21st century technology meets fitness
From workout videos by the head-scratcher Richard Simmons to products like the yoga ball, most students have a piece of fitness equipment. Sometimes the equipment helps them keep fit. Other times it may simply collect dust.
Whichever, fitness is getting a 21st century make-over with the integration of technology.
Since health and fitness are becoming such a standard part of daily life, as is technology, the most logical step in the industry is to blend the two,
said Zach Young, general manager of personal training for BioPhase Training Systems at World’s Gym in Rexburg.
Now you’re seeing things like television monitors built into the treadmills. You’re seeing more markers of fitness in terms of heart-rate monitors or calorie counters (pedometers) built into equipment,
Young said.
It’s not just stationary gym equipment like the kind that’s in the John W. Hart Building that comes with these amenities. To make fitness more accessible and result oriented, heart rate monitors, pedometers and body-fat measurers have been put into portable devices like watches.
Prices for both portable body-fat measurers and heart rate monitors range from $60-$150. They also come in women’s and men’s styles, as well as custom or standard colors to match preferred workout clothing, which makes for a trend on the rise, according to a recently-published article on www.msn.com.
Apple seems to be the leader in fitness trendiness. All over campus, students can be seen with iPods in their ears walking to class, and throughout the Hart listening to their favorite music while breaking a sweat, monitoring their heart rate and watching their calories.
Jessica Cox, a freshman from Logan, Utah, and Talise Dubois, a senior from Maple Grove, Minn., both agree their must-have gadget for the gym is their iPods.
Everyone’s gone to iPods. I think it helps [students workout] because you get to listen to music, and I know when I listen to music it keeps me entertained,
said Ashley Youmans, a sophomore from Orem, Utah.
Recently Nike has joined with Apple to optimize on the growing fad of using iPods for fitness. Products currently on the market include the iPod long sleeve top with a built in Nano pocket and a streamlined design for no hassle cord control. The Nike+ sensor / receiver kit attaches to any Nike+ shoe and tracks progress on distance, time, pace and calories, and sends the information right to one’s iPod as they go.
Fitness has come a long way since Richard Simmons’ Sweating to the Oldies. Technology has made it even trendier to sweat to that favorite oldies playlist, while you track your heart rate and count your steps — all on one device. 
