Hooked Up and Giving It Away
(Don’t let the headline freak you out, this post isn’t nearly as suggestive as it might seem.)
Technology is so cool. Like so cool that sometimes I can’t believe it exists. Of course, things like space shuttles and face transplants and (let’s be honest here) the internet are hard to comprehend, but I’m also fascinated with flat-screen TVs and Blue Tooth. (Just how do they do it?!) Fitness tech hasn’t been left out of the game either. There are a number of wicked-cool workout pieces out there. Here are a few we uncovered, but don’t ask us to explain how they work…
iPods Do Triple Duty
Thought your iPod Touch or iPhone was just for storing kickin’ workout tracks or entertaining you with movies for a long flight? Think again. New technology allows the iPhone to double as a heart monitor and fitness tracking system that actually listens to your heart. SMHEART LINK is a wireless bridge that collects data from heart rate monitors and cycling sensors and sends it to your iPhone or iTouch via Wi-Fi. Then, through a suite of apps, users can track their fitness data on their iPhone or iTouch. Um, that’s mind-blowingly cool.
Go All Sport
If you don’t have an iPod Touch or iPhone (like me, sad face), all technology hope isn’t lost. AllSport GPS has you AT&T users covered. With its GPS-based fitness-training application, certain cellies can track how far, how long and how super fast you run, hike or walk. Plus, the software figures out how many calories you burn, along with your route and speed. The fun doesn’t stop there either. You can also log your completed routes, share them with friends, search for trails in your area or cities you visit, and race against virtual competitors. The service isn’t free, but at $5.99 a month, it’s not a bad deal. If only I had AT&T. You reading, T-Mobile?
A Cyclist’s Dream
Cyclists: Don’t feel left out of the technology love fest ’cause we’ve got something pretty bad ass for you, too. Say hello to the Team Garmin Edge 705. In a fun bright orange, this puppy is wireless and can monitor GPS position, heart rate, speed, cadence, altitude and gradient on the same display.
This watch/computer/amazing-ness has been used at the Tour de France. The price tag is steep at $499, but can you really put a price on training like a pro? (Plus, you kinda feel like a hip Inspector Gadget when you wear it.)
Flex Your Power
Besides the sweet graphic at right, the DynaFlex PowerBall is kind of amazing and powered by patented gyroscopic technology. I’m not really sure what that means, but let’s just say it lights up and gives your wrist and forearms one heck of a workout. I have to admit that it’s a bit odd and somewhat difficult to start (you pull a string and the baseball-sized ball starts spinning like it has a mind of it’s own as you try to rotate it back and forth—where the workout comes into play), but it definitely works.
The ball can help increase grip strength, dexterity, range of motion, blood flow and muscle tone. It also aids in the rehabilitation of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome and other repetitive stress issues. The ball is used by the U.S. Military Special Forces, professional athletes and NASA to help astronauts maintain muscle tone and flexibility. If it’s good enough for astronauts, it’s gotta be good enough for fit bottomed folks everywhere!
Want to try the DynaFlex PowerBall? Leave us a comment below or send us a line at contact@fitbottomedgirls.com about why you’d like to win the PowerBall (not the lotto kind, unfortunately, although that would be fun, too) by Sunday night, and we’ll announce the winner next week. Good luck to all! —Jenn
Comments
I would love one of those! I have had pain from Carpal Tunnel for years!
I help a low-income school by coaching there softball pitchers. This would be a fabulous tool to help them warm up!
I want one of course, but just so when I’m busy using it I can attract men towards me by the shiny light and then they will ask about it and I can say “well take me on a date and I will explain the complicated workings of it” So basically it’s just a tool for me to get some and hey some fitness while I’m at it.
I have to confess, I’ve always neglected working out my wrist and forearms– mostly because enlarging these areas seems to have no aesthetic value– but that looks like a great tool to solve my “strong girl who can’t open jars” issue.
I would like to have one of these because the more I can incorporate the elements of a rave in to my workout the better!
I would love to workout my wrists and loosen them up from 12 hr days on my computer!
ooh just yesterday in yoga the instructor was saying to strengthen your wrists in order to do crow pose. i want to be a crow!
I want to do crow pose, too!
But, I was thinking this would be a great gift for my father, who just had surgery (and is now going through radiation) for cancer. He’s loosing a lot of muscle tone, because he doesn’t have the energy to get out there like he used to, so I think this would be great for him! And maybe he’d share it with me…?
I would love to keep this at my desk at work. It would be great for mini workout breaks while at the computer.
It is a light up ball! How cool is that.
I would like to win it so that I can work out my wrists after typing all day and so I can scare my guinea pig with it. He (my guinea pig) would love it!
Wow that sounds great! I have bad grip strength and I HATE sitting there doing tons of reps for my forearms. I would love to have this!
Strangely enough, just a couple of days ago my boss was talking about using one of those things and how great it was, which prompted me to look into one for my hubby because he broke his wrist in 6th grade and it still bothers him. Of course maybe I shouldn’t feel sorry for my husband since he’s the one who cut his own cast off so that he could play baseball…
I’m a musician (harpist), and I think this would help my wrists!
wow the military and nasa use it. were can a gal go wrong? I want one too!
That thing looks so cool! It would be really good for exercising the wrist before and after aikido practice (with all those wrist holds and twists we do, it’s SUPER important to keep our wrists supple and flexible and free of injury).
That would be so cool! It would help me work my wrists AND I can sit there and tell my boys “you can’t play with this because it’s allll mmmmiiiiine!!!”
I took a fitness class last year in college and grip strength was my only “marginal” quality 🙂
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