As a geek, I love using gadgets to increase efficiency or otherwise enhance our everyday lives. These beautifully simplistic tools that separate man from the animals shouldn’t be forgotten in the area of fitness. Below is a short list comprising the top gadgets for the fitness enthusiast.
5. Heart Rate Monitor Watch – When doing any aerobic exercise, it’s important to monitor your heart rate. Of course this isn’t necessary for all exercises and occasions, but if you’re mind set on knowing exactly what your ticker’s up to, it’s easiest to do it with a small heart monitor watch. It checks the pulse on your wrist and lets you know when you’re in active or overactive mode.
4. MP3 Player – Music is always useful for getting you pumped up about exercise, especially on long runs when you’re alone. I love putting on something with a fast beat and trying to let my legs catch up with it. (Note: best to avoid speed metal while running – it will lead to burn out in the first quarter mile.) A good flash based mp3 player, without any moving parts, is best for activities like jogging where the player will be constantly shaken.
3. Food Logging – The idea behind foodlogging is to record every meal you take in to let you see what you are eating on a given day and to keep you accountable to staying on with a fitness plan. See my previous post for more detail here. There are several great web sties and services that offer to host your food logging for you. Or, you can simply record your meals yourself in a text file on your own computer like I do. It’s simple and very important to staying on track with monitoring your intake of food.
2. Digital Scale – If you are going to be actively trying to lose weight, it’s best to monitor your progress to see how far you’ve come. A simple digital scale will give you a precise idea of how much you weigh and even how much you are losing. Some scales even have internal memory that allow you to record your weight entries from week to week to let you see your progress, whether up or down.
1. Pedometer – If actively running, jogging, or walking, a pedometer is important to let you know what distances you can do. Good pedometers can also measure every step you take. It’s a good idea to take at least 5,000 steps per day as a way of shedding some extra poundage. Or simply take the pedometer along with you on jogs to get a better estimate of your progress.
