TECH NOW: Fall fitness gadgets keep you active all winter
- Push armband keeps track of reps%2C force and other fitness stats
- Runtastic Libra scale can also calculate body mass
- Withings Pulse tracks your sleep patterns
It's fall, and we all know what that means: shorter days, colder weather, longer sleeves, and, of course, the inevitable extra holiday pounds. So it should come as no surprise that there are a ton of new fitness gadgets coming out just in time to hit the winter hibernation head-on.
PUSH
While most of the devices I've reviewed focus primarily on overall fitness, Push is the first tracker designed to help gym rats get the most out of their time at the weight bench. By tracking statistics via the Push companion app for your smartphone, the Push armband keeps track of reps, force, power, balance, velocity and other metrics while you pump iron.
The app breaks your workout down into easily digestible charts, figures and eye-catching infographics. And not only will the Push software tell you how much you've accomplished, it'll also help you gauge how much more you could do. If you've stopped before you reach your peak, the app will tell you, just like a real gym coach. For $149, the rugged device will surely pay off in the form of sculpted Madonna arms and overall muscle-mass magnificence.
FITBUG ORB
One of the smallest, easiest to use, and least expensive new fitness gadgets is the Fitbug Orb. At just under $50, it tracks your steps, including how much of your activity is actually aerobic; your calories burned; and speed and sleep patterns. It pairs with a smartphone app and gives you feedback via Kik — an online digital coaching service.
It's not as fancy as many others on the market, with no progress shown on the display or other bells and whistles, because the lower price point means fewer features than say, the new Fitbit Force (reviewed below). That's my top complaint: I like to track my progress right from the device, vs. from my phone. But for the price savings, you might be able to live with it. Overall, it's a solid smart pedometer that can help you stay on your weight-loss track without breaking the bank. You can wear the device in three different ways, and the battery lasts up to four to six months, compared with just four to 10 days of life for most competing products.
FITBIT FORCE
For $130 dollars, the new Fitbit Force is a big step up. Armed with same style, comfort and simplicity as the Fitbit Flex, this band sports a built-in altimeter and has a new "active minutes" feature that tracks moderate or high-intensity cardio exercise. Oh, and you can use it as a watch — it now shows the time, too — and I love that it shows progress throughout the day. The only bummer is that you still have to log your food manually. I wish there were a way to just take a photo of it, but again, it's a small inconvenience for the overall intel on your body. One other personal note: This is the most comfortable of all these new gadgets to wear to bed. It doesn't come unclipped and get lost in the sheets, and it's not so big that you feel it on your wrist all night.
It syncs wirelessly to a dashboard on your devices and plays well with some of my favorite fitness apps, such as Lose It and My Fitness Pal. I really like it — it holds it own against the souped-up, feature-rich front-runner pedometers such as the Nike FuelBand SE and Withings Pulse.
BOWFLEX BOOST
Nautilus, maker of Bowflex home gyms, now want a piece of the fitness-tracker pie. The solid-black Bowflex Boost wristband is no fashion statement, but it gets the job done, tracking your steps, calories burned and a distance goal, in addition to your sleep patterns. It also pairs with a smartphone app and updates wirelessly. I like the 14-setting adjustable band, because you can make it fit around any size wrist. I also appreciate that it lets you know where you stand during the day with a sort of "red light, green light" display. Red means you've been way too sedentary, yellow indicates you're on the right track, and green means you're reaching your goals. Like the Orb, it's a lower price option at $50, so there's nothing particularly special with this new device in terms of tracking and futuristic features. Like the Nautilus home gym you might have ordered in the '90s, you have to be pretty dedicated to using it every day in order to see real results.
RUNTASTIC LIBRA
Runtastic's new Libra tips the scales as one of the smartest connected weight-management tools to join the connected health market. In addition to basic weight and body-fat measurements, the super-smart sensor can also calculate body mass index, bone mass, muscle mass and body-water content, and it syncs all that data with your iOS device via Bluetooth. The slick app helps track goals and follow body mass over time, and it can track up to eight individual users at once. Runtastic ships the scale itself in mid-November for $129.
iHEALTH SCALE
Another entry into the smart scale category is a new wireless scale from iHealth Labs. With a sleek, modern design, the scale is unassuming in nature, but boy, is it brainy. It's capable of measuring your BMI and syncing with your iPhone or iPad over Bluetooth to track your daily calorie burn, diet and target weight, and you can even set up e-mail alerts to send to yourself, family members or workout partners. For $70, its feature list makes it a top contender for your holiday weight-loss dollars.
NIKE+ FUELBAND SE
One of the first mass-market fitness wearables is back in the form of the Nike+ FuelBand SE. Like the original FuelBand, the SE model tracks daily calorie burn and helps you earn fitness points in what the company calls NikeFuel. It's perfectly equipped to function as both a watch and a pedometer, but it can also track a variety of additional activities, such as basketball, running, cycling, rowing and even housework.
It syncs up wirelessly with your Nike+ iOS app
WITHINGS PULSE
The Withings Pulse is quite literally the little box that can track just about anything. Weighing in at a staggeringly light 8 grams, the Pulse can follow your routine all day long. It can be clipped just about anywhere, and when it comes time for your morning jog or evening run, it tracks steps, elevation, distance and calories burned. You can even stop midrun, touch your fingertip to the back of the device, and get a real-time heart rate reading on the fly.
When the sun sets, you slide the Pulse into a comfortable wristband, and it keeps a close eye on your sleep patterns. Upon waking, you can see when you entered different phases of sleep. For $100, it's a minuscule device that is definitely worth its weight in gold.
That's not all!
These are just some of the latest and greatest in the fitness gadget category. Additionally, Jawbone just introduced an updated UP24 band that adds Bluetooth connectivity via an iOS app. And there are plenty of quality workout companions that have been helping people shed pounds for months or even years. The original Jawbone UP, Fitbit Flex and BodyMedia Core 2 are just a few of these, and you can read about them in our very own "Battle of the Fitness Bands" column.
Jennifer Jolly is an Emmy Award-winning consumer tech contributor and host of USA TODAY's digital video show TECH NOW. E-mail her attechcomments@usatoday.com. Follow her on Twitter: @JenniferJolly.