We’ve been seeing Bluetooth make more and more inroads into fitness gadgets as of late, and it looks like the Bluetooth Special Interest Group is intent on seeing that trend continue. It announced the formation of a new Sports and Fitness Working Group today, which will be tasked with increasing the interoperability between wearable gadgets and other sensors and so-called “hub” devices like smartphones, TVs and gym equipment. That’s a fairly natural fit for Bluetooth now, but it’s taken until Bluetooth 4.0 for the standard to really emerge as a viable alternative to lower-power options like ANT+ (now commonly used in heart rate monitors and the like).
Continue reading Bluetooth SIG forms new working group focused on fitness gadgets
Bluetooth SIG forms new working group focused on fitness gadgets originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 10 Feb 2012 01:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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If you’re looking for some exergaming action, but don’t have the rhythm — or lack of self awareness — for some existing sport game accesories, how about a game controlled by effort? Using your iDevice’s camera and accelerometer, BitGym has created a control system for playing iOS games while on your exercise equipment of choice (possibly not the trampoline though). The first release is a racer that converts rate of exercise to acceleration and head movement to steering. We’re told there’s an SDK too, so developers looking to trim-up can make their own gym-distractions. Fitness Freeway is available now, but if you want to see it in action, without breaking a sweat jog on over the break for a demo video.
Continue reading Face and ‘effort’ controlled iPad game helps you outrun the competition (video)
Face and ‘effort’ controlled iPad game helps you outrun the competition (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 16 Jan 2012 06:07:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
One of the cool things we’re seeing with mobile devices like Fitbit (see disclosure below) and Nike+ and smartphone apps like Runkeeper is the ability for them to act as powerful sensors that can provide feedback on our health and well being. But one of the most promising ventures in this field is an upcoming product from Pulse Tracer called Basis, a watch monitor that packs in a bunch of sensors that monitor not just movement but heart rates, temperature and skin response.
The company, which is preparing to release its wrist band monitor soon, is fresh off raising million in funding from Norwest Venture Partners and DCM. And today it’s announcing that it’s brought on a new CEO Jef Holove, a former vice president and general manager at Logitech who was lured away from Eye-Fi, where he was CEO. It’s another good sign for what could be a very ground-breaking device with the potential for bringing online behavioral tracking to a much wider audience.
As we’ve noted there are already some popular options for people on the market like FitBit and Runkeeper. But they’re primarily measuring motion using accelerometers. But Basis, which is expected to sell for 9, is outfitted with not just an accelerometer, but also an optical blood flow sensor to measure heart rate, a sensor to measure body heat and also a galvanic skin response sensor. Put it all together and you have a lot more data to measure not just how active someone is, but how their heart rate is doing, how their temperature is faring and how much stress someone is experiencing, which can be measured by changes in the skin and sweat.
“We’re providing a lot of data that enriches the picture of your health,” said Holove. “We can correlate different things. We can compare heart rate to low movement and find out if this is a stressful moment or something else is going on.”
Holove said Basis’ form factor is also critical because it doesn’t require strapping on an unfamiliar device like some heart monitors. It can be worn all throughout the day, which ensures that a lot of data is being gathered.
Basis isn’t just designed to gather information. It works with online tools to help people analyze the information and what the implications are for people. And there are game mechanics built in to motivate users to keep up their activity level. Those parts sound like other solutions on the market. But the real key here is that, provided Basis actually works as advertised, you’re getting a river of data that should help reveal a lot about how people are living. And if people can keep using the sensor because of its watch design, it will help ensure that the feedback loop continues. We’ll know more when the device goes on sale. Holove wouldn’t commit to a launch this year though the company is taking pre-orders.
There is a big opportunity here to improve our health through mobile devices as they take on more functionality at a more affordable price. People also want to take more control over their health these days, but it sometimes takes helpful tools to get them going. At 9, Basis is still not cheap. But it still has a good shot at winning over people if it can do what it says, not just gathering data but providing good analysis and encouragement behind it. If this can work, it will also put us further down the road toward the idea of the quantified self, a concept of helping people understand themselves better through self tracking.
Disclosure: Fitbit is backed by True Ventures, a venture capital firm that is an investor in the parent company of this blog, Giga Omni Media. Om Malik, founder of Giga Omni Media, is also a venture partner at True.
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Can Fitness Gadgets Help You Build Muscle and Lose Weight?
Losing weight and staying fit is a goal for many. New technologies are always coming along to help us with our goals. With so many fitness gadgets on the market, the big question becomes which are good (because they can actually help you build muscle and lose weight), which are bad, and which are just plain crazy. Let’s have a look at a few fitness gadgets these from each category.
The Good
The good can help you build muscle or lose weight. Some can even do both, depending on the gadget.
Nintendo Wii – If you though the Nintendo Wii gaming console was just another game machine you’d be wrong. This revolutionary game console offers some terrific fitness programs, including Cardio Boxing, Wii Fit, and Jillian Michaels Fitness Ultimatum to name just a few. Yoga, Pilates, cardio, strength training, and sports are all just a disc away in your home. Many a couch potato has become a fitness buff since the Nintendo Wii.
Walk Vest – If you haven’t heard of the walk vest, it’s a heavy black vest that comes with eight pounds of weight up to sixteen pounds in the biggest vest. You increase the weight of the vest by placing weights in the pockets. It also includes a workout CD. It may not be pretty but it definitely makes your walk more effective.
IPod Shuffle – If you don’t consider the iPod shuffle a fitness gadget you’d be wrong. It’s a great way to take your mind off your taxing workout and keep you pushing on. After all listening to your favorite music can be energizing in itself.
The Ab Wheel – The ab wheel has you grab the handles located on each side and then you roll it along the floor as you stretch out. It’s a simple idea. Whether there’s any real value is debatable since the same benefit could be enjoyed from a crunch, but it may get a beginner going who might otherwise not get a great ab workout.
The Bad
While they may work, they just seem like a bad idea all around.
The Fitness Cube – The sales pitch is around how it will transform your body and take up little space in your home. It can be used as a chair, and hides a variety of accessories. Whether it’s got any real value appears to be a negative, although the infomercial is pretty funny.
The Perfect Pushup – If you thought the pushup was above being improved, you’d be wrong. The perfect pushup is a device with rubber bottoms and swivel handled mounts. The grip rotation lets you take your pushup to a new level. The question is whether there’s any real fitness value and the answer is no.
The Crazy
What fun would it be if we didn’t mention a couple of the crazy fitness ideas that have come to be.
iGallop – The iGallop is designed to simulate a horseback ride, working the thighs, lower back, and abdomen. That said Pilates are a much better workout.
Shake Weight – The object to Shake Weight is to have inertia tighten and tone your arms using vibration. Whether it works or not is really unknown but logic would say no. It is however one of the craziest devices we’ve seen.
There you have it. The good, the bad, and the crazy. It would seem that while fitness gadgets can certainly help build muscle and lose weight, they can also do nothing. Before wasting your money on something you won’t use–or that will break the first time you try it–it’s important to do some research. Read reviews online and follow your favorite health and fitness blogs. If you choose your fitness gadgets carefully, you might have a tool that can help you reach your goals; if you don’t choose carefully, you’ll just end up with more clutter that will end up in the garage.
If you like to read about fitness and sports gadgets, check out the author’s blog. Daily posts highlight the good, the bad, and the crazy (hey, we have to be able to find entertainment in the workout world, right?).
There is a reality show on NBC that has helped people who are carrying too many pounds get started on their own weight loss journey. During the season one contestant is sent home during every episode. However, on The Biggest Loser, the contestants are not really putting others down. Although they have the help of weight loss professionals, it is up to the participant to put in the effort to eat right and exercise. There is no one who will try to prevent you from doing the right thing. The destiny of the contestants in their own hands. It is so much more than following a diet and doing a six pack ab exercise program every night before they go to bed. This is not a reality show that is loved by all. The one’s who are not fans of the show probably do not have an interest in fitness and living a healthy life. But the show does have a long line of die hard fans. Whenever a team lost a challenge, the team members often argued fiercely over who caused the loss or did not work hard enough. Also, they are constantly tempted by high-calorie foods. The participants on the show are sequestered at a location away from their own homes. They have to stay with strangers and occasionally being yelled by the trainers to work them out unmercifully. The people on the Biggest Loser undergo radical transformations as they lose incredible amounts of weight while competing for the crown. The biggest loser weight loss forum is full of people who analyze every move the contestants make and follow their weight loss journey with a microscope. Participants have lost over half their body weight during a single season. It is also amazing to watch the mental change that participants go through while on the show. They learn to fell good about themselves again. The way that a person looks after they have competed on the show is truly remarkable. Some of them are actually very good looking with their new frames. They were hiding it behind all of the fat on their body. The ones who are closest to the contestants are shocked at their new looks after they have been on the ranch. If they had followed a weight loss program at home like http://www.fatlossfactor.com they might have lost the weight but they would not have gotten the exposure and the public recognition for their incredible transformations. It is definitely not an easy path for every one in the show. All had to struggle. It is very easy to revert back to the ways that caused their weight issues. Some decided to give up the rigorous exercise routine. Some cried. Contestants talked about the reason why their weight gain become out of control. It might be caused by their emotional scars during their younger days. Each individual had to dig deep within themselves to find out the reasons. One thing which every contestant agreed is that he or she needed a complete lifestyle change. People, who like the show, view it as an inspiration to start dieting or start exercising. It gives hope to helpless obese people. It shows people what is possible. There are many people who claim that what the people do on the show is not real because most people cannot dedicate themselves to the schedule that the contestants follow on the show. There are participants who have been on the show that have put all of the pounds back on after they have gone home. The end result of the show is that it is entertainment. Unlike much of television there are some good results from watching it. It doesn’t matter whether someone is on the show or if they watch it at home and get motivated, it is still a good thing. It cannot be denied that at least one person has been helped by the show.
FITNESS CLUB BUSINESS IDEA. If a company made a bunch of plug n play bikes to a KW Meter, Users could compete, who produces more power over a week, month, year. Green Gym Solar Fitness Club off the Grid. Future residential solar power systems. Solar job career opportunity. This is a DC Permanent Magnet Motor used as a generator. The GRID TIE INVERTER is a SPECIAL INVERTER that can attach to your grid and back power your house reducing the electrons you get from the power company. THIS IS NOT A REGULAR INVERTER, do not rig a regular inverter to your grid our you can croak. Also this answerS THE QUESTION AGAIN ABOUT BLACK OUTS AND GRID TIE INVERTERS. They cannot back power during an outage, Electronics prevent this and need voltage detection to work. EVEN if the unit were somehow altered, the load of all the appliances in your house and neighborhood would cause the inverter to overload, so it is not possible to power your neighborhood or even your house alone with a Grid Tie Inverter during a blackout. UNLESS YOU ARE PRODUCING MORE POWER THAN YOUR HOUSE IS USING, THE GRID TIE INVERTER WILL NOT BACK POWER THE ELECTRICAL GRID. THE ELECTRONS PRODUCED FROM YOUR SOLAR PROJECT CONVERTED TO AC VIA THE GTI WILL BE USED BY APPLIANCES AND LIGHTING IN YOUR HOUSE FIRST.
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One of the cool things we’re seeing with mobile devices like Fitbit (see disclosure below) and Nike+ and smartphone apps like Runkeeper is the ability for them to act as powerful sensors that can provide feedback on our health and well being. But one of the most promising ventures in this field is an upcoming product from Pulse Tracer called Basis, a watch monitor that packs in a bunch of sensors that monitor not just movement but heart rates, temperature and skin response.
“We’re providing a lot of data that enriches the picture of your health,” said Holove. “We can correlate different things. We can compare heart rate to low movement and find out if this is a stressful moment or something else is going on.”
