Fitness

My first attempt at rowing a boat on a park pond was the source of some considerable embarrassment. As I went round and round in ever decreasing circles, I remember thinking that there must have been something wrong with the steering. Troels Øhman's RowRay though may just tempt me back to the oars. Designed to bring a fun element to family exercise, the three-wheeled landcart concept is driven by grabbing hold of the two handles and pulling back for dear life. Turning the cart is a matter of pulling on the left or right "oar" and the designer sees users being able to take one for a spin by using a smartphone to unlock it from a base station at the beach or in the park. Read More

The local pub might not seem like the most obvious location to try and improve the health of middle-aged men but that’s just the task researchers in the U.K. have set themselves. In a novel approach to get unfit men active, the researchers have devised an ‘exergaming’ system targeted at sedentary middle-aged men on Teesside in the North East of England. The plan is to put the system into workingmen’s clubs and get the men to take part in virtual boxing matches with a computer-generated opponent. Read More

If you’ve ever tried carrying an aquarium full of water, you’ll know that not only is the stuff heavy, but it’s also difficult to keep from sloshing back and forth. The Attitube, a relatively new fitness training device, takes advantage of those qualities to build core stability. Designed by Canadian former professional wrestler and present-day strength and stability coach Larry Brun, the Attitube is a simply a clear hollow tube with water inside. You use it like you would a barbell or dumbbell, with the motion of the water adding an extra challenge for your core muscles. Read More

Obesity rates are on the rise in most western countries where sitting at a computer all day (and sometimes into the night) is commonplace. Low activity levels, in many cases, combined with poor diets, have been blamed for almost two-thirds of Americans being overweight or obese. To help address the problem, health researchers have developed an iPhone app designed to monitor your physical activity and motivate you to do that little bit more. Read More

Not too dissimilar to the Rollator we featured late last year on Gizmag is the Treadmill Bike, which leaves as much to the imagination as the movie Snakes on a Plane. Unlike the Rollator, the Treadmill Bike has only two wheels, looks a little more robust and lets you take it “off road” according to its designers, though why you wouldn’t just go for a jog has got us puzzled. Read More

Many of us will have seen spinning classes at gyms where cyclists pedal imaginary routes up and down mountain trails and along city paths while looking at a screen. Dutch company Praxtour believes its virtual biking experience for professional is a cut above, offering ergonomically-correct training bikes that traverse real time simulated routes that test even the fittest athlete. An onboard computer logs all the relevant training data, and resistance and natural scenery are adapted to how much effort cyclists are putting in. It's probably the closest thing most riders will get to competing in the Tour de France without being part of the peleton. Read More

It may be a great form of exercise, but running is a high impact pursuit that places great strain on muscles and tendons. The stress it places on the body forces many runners to hang up their shoes and seek alternative, lower impact forms of exercise. Looking to take the pain out of running, a Swiss engineer set about creating a shoe that enabled the runner to land as soft as if running on sand, and to push off as if running in track shoes. The result is the the On Running Shoe – a shoe that incorporates a unique rubber ring into the sole design to provide a soft landing, while offering firmness and stability on push off. Read More

There are two things that are immediately appealing about the AlterG M300 treadmill. The first is being able to maintain fitness levels whilst nursing an injury, and the second is that you’ll feel as light as a feather whilst working out. The M300 allows people to run or walk at a reduced body weight of up to 80 percent, while the differential air pressure technology assists by applying a comfortable lifting force to the body. By reducing the body weight, there is less impact on the muscles and joints, and people are able to move more naturally and without pain. Read More

Most sane people would agree that cardiovascular exercise is a pretty boring way to get fit and, unless you’re working out with a friend, a little extra visual stimulation would rarely go amiss. The Nintendo Wii has already had a decent crack at bringing a bit of fun to boring routines with the Wii Fit and EA Sports Active, and seems to have picked up one of the minigames from the latter as the subject of its latest peripheral revolution. Read More