Sports and gadgets: smartwatches, fitness trackers

Although the common saying goes: "the main thing is the beginning", in an era of multitasking of each person and constant information overload, the problem is not at all in starting to play sports. It is not to abandon these classes in the first week and switch to some other, more exciting thing. However, training can also be fun. Especially if you add a gaming component to them. And our constant companions, gadgets, will help us with this. They will count the number of steps taken along with the calories burned, and offer exercises, and award a medal for achieving goals, and “praise” in front of friends on social networks.

There are several ways to keep fit with the help of gadgets, and now we will talk about the most interesting ones.

Method number 1. Smartphone for sports

No, you do not need to run to the store and look for some special sports smartphones. The simplest solution is to download the appropriate programme to your phone, which is always in your pocket. Fortunately, there are plenty of such solutions for any platform.

Everyone already has a smartphone, but in order to use it as sports gadget, it is advisable to buy a special case

Applications for monitoring physical activity throughout the day come in several types. The most common are pedometers. With the help of sensors built into the smartphone, they count the number of steps taken. Often, pedometer apps are combined with apps for runners, which additionally take into account the speed of movement, the calories burned, and also create jogging routes based on GPS satellites.

Among the most popular is RunKeeper, which literally blew up the Facebook feed a year or two ago with user messages: “Today I ran 10 kilometers in half an hour”, “And I ran 12 in 20 minutes”, etc. Starting training with this programme, you, in fact, you join a virtual sports club, where you choose your own course, programme and schedule, and the phone will allow you to stick to this schedule and share success with friends. Initially, RunKeeper was designed for runners, but later it became possible to track cycling, walking, and even swimming in the pool. The programme is compatible with fitness trackers and smartphones with iOS / Android, but owners of Windows Phone (7.5 and higher) are better off downloading a similar application Caledos Runner. Both are free.

Another very good and popular activity tracker is Runtastic, which is compatible with Android, iOS and Windows Phone. Measures distance traveled, speed, steps, calorie consumption, and workout duration. In the professional version, you can also measure the pulse by placing your finger on the camera eye. There is a "bicycle" version of the programme.

Individual developers approach user motivation with a bit of originality. An example of this is the application The Walk, which is essentially a game with 65 levels lasting approximately 800 hours. The user is assigned the role of a character who must deliver some important cargo, following the commands of the game. Depending on the movements, he receives all sorts of rewards and points. The application, as you would expect, is paid. Available for Android and iOS.

In addition to activity trackers, there are exercise collection apps that can be linked to a schedule. So, Pocket Yoga allows you to choose the level of training, the time of the lesson and its type (strength, stretching, spiritual). Or a more versatile free app - Nike Training Club, where owners of iOS devices can choose a workout programme to their liking.

Method number 2. Fitness tracker as a personal trainer

Fitness trackers are connected to the phone, as a rule, to analyze the collected information, which saves battery

Apps are great, but buying a dedicated fitness device is even more motivating. Fitness trackers are one of the most popular sports gadgets. The device is conveniently placed on the wrist and, using built-in sensors, collects, processes and analyzes data on the user's physical activity throughout the day. Usually, bracelets are equipped with software that helps to create individual workouts, record the distance traveled, and monitor calorie consumption. Most often they work in tandem with smartphones, but, unlike the same smartwatches, there is usually no need for a constant connection to the phone.

One of the most popular fitness trackers is Nike+ FuelBand and Nike+ FuelBand SE. It not only measures distance traveled and calories burned, but also independently calculates a generalized activity factor called NikeFuel, which is calculated based on the three-axis accelerometer. With it, the user can set new goals for himself and monitor progress, since the bracelet itself has a light indicator for achieving the goal - very motivating. The collected information can be downloaded to a mobile device or PC. Water procedures for the first generation of the bracelet are ordered, tracking sleep phases is also beyond its power. But the second generation (with the prefix SE in the name) will help you figure out sleep, and will survive with moderate contact with water.

Another very popular fitness tracker is Jawbone Up, primarily notable for its wider range of features. The gadget will show the distance traveled, steps and energy consumption, plot activity graphs, track sleep time and correlate the duration of light and deep sleep. With it you can swim in the pool (just do not dive). The app will even keep track of what exactly adds weight to you: using a smartphone, the user can enter data about all the products he eats. Based on the information collected, Jawbone Up recommends how to improve your health: how to eat, how much sleep, drink water, etc. So, for example, based on the amount of coffee you drink throughout the day, the device will tell you when to stop drinking coffee for deep and healthy sleep (This feature is implemented by the Coffee app released for the iOS platform).

Unlike smartphones and smartwatches, many fitness trackers can easily tolerate water procedures.

Fitbit Force is distinguished by the presence of an altimeter, so it is useful for lovers of stairs and mountains: it calculates the energy consumption during climbs uphill much more accurately than colleagues in the shop. And one more interesting feature: this fitness tracker has a vibration motor, thanks to which it wakes up the user very gently, choosing the phase of shallow sleep for this. - a very interesting feature that allows you to avoid stress from a sudden awakening. However, this is not the only model with the "smart alarm clock" function.

Let's also pay attention to the minimalist fitness tracker Mistfit Shine. Its capabilities are more modest than most trackers. For example, it does not have an alarm clock or the ability to analyze the food consumed. But, unlike other sports bracelets, it can be worn not only on the arm, but also as a decoration around the neck or attached to a belt or shirt as a keychain. He is neat and handsome, he can even be dressed with an evening dress. Works in tandem with iOS devices.

Method number 3. Smartwatches - sports and SMS

Smartwatches are interesting and promising devices, however, we will not dwell on them too much. Most likely, they will become active assistants to amateur athletes after the release of the long-awaited iWatch.

Only when constantly connected to a smartphone does a smartwatch “bloom” variety of functions. Pictured is a Samsung Galaxy S5 and a Gear Fit watch

The use of smartwatches for sports is a kind of symbiosis of the first and second methods described above. The device combines the convenience of wearing fitness trackers on the wrist with the functionality of smartphones. But at the same time, most of the models on the market are just an addition to the phone, which, when used independently, lose almost all of their advantages.

The most interesting smartwatches with advanced sports features are the Samsung Galaxy Gear 2 Neo and Samsung Gear Fit. The second, in fact, is still the same fitness tracker, equipped with a pedometer, heart rate monitor and training support. Additionally, it can be used to control music playback, quickly answer calls, read SMS and e-mail. Both devices boast support for the proprietary S Health app, combined with which they provide the ability to track physical activity, heart rate, calories burned, and also allow you to keep a food diary.

The disadvantages of these models is that they are only compatible with Samsung smartphones, and only with select models. And also a common drawback of all smartwatches is exactly the watch that needs to be charged every day.

In fact, there are many more smartwatches, and they deserve a separate article. But for fitness, it is models with a heart rate monitor that are of the greatest interest, which fitness trackers do not yet have.

Method number 4. Game console and sports

In the end, we left a very interesting and exciting way, which is not yet very popular in our latitudes. It is more typical of Japan and a number of Western countries. We are talking about game consoles, which, thanks to motion sensors and other technologies, allow the player to train the whole body. Alas, this solution is almost devoid of mobility, but it is very fun.

The first mainstream console with active play capabilities was the Nintendo Wii, which is still popular today. The main assistant of athletes in the environment of Nintendo are unique at the time of release (2006) Wii Remote Plus and Wii Motion Plus wireless controllers that respond to the player's movements. They came with the console in the kit, but in addition to them, Nintendo managed to release a few more additional devices, such as, for example, a fitness mat. Accordingly, there are many active games for the Wii. This includes traditional fitness, tennis, boxing, and dancing. And it’s just that various active actions with your hands are woven into a number of story games, which can make you pretty tired - perhaps these are inferior sports, but at the same time very exciting and useful physical activity.

Two rival consoles Sony PlayStation 3 and Microsoft XBox 360 formally belong to the same generation as the Wii, but came out later and have much more serious technical characteristics. To the brainchild of Sony, you can purchase the PS Eye camera and PS Move controllers, which are not far from the Wii in terms of convenience and quality of player recognition. What a difference Microsoft Kinect supported by Xbox 360! No joysticks are needed there - the whole human body turns into a joystick: the camera recognizes the player and his movements, respectively, can track the correctness of the exercises, like a real coach. The main thing is to choose the necessary set of games / programs, and you can practice at home for your pleasure.

The use of a “game console + contactless sensor” bundle for fitness is very popular in the west and in Japan.

With the new generation of the Sony PlayStation 4, motion recognition technology has gone to the next level and closer to Kinect: there is no need to hold bulky and uncomfortable joysticks in your hands, because the PS4 Camera works just fine without them. However, Microsoft does not stand still: the Xbox One game console supports the second generation of Kinect technology. Moreover, the Kinect camera is included with the set-top box by default, while the Sony camera must be purchased separately.

If you want to buy a console for training (or joining those of the younger generation, tightly entrenched at the computer), today it is advisable to purchase the Xbox 360. It costs less than the Xbox One, it is more convenient to play sports with it, and "mobile" games for this console many times more have come out at the moment.

Afterword

In fact, we have a far from complete list of modern gadgets that help athletes or people who want to devote more time to their physical activity. Today, there are not only smartwatches-additions-to-smartphones, but also full-fledged sports watches with a lot of sensors, mobile heart rate monitors and more. But most of them are designed for users who have been seriously involved in sports and their health for a long time. When, as modern people who spend most of the day sitting at a computer, one of the above methods, accessible and motivating, is perfect.

What gadgets or apps do you use to keep fit? Leave your answers in the comments.