Tag: exercise

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Fitness Music Wearables

Turn your Motion to Music and break a real sweat

The reasons why games like Guitar Hero, Rock Band, and Dance Dance Revolution were so popular was because of how they rewarded real-life movement and coordination in a satisfying way. Ultimately, it made for an incredibly addicting gameplay experience. Unfortunately, being talented in these games doesn’t mean anything in the real world, the most common criticism they receive. And while these games are incredibly fun, that criticism is kind of valid.

Judging by his product, it seems like Matteo Ercolano was once bitten and burned by his love for these type of rhythmic gaming experiences. Instead of moving on, though, he sought to combine that gameplay with a real benefit. Settling on exercise, he created Motion to Music. Its Bluetooth-equipped wrist/arm/ankle band works together with a mobile iOS/Android app to match body gestures to the on-screen prompts given. And like the aforementioned rhythm games, the better someone does, the higher their score and happier their fans; poor performances garner jeers and boos instead.

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Connected Objects Fitness

Get moving anywhere with the Move It connected exercise system

For most, one of the biggest roadblocks to developing a consistent exercise routine is simply finding a place to get sweaty. While a gym is an obvious answer, they can be crowded and/or expensive. Some choose to go at it at home instead, but that can quickly become limiting due to a lack of space.

The Move It portable, modular exercise system is designed to be a connected gym anywhere it is. It’s portable because it weighs a little under seven pounds and modular because its sturdy, sensor-equipped handles fit into each of the Move It’s four exercise tools: an ab wheel, a jump rope, push-up stand and resistance band. No matter the exercise, the product’s capacitive touch handles feature a six-axis gyroscope, an accelerometer and infrared elements for proper alignment along with pressure and tension sensors, all to accurately distinguish different exercises and coach users through their routine and ensure proper form.

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Connected Objects Fitness

LiftUp gives strength training a lift

Strength training is healthy, but it’s often time-consuming and typically requires people to join a gym, which can be costly and also inconvenient.

LiftUp is a smart home strength training product that uses connected resistance bands. It automatically tracks workouts and analyzes progress made on fitness goals. Users just select a workout and attach one or more resistance bands to work out. LiftUp comes with multiple, interchangeable band strengths. The resistance bands can be used to replicate any movement done with dumbbells, barbells and weight machines.

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Apparel Fitness Wearables

The Hexoskin Smart is a Bluetooth-enabled second skin for your second wind

More and more, wearables are trending towards clothing with embedded technology versus additional and mostly cumbersome devices that ultimately get in the way of an efficient exercise, for instance. 2013’s Hexoskin, a sensor-embedded shirt able to generate data on heart rate, calories burned, movement, etc., was a sneak peek at the idea. Now, the company is back with their second generation Hexosin Smart.

In addition to the shirt’s ability to analyze exercise intensity, fatigue, recovery, breathing, and sleep quality, it is now outfitted with Bluetooth Smart technology, allowing it to work on a wide array of the most popular exercising apps like Strava, MapMyRun and Argus.

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Connected Objects Fitness

Skulpt Chisel helps body sculpting by monitoring fat

Having a device that can accurately measure one’s body fat can go a long way towards achieving fitness goals.

Skulpt Chisel is a device about the size of a typical smartphone that has 12 sensors on its back that can be used to measure 24 body muscles just by pressing it up against those muscles. It sends a tiny current past the subcutaneous fat and through the muscle fibers, picking up thousands of data points per second, according to its Indiegogo campaign. The technology then evaluates the flow of that current to accurately measure the fat percentage per muscle, and rate that muscle’s fitness.

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Wearables

Run right into improved performance with the RunRite running system

Most wearable running devices focus on different variables like heart rate and stride, but with the activity being such a personal activity unique to each body, simply keeping track of disparate variables isn’t enough. Each body has its own potential and limitations so a system needs to not only obtain the necessary data but also analyze it, too.

This is exactly what the RunRite system does. Comprised of two sensors worn around the legs, RunRite takes in common data like heart rate along with more refined data like power output and pace. The system then compiles this data and assigns a running efficiency score, advising runners how best to increase that score during a run and analyzing the data to recommend exercises to improve performance between runs. RunRite works on iOS, Android, and some Windows devices, and goes for $199, with an expected ship date of September 2015.. Its campaign is looking for $60,000 by June 4th, 2015.

Other products like the Stridalyzer and runScribe also serve up valuable information on running performance, but the RunRite has them beat on both the quantity and quality of that information, in addition to the exercise recommendations it provides. Most running systems are best used during the run, while RunRite stays helpful all the time.

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Fitness

U-Liner will make you finer, offers exercise in a small package

People don’t exercise enough. That’s just a fact. Part of the reason is that most think they need expensive gym memberships or complicated fitness devices to get their workout on. That’s just not true.

The U-Liner delivers dynamic workouts in a small tear-shaped package. This device has the ability to work out the arms, legs, abs, back and more. It folds out in unique ways and provides resistance for strength building. Best of all, it doesn’t actually look like a fitness device, and blends in seamlessly with any home’s decor.

U-Liner is a lot like the Tao WellShell. However, Tao provides realtime feedback with the help of an accompanying app. The U-Liner team may want to consider such an addition going forward. Still the device is simple and clever, providing a bit of physical exertion anywhere. One U-Liner will cost backers a donation of $22 by June 2015. This little product has a funding goal of $5,000 on Indiegogo.

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Apparel

Shnap + Laces lets you run your race without falling on your face

Stopping an exercise routine, or even stopping in the middle of a race, in order to tie one’s shoes can be extremely inconvenient and frustrating. For that matter, stopping to tie one’s shoes even during the middle of the day can be an annoyance.

Shnap + Laces aims to resolve that. The product works by attaching a button to the end of each shoelace and subsequently inserting a ball stud in the upper eyelets of one’s shoe. Next, a retainer clip locks the ball stud into place. Conveniently, the laces then snap into place and remain out of your way for the duration of the day. The product presents a nice alternative for those who don’t want to fuss with double knotting their shoestrings.

Notably, Shnap + Laces isn’t just limited to shoes. It also works with drawstring shorts and pants. What’s more, it can even be mounted to a wall and used to help keep track of any item on a lanyard or keychain.

The campaign seeks to raise $9000 by March 28, 2015. Early bird backers get one pair for $10 with an expected delivery window of April 2015.

Lastly, users interested in Shnap & Laces might also want to check out Powerlace. And for an artsy storage solution for large shoe collections, Sole Stacks is certainly an option worth exploring.

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Health and Wellness

Remix lets you enjoy your shake without cup-cleaning hassle

Staying hydrated during exercise is one of the best ways to keep one’s energy level up and eliminate impurities. And those who are fitness enthusiasts often like to include protein drinks and supplements to their diet. But cleaning a water bottle or shaker bottle can be a real hassle, especially when on the road.

So Remix is offering a single-use alternative. It’s made of recyclable plastic, so the 20oz cup doesn’t have to be washed, which makes it convenient when traveling. Remix comes with a lid, strainer and cap for easy mixing of ingredients and blending via shaking.Options are available to backers who would like to have their company logo placed on the bottle.

While Remix is an interesting idea, many people would opt for a more reusable option. Disposable is so last year. Interested backers may also want to check out Go-Shake, Square, TRIMR, and Cirkul. This campaign seeks to raise $78,000 by February 11, 2015. For $13, backers get one pack of 26 cups with an expected delivery of June 2015.

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Wearables

V1bes alerts you to stress so you can be at your best

Excessive stress can impact a person’s health and even bring on sickness and depression. Keeping stress under control is one of the best ways to maintain optimum health. V1bes was created to help people to become more conscious of their stress levels so that they can take appropriate steps to alleviate their anxiety.

The biosensor is worn on the index finger and measures stress-influencing factors such as brainwaves, heart rate, and electromagnetic pollution. That information then gets translated to useful advice and training programs. The product is a smart device that learns about the user through consistent use and works in conjunction with their smartphone and personal cloud. Various apps include the thrill of competition through the biceps app, vibe “compatibility” between a couple, or explore how music changes one’s mood.

Not sure that having one’s personal health info stored in a cloud is the best idea, but V1bes is certainly an interesting product. A few other biosensor items of interest include Moodmetric, and Ear-O-Smart. This product seeks to raise $500 by February 11, 2015. For $199, early bird backers get one product with an expected delivery of September 2015.