Get-Fit Gadgets (and a Giveaway!)

Here in FBG world, we love to try out the newest gadgets and gizmos so that we can pass along the coolest trends to our readers. Check out three of the latest fitness items and grab this opportunity to win one of them for yourself!

NextFit Keychain Trainer

I’m a firm believer in the power of a personal trainer. Without mine over the summer, I’m positive there is no way crow pose would have ever landed on my list of fitness accomplishments. But can a virtual personal trainer be just as helpful? I tried a NextFit keychain trainer to find out.

The virtual trainer is a breeze to use. You simply turn it on, play a brief introduction and then plug it into a USB port on your computer. You fill out a fitness profile, set a goal or two (anything from running a 5K to simply toning and shaping your bod), and let your new trainer friend know where you like to work out (home, the gym, outdoors). Then you pick a trainer, it downloads a workout, and you’re ready to go.

For my first workout, I had Kathy Smith as my trainer. It’s even personalized, so she specifically says my name to encourage me.It’s cheesy, but I actually liked that personal touch (you can also turn off the feature if it’s too much cheese for you). Your trainer will walk you through each strength move, and the detailed descriptions would allow even fitness newbies to easily follow along.

The upper-body workout I did was about 25 minutes long, but you can customize the duration of your workouts if you only have 15 minutes. Plug in your keychain trainer post-workout to further customize your sessions. For example, I felt that the automatically programmed 30 seconds between moves was too long, soI adjusted this to 10 seconds soI’d have just enough time to switch weights or grab a chair if necessary.

It’s a touch pricey with an initial investment of $149.95 and a monthly fee of $29.95, but you can buy an annual membership to save. And you have tons of exercises and different trainers at your disposal, including David Kirsch and Jari Love. A cool get-in-shape product for gadget lovers!

Gymboss

The Gymboss is an affordable little device that, at just $19.95, will act as your low-tech personal trainer. If  you’re sick of counting reps or watching the clock while you jump rope, the one is for you. The small, pager-sized device can be programmed to repeat intervals of lengths from two seconds to 99 minutes and up to 99 sets. You simply set an interval and start your workout. The Gymboss will vibrate or beep at the end of each interval. It lets you stop staring at that clock and lets you put your mental focus on your movement.  Simple, but effective.

Timex

For the more serious athlete, Timex has a couple of cool new products to help improve your workouts. The new Timex Ironman Sleek 150-Lap watch ($90) has amazing TapScreen technology. Walkers, runners and joggers can log laps by tapping anywhere on the face of the timepiece, rather than mess with buttons while running at full speed. You can set a target time pacer and get audible alerts to indicate if you’re on pace, and if you’re slow or fast. There are also 16 interval timers with names such as warm, slow, med, fast and cool to make interval workouts easy. Sounds like an awesome tool for distance training.

The Timex Ironman RaceTrainer ($220) is a heart rate monitor with a 10-workout memory that saves workouts with date and time, as well as a 50-lap chronograph. It captures peak and average heart rate info and calories burned, and of course users can wirelessly download results to their computers. Fancy!

Want to try a Gymboss? Simply comment below for a chance to win (U.S. residents only, please). The winner will be notified by email.

—Erin