by snap on an on - screen door map ( pulled from the U.S. Geological Survey by nonremittal ) to establish point - to - point focusing . you could then export routes to your iPod , where the maps will appear as exposure slide show . you may also spell workouts from an iPod nano equipped with the Nike+ iPod Sport Kit ( more on Nike+ iPod briefly ) , exportation data from or spell it to a Garmin GPS , and exportation routes from or import them to Google Earth . The program even include a diary and a calendar so you’re able to keep data track of your workouts over clip .
PumpOne’sTrainers($5 and up ) are another cool option . tot to your iPhoto library as an record album , each Trainer is a serial of images with footfall - by - footprint instructions on yoga , Pilates , stretching , ab sculpting , and so on — you name it . synchronize an album with your iPod , and you may view the images as a slide show follow by your favorite playlist .
Nike+ iPod Sport Kit
If you ’re a runner , the reigning Au medallist of iPod physical fitness products is the Nike+ iPod Sport Kit (; $ 29 ) . The kit lie of two parts , a pass catcher and a sensor .
The receiver plug into your iPod nano ’s dock connector ( it influence only with the nano ) . After you connect the telephone receiver , a new Nike+ iPod selection come out in the iPod ’s menu . snap on it , and choose the configurations option . recruit your weight ( crucial for calculating large calorie burning ) , choose either miles or klick , and pick either a male person or a female articulation to provide feedback . This is also where you choose a PowerSong , a kind of hearable caffeine shot for your workout ( see “ Five Sport Kit Tips ” ) .
You affix the sensor to a shoe , and it then pass over your speed and distance , transmitting that data to the receiver plug into to your nano . Nike presently sells several shoes with a special sensor compartment in the sole and promises that all its shoes will be compatible by year ’s end . you may also corrupt a sensor sac such as Marware’sSportsuit Sensor+ (; $ 10 ) , but some runners say that this pouch and other solutionsimpair the sensing element ’s performance .
Get MovingWhen you ’re ready to lead , you’re able to pick out from four workout types : basic , distance , sentence , and nutritionist’s calorie . If you do n’t have a end in judgment , choose the canonic mode , which will measure your time , distance , and combust calories as you range . The other workout types let you choose a goal to work on toward — arrange a goal of running five miles , for representative , and your iPod will periodically herald how close you are to reaching it . When you lay out new speed and space records , the kit even give way you positivistic feedback from renown athletes — I nigh tripped over my lace when I first heard Lance Armstrong congratulating me .
Track Your ResultsWhen you stop your run , press the computer menu push and select End Workout . Your nano will display your run sum , including time , length , pace , and burned calories . Now you ’re quick to send your information to Nike ’s Web site . The first time you sync your nano after using the Sport Kit , a Modern Nike+ iPod tab key will seem in your iPod window in iTunes . The tab display your most recent exercising data , and after record with Nike , you may choose to upload that data point automatically to Nike after each test .
On the Nike+ Web site , you could ascertain out the details of your late tally , as well as graphs that show your progression over clock time , your full distances , and how your stride changed over the course of a rill . you may also arrange goals and track your progression . If you ’re looking for a new path , tap the Maps tab , and you could search for runs in your sphere — or build and upload your own course of instruction with a version of Google Maps that ’s built into the port . you may then share ( or keep secret ) your pet track and route .
unite the GroupThe Sport Kit can also link up you to a residential district of runners with similar abilities , through Nike ’s Web land site . Log on to the Nike+ meeting place ( forums.nike.com ) to compete against other runners and see your results online . Create or accept a challenge , and as you upload your data to Nike+ , it will track your progress against your competitors ’ .
Five Sport Kit tips
I ’ve been using the Nike+ iPod Sport Kit since its vent in July 2006 . Here are my five top tips for getting the most out of it .
1 . Calibrate the KitI found that my Sport Kit was off by as much as 0.05 mile . If you ’re a serious stolon , you ’ll need to bump up the accuracy . Take it to your local track , choose the Calibrate choice on your iPod ( Nike+iPod : preferences : Sensor ) , and then understudy run and walk make aloofness to hone it .
2 . Use the Select ButtonWhen you tap the iPod ’s select push , your Sport Kit will provide hearable feedback about your time , length , and pace . It also immortalise the data with each press , and will later display that data on the Web in the form of marker along your political campaign . If you want to know how your pace change when you run uphill , or over the course of a long run , be sure to press the blue-ribbon release sporadically as you go .
3 . Pump Up Your PowerSongThe Sport Kit permit you designate a track as a PowerSong , something to motivate you through a elusive patch . To activate it , urge on and defy the select button . Whatever track is playing will stop , and your PowerSong will kick in .
4 . make Better PlaylistsWhen you ’re creating a workout play list , pick some birdsong with a immobile tempo and some with a irksome tempo , and then alternate them at intervals of three or four minutes . This is great for endurance - building interval training — working out at 80 per centum or so of your maximum effort , and following that by cooling - off menstruation where you ’re only at 50 percentage . For helper , fit out the Nike Sport Music segment of the iTunes Store .
5 . Make GoalsIt aid to have goals . It help even more to always remind yourself of your goals . One way of life to do so is with the free Nike+ Goal thingumabob , which permit you use Dashboard to stay abreast of your advance on goals you set through the Nike Web internet site .
[ Mathew Honan pen about engineering science for theNational Journal ’s Technology DailyandWired . He is currently training for a triathlon . ]