6 COOLEST HOME FITNESS PRODUCTS THAT TALK TO THE INTERNET

6 Coolest Home Fitness Products That Talk to the Internet
By Dann Albright, Make Use Of, 3 August 2015.

While wrist-mounted fitness trackers like the FitBit Surge and Jawbone UP have been around for a while, the smart home fitness device scene is growing quickly. You’ll soon see a lot of fitness devices that will talk to the Internet to help keep you motivated, track your progress, and help you improve your fitness habits.

Here are 6 of the coolest gadgets that fitness geeks should check out.

1. Bragi Dash

The Dash is quite possibly the most technologically advanced set of headphones that’s been developed. In addition to offering 4 GB of storage in a wireless set of Bluetooth-enabled earbuds, the Dash also tracks distance, steps, pace, rotation, speed, cadence, and other workout facts. It even measures your airtime. Heart rate, oxygen saturation, and body temperature are also logged. And it’s a microphone, too.

All of these sensors download information to the Bragi app or a number of third-party fitness apps. You can control the earbuds from your smartphone or by using slides and taps on the earbud itself, which packs a touch-sensitive surface. All in all, a very impressive smart fitness device.

Pre-order the Bragi dash (US$300, estimated ship date of September 2015)

2. SmartMat

While technology hasn’t been a major part of yoga in the past, this new home fitness device could change that. The SmartMat is a yoga mat that monitors your yoga practice and gives you feedback to better inform you on how to improve your poses and balance. After a calibration session, the mat learns to recognize poses and determine whether you’re performing them correctly or if you need a few adjustments.

By connecting your phone or tablet into the integrated stand, you can view a heat map that will show you if you’re properly balanced - you can also receive audio feedback from the mat if you’re practicing in your home. It works with poses that are very similar (like Mountain Pose and Chair Pose), and will work with accessories like blocks, too.

Pre-order the SmartMat (US$297, estimated ship date of late 2015)

3. HAPIfork

While most smart fitness devices are focused on helping you burn more calories, there’s another important side to the equation: watching what you eat. You don’t feel full until about 20 minutes after you’ve eaten enough, and this lag can cause overeating. The HAPIfork communicates through vibrations to tell you when you’re eating too fast, which likely indicates that you’re eating more than you should.

Of course, no smart fitness device is complete without extensive tracking, and the HAPIfork app will give you stats on your eating; how many fork servings you have per minute, whether you’ve been eating too quickly, and data from other HAPI devices.

Buy the HAPIfork (US$80)

4. Sensoria Smart Clothing

With smart socks, a smart sports bra, and a smart tank top, Sensoria is leading the way in smart clothing. The socks monitor your running stride, evaluating your cadence and foot strike, while the sports bra and tank top include built-in heart rate monitors so you don’t have to wear a strap. Information from all three can be transmitted to the Sensoria app, which tracks your activities and can provide coaching.

While the inclusion of a heart rate monitor in a sports bra or tank top might not sound all that exciting, the ability to analyze your running form could be very beneficial to many runners, from beginners to competitors, in helping them improve efficiency and avoid injury.

Buy Sensoria smart clothing (US$140-US$200)

5. Withings Smart Body Analyzer

A scale is a simple mechanical home fitness device, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be smarter! Wi-Fi enabled scales have been around for a while, but they’re continually updated with new technology to help you better monitor and facilitate your weight loss. The Withings Smart Body Analyzer keeps track of your weight, body composition, and body mass index. It also automatically recognizes different users, and won’t confuse your progress with someone else’s.

In addition to tracking your weight through the Withings Health Mate app, it can also interface with other apps, like Runkeeper, LoseIt!, and MyFitnessPal, so you can get more accurate calorie-burning information from your activity monitors. It’ll even monitor your indoor air quality and give you the day’s forecast.

Buy the Withings Wi-Fi Body Scale (US$150)

6. Moov Now

More than just a fitness tracker, the Moov Now is a coach that will help you improve your form in a number of different activities. The device measures movement while you’re running, swimming, cardio boxing, or cycling, and will even coach you through an intense 7-minute workout at home, letting you get a great workout from the comfort (and convenience) of your living room.

With 12 guided workouts, a rep counter, form monitoring and coaching, heart rate monitor support, and a 6-month battery life, the Moov will keep you motivated and on form, whether your goal is weight loss, improved fitness, or just being more active. Combining two Moov sensors gives more accuracy while swimming or cardio boxing.

Buy the Moov (US$60 for one, US$100 for two) (Buy at Amazon)

Fitness, Smarter

From workout coaching to meal coaching, these smart devices will help you make the most of your weight loss and fitness efforts from your own home. While a personal trainer or a nutrition coach will be able to give you more detailed information and plans, not everyone can afford the one-on-one coaching provided by these professionals. Fortunately, technology is helping many people take their fitness into their own hands (and wrists and ankles).

Top image: The Moov Now second generation multi-sport wearable coach. Credit: Moov via YouTube.

[Source: Make Use Of. Edited. Top image added.]