Your Exercise Gear

Your Exercise Gear
Parts of exercise regimens are becoming network aware, and wireless plays a
part, too. One of the more interesting applications of the Internet to the world
of exercise comes from Icon Fitness (iFIT; www.ifit.com), which links your
exercise equipment, the Internet, live personal coaches, and a library of audio
and video slide tours to make each day of exercising a brand-new adventure.
(Try the 30-day trial, or pony up $9.95 per month for a year-long contract.)
Your iFIT-enabled exercise equipment can be controlled (either automatically
by a preset program or live by a trainer) remotely via an Internet connection.
The idea is to provide an environment where you can enjoy working out, be
challenged, track your results, and learn about nutritional planning.
iFit.com can also remotely control more than 100 models of treadmills, elliptical
trainers, stationary bikes, and incline trainers — from Icon’s NordicTrack,
Pro-Form, Reebok, HealthRider, and Image divisions (www.iconfitness.com).
Each of these has an Ethernet connection into which you can put a wireless
adapter to link your gear to the Internet.
If you don’t like the audio and video programs, you can always get a live
trainer, courtesy of Internet videoconferencing. For 45 minutes and $30, you
see and hear the trainer — and the trainer sees and hears you. This is a great
use of the wireless-enabled Web cameras that we talk about in Chapter 13.